Something weird happens at the beginning of Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets, but it’s so subtle, so smoothly incorporated that it’s nearly imperceptible. Following the opening credits (displayed in a throwback fashion in cards […]
In some other timeline, we’re out enjoying a real Chicago summer, complete with street fairs and beach days and rooftop drinks and yes, summer blockbuster movies. Instead, this summer will go down […]
As premises go, The Tobacconist has an interesting one: a young man moves to Vienna to apprentice in a tobacco shop, only to become friendly with one of the store’s regular customers, […]
What haunts in Relic, the debut feature film written and directed by Natalie Erika James, is something sinister, but also something essentially unseen and, therefore, all the more terrifying. A horror film much […]
As the country engages in an urgent and necessary conversation on racism and inequity, it’s tempting to think of much of the history of this particular issue as just that, the sort […]
In March of 2015, I moved back to Chicago from New York. That was right about the time a new musical production about an (until then) obscure founding father was also making […]
If you check out Beats this weekend, the latest from Scottish filmmaker Brian Welsh (from a play by Kieran Hurley, who co-wrote the script), it will help greatly if you’re a fan […]
The American film landscape isn’t lacking for coming of age films, particularly those of the female teenage experience. Bora Kim’s lyrical debut feature film House of Hummingbird explores similar themes half a […]
There is a wildlife photography enthusiast out there somewhere who will find Picture of His Life—a slight new documentary probably better off as an episode in some nature-centric television series—worth their hour and […]
When I first moved to New York City a few years ago, I splurged on a tiny studio apartment in Manhattan, 160 square feet (not counting the bathroom and closet) on the […]
If the first two thirds of Miss Juneteenth, the beautifully realized debut feature film from writer/director Channing Godfrey Peoples, feel a bit quiet and underdeveloped, please do yourself the favor of hanging in […]
On the shortlist of actors who I’ll watch in pretty much anything, Bill Nighy is near the top. Effortlessly charming and dryly funny, he consistently brings a warmth and wit to whomever […]
