There’s an almost impossibly thin line separating the kind of vulgar behavior that can find its way to being charming, and stays at just plain vulgar. I’m still not sure I understand the formula, but the original Bad Santa go…
Warren Beatty, the writer, director, producer and star of Rules Don’t Apply, has stated that the film is not about Howard Hughes (Beatty), which is mostly true. That being said, the story he’s chosen to tell wouldn’t exist or be…
Done in a decidedly less flashy style than many of director Robert Zemeckis’ previous works (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, The Walk), his World War II-set Allied successfully manages to combine genuine passion with political intrigue (although it is…
The latest animated musical from the folks at Walt Disney Animation Studios (Tangled, Frozen) has a great deal going for it. It’s animation style is warm, inviting and features a lush color pattern that suits its Polynesian roots; it’s characters…
It’s been another solid week of film here in Chicago. The new Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them came out. We found it to be thrilling yet comfortingly familiar. The iconic director Ang Lee made his…
After his impressive directing debut A Single Man in 2009, fashion designer Tom Ford’s long awaited return as writer-director, Nocturnal Animals, shows that Ford is not afraid of a complicated, nebulous narrative that still manages to look stunning, especially in…
If I ever have the pleasure of meeting or speaking with writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig, I’m going to thank her from the bottom of my heart for reminding me of something about my high school years that I’d sadly forgotten—something…
If it didn’t actually happen, I’m not sure I’d believe it. But there’s a reason that the return to boxing of Vinny Pazienza is known by some as the greatest comeback story in sports history, and the fact that it…
In what is arguably one of the oddest movies you may see all year, Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; The Ice Storm; Sense and Sensibility; Brokeback Mountain; Life of Pi) brings his technical prowess and his keen…
I’m sure admirers of the works of author J.K. Rowling already know this, but it bears repeating: don’t expect backstories and answers to all the questions raised in this first of what is said to be a five-film franchise to…
The Eagle Huntress From first time feature filmmaker Otto Bell comes the epic and stunningly shot documentary The Eagle Huntress chronicling not only 13-year-old Kazakh girl Aisholpan Nurgaiv’s training to follow in her family’s male tradition of being an…
If you’re in dire need of a story about how two people instigated a process instigated by their love for one another that literally changed the laws of the land, I would mightily recommend writer-director Jeff Nichols’ (Take Shelter, Mud,…
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