Film Review: Women Who Kill, A Charming Film With Dark Corners
I absolutely adore this movie and all of its dark corners. This is my first exposure to the works of writer-director Ingrid Jungermann, who stars in Women Who Kill as […]
Steve Prokopy is chief film critic for the Chicago-based arts outlet Third Coast Review. For nearly 20 years, he was the Chicago editor for Ain’t It Cool News, where he contributed film reviews and filmmaker/actor interviews under the name “Capone.” Currently, he’s a frequent contributor at /Film (SlashFilm.com) and Backstory Magazine. He is also the public relations director for Chicago's independently owned Music Box Theatre, and holds the position of Vice President for the Chicago Film Critics Association. In addition, he is a programmer for the Chicago Critics Film Festival, which has been one of the city's most anticipated festivals since 2013.
Film Review: Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards Broadens the Definition of Art
For reasons I can’t quite explain, I have an affection for films about the fashion industry, whether they’re about specific designers or tastemakers who run magazines, take photos, or otherwise […]
Film Review: Battle of the Sexes Is More Than the Average Sports Movie
Yes indeed, there was a 2001 ABC movie called (spoiler alert!) When Billie Beat Bobby, starring Holly Hunter and Ron Silver as the battling tennis players Billie Jean King and Bobby […]
Film Review: Jake Gyllenhaal in Stronger Impresses and Inspires
The two best films being released this week are based on high-profile true stories— ’70s tennis drama The Battle of the Sexes (see separate review) and the Boston Marathon bombing […]
Film Review: Eye-Catching Animation, Witty Repartee Keep The LEGO Ninjago Movie Interesting
When I say this is my least favorite of the three Lego animated films, I don’t mean that as an insult; I just mean that the The LEGO Movie and […]
Film Review: Kingsman Sequel is Bigger, Not Necessarily Better
Kingsman: The Secret Service, the 2014 British adaptation of the Mark Millar-Dave Gibbons comic book series, felt subversive because it didn’t feel like it was trying to be subversive. The […]
35th Reeling Film Festival Brings LGBTQ Films to Chicago
The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival known as Reeling—the second-oldest LGBTQ film festival in the world—kicks off its 35th annual events on Thursday, September 21, running through September 28 at […]
Film Review: Bold Documentary Rat Film Is Full of Creepy Vermin
Unlike the horror movie approach of Morgan Spurlock’s 2016 doc Rats, director Theo Anthony’s first feature, Rat Film, works more subtly in building anxiety levels. Here, it directly links the […]
Film Review: Flawed Rebel in the Rye Doesn’t Dig Deep Enough
Working from the biography J.D. Salinger: A Life by Kenneth Slawenski, writer-director Danny Strong (a successful screenwriter of such works as Lee Daniels’ The Butler and the two-part The Hunger […]
Film Review: First They Killed My Father is Angelina Jolie’s Best Film Yet
The quality of the films debuting on Netflix over the last couple of years has been on a steady incline. Even still, I wasn’t quite prepared for the devastating, true-life […]
Film Review: Cast Chemistry Saves Clunky Spy Thriller American Assassin
Neither great nor bad, but somewhere closer to okay, American Assassin’s strength lies in its appreciation of what an older generation has to offer a younger one, even if the […]
Film Review: mother! is Unsettling, Confusing and Entirely Riveting
You don’t so much watch the latest from writer-director Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, Black Swan) as you endure it, and I’m not saying that in an […]