Review: Tension on the Water as Infection Spreads in Sea Fever
To be honest, some of you might not be able to handle the messages and plot line of this eerily atmospheric contagion thriller from Ireland, Sea Fever, from writer/director Neasa […]
Review: Neon-Soaked The Wild Goose Lake is a Modern Noir Thriller
This Chinese film set in, of all places, the labyrinthian city of Wuhan, is a modern noir thriller and a terrific mystery, told partially in flashback. It begins when a […]
Review: We Summon the Darkness Flips Genre Expectations, Mostly Entertains While Doing So
The latest entry in the horror-comedy genre is the slightly lightweight but still enjoyable We Summon the Darkness, from director Marc Meyers (My Friend Dahmer, Human Capital) and writer Alan […]
Review: Catchy Songs and Eye-Popping Animation Return for Trolls World Tour
It’s difficult to believe that it has been four years since the original Trolls movie was released and turned into a legitimate hit. That was due in large part to […]
Review: Not Much to Toast to in Netflix’s Love. Wedding. Repeat
Netflix’s latest rom-com, Love. Wedding. Repeat, is an adaptation of a 2012 French film called Plan de table, a film that as far as I can gather never had much of a […]
Review: A Poignant, Familiar Story of Family and Struggle in Working-Class Sorry We Missed You
The title of Ken Loach’s latest working-class drama, Sorry We Missed You, is a reference to the notes Ricky (Kris Hitchen) leaves when he can’t complete the package deliveries on […]
Review: A Brutal Revenge Fable, The Other Lamb Attacks the Patriarchy Head-On
Polish filmmaker Malgorzata Szumowska’s dramatic feature In the Name Of… won the award for Best Feature Film at 2013’s Berlin Film Festival and received a sufficiently warm welcome when it […]
Review: Convoluted Narrative Aside, The Whistlers Makes for a Bold, Fun Crime Drama
Though he’s been a productive filmmaker for the last twenty years or so, I wasn’t familiar with writer/director Corneliu Porumboiu’s work until The Whistlers, a heist film that manages to entertain […]
Review: Slay the Dragon Channels the Political Drama, Intrigue Around Gerrymandering
Quite often, documentaries built around political themes have a long list of grievances but not a lot when it comes to solutions to the multitude problems being presented. The compelling […]
Review: Almost Love is a Clunky, Shallow Exploration of All Kinds of Relationships
Almost Love, the feature directorial debut from actor-turned-filmmaker Mike Doyle is an often playful but sometimes overly serious look at the shelf life of even the best of relationships. We […]
Chicago’s Independent Cinemas Find Creative Ways to Keep Us Entertained From Home
As we head into our second (and far from last) official week of Illinois’s “Stay at Home” order, keeping busy and entertained remains the best way to keep the Coronavirus […]
Review: A Dystopian Trip to Adulthood in Weirdly Unnerving Vivarium
While I’ve never been a fan of weird for weirdness’s sake, I do tend to enjoy it when there’s a touch of mischief—or even a dark streak—running through it. In […]