Review: Good on Paper Might’ve Been Good Enough on Paper, but it’s Very Bad on Screen
The biggest problem with Good on Paper, a film based on a true story that’s based on a lie (stay with me here) that is rife with problematic moments, is that […]
Review: As Predictable as It Is Exciting, Liam Neeson’s Latest, The Ice Road, Gets Points for Authenticity
Well, it’s been about a month or so, so it must be time for a new Liam Neeson movie to pop up on a streaming service, as God intended it. […]
Review: False Positive Uses Horror and Social Commentary to Explore Fertility, Pregnancy and Female Agency
If you’re looking for a comedic partnership team who, between the two of them, have worked on such shows as Wonder Showzen, Inside Amy Schumer, The Heart, She Holler, and, […]
Review: Compact, Focused Mary J Blige’s My Life Documentary Explores the Trauma, Inspiration of Artist’s Most Personal Album
Less a life/career-spanning documentary biopic and more focusing on the work of art that set the stage for the career that followed, director Vanessa Roth’s Mary J Blige’s My Life […]
Review: Small Town Residents and Rumors Run Amok in Funny, Surprising Werewolves Within
As strange as it may seem, the video game-inspired horror comedy Werewolves Within is less about a monster terrorizing a small Vermont town in the dead of winter and more […]
Review: Summer of 85 Weaves Death Into a Seaside Love Affair
How can you not love a story of young romance set in a candy-colored beach town in Le Treport, Normandy? All the ingredients are there. Gorgeous scenery. Two beautiful young […]
Review: F9 is More Furious than Fast, an Overstuffed Entry in an Overlong Franchise
Is it my imagination, or do most of the Fast & Furious movies spend about a third of their running times explaining or rewriting the events of previous installments? I […]
Review: Comedian Kevin Hart Aims for Something More Thoughtful, Gentle in Pleasantly Engaging Fatherhood
For a guy who is considered a powerhouse one-man publicity machine, Kevin Hart surprised me by not being out promoting his latest work yet. Fatherhood is a lighter drama with […]
Review: Pixar’s Luca Is a Sweet Family Story of Friendship, Loyalty and Wanting to Fit In
Ten years ago, ahead of the Pixar film Brave, I remember seeing a beautiful short called La Luna, about three generations of a family who were tasked with cleaning up […]
Preview: Chicago’s Documentary Film Festival DOC10 Returns with a Weekend of Must-See Non-Fiction Films
After taking a year off due to the pandemic, Chicago’s premier documentary film festival, Doc10 (June 17-20), kicks off with one of the year’s most musically joyous offerings, Ahmir “Questlove” […]
Review: Aggressively Abrasive and Unfunny, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is Uncompromisingly Bad
If you could obtain a copy of the screenplay for The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, I bet you’d discover that it was typed in ALL CAPS, with every sentence ending in […]
Review: All Light, Everywhere Explores Bias, Perspective and Vision Throughout History and in Today’s Communities
If it’s possible for a film to be both deeply meditative and startlingly evocative at the same time, All Light, Everywhere may just be that film. A documentary by Theo Anthony […]