Review: Genre-bending Extra Ordinary Spooks, Jokes and Thoroughly Entertains
Heading to the movie theater might not be at the top of your list of Things To Do This Weekend, and it’s understandable if so. If, however, you’re more of […]
Lisa Trifone is Managing Editor and a Film Critic at Third Coast Review. A Rotten Tomatoes approved critic, she is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. Find more of Lisa's work at SomebodysMiracle.com
Siskel’s CEUFF Week 2: European Films (Mostly) Worth Braving the Crowds For
With the ever-developing news around COVID-19, institutions like the Siskel Film Center are diligently implementing the recommendations and precautions necessary to keep their audiences safe while not compromising programming that’s […]
Review: For a Story of Grief and Healing, The Way Back Embraces Grit, Chaos and Foul Language
In a parallel universe, there’s a version of Gavin O’Connor’s The Way Back, the story of a grieving former high school basketball star tapped to coach the struggling team at his […]
Siskel’s European Union Film Fest Week 1: Avoid Travel, Head to the Cinema for Adventure
The Chicago European Union Film Festival is the Siskel Film Center’s annual love letter to the cinema of nearly an entire continent, a month-long program that includes films from all […]
Review: A Harrowing Post-War Tale of Survival in Russian Drama Beanpole
Not yet 30 years old, filmmaker Kantemir Balagov directs Beanpole, a film that is perhaps the opposite of what his contemporaries are drawn to create. Instead of something of-the-moment, something about frivolous […]
Review: An Austen Heroine for a New Generation in Pretty, Pastel Emma.
Nearly every scene in Emma., the latest adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel about a selfish young woman who sees the error of her meddling ways, looks as if it would be […]
Review: Exquisite Portrait of a Lady on Fire Explores Female Love and Agency in Poignant Period Piece
There’s a moment in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, filmmaker Céline Sciamma’s exquisite new film, when painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant) gives up on an early attempt to capture the likeness […]
Review: Corpus Christi Explores the Contradictions in Faith, Redemption and Life
Believe it or not, there were other films besides Parasite nominated for this year’s International Feature Film Academy Award; even though the Korean film stole the show (and the most […]
Review: A Vibrant Exploration of Tradition, Identity and Love in And Then We Danced
Set in the world of Georgian folk dancing, with its sharp, deliberate choreography and percussion-driven rhythms, And Then We Danced is the story of Mareb (Levan Gelbakhiani), a promising young […]
Review: Lyric Opera Revisits a Timeless, Thrilling Classic in Madama Butterfly
The Lyric Opera of Chicago first presented Puccini’s Madama Butterfly in 1955 (it made its world premiere in 1904); the version on stage there now (through March 8) is a revival […]
Review: Jane Austen’s Classic Emma Gets a Delightful Musical Adaptation at Chicago Shakes
Later this month, a new film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma will open in cinemas, starring Anya Taylor-Joy (Thoroughbreds, “Peaky Blinders”) as the titular matchmaker with questionable, if endearing, motives. […]
Review: The Assistant Captures the Insidious Tensions of Hollywood’s #MeToo Problem
Though it grapples with a distinctly American scandal—that of the #MeToo movement in the movie industry—Kitty Green’s The Assistant comes off as surprisingly European in its observational, detail-oriented approach. As […]