Interview

CHICAGO – The name Rodriguez alone, although it carries a mysterious cache, isn’t identifiable as any individual. Rodriguez is Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, but when he was a troubadour musician in the 1960s and ‘70s he was simply “Rodriguez.”

CHICAGO – Actors Rashida Jones (“Parks and Recreation”) and Will McCormack (“Dirt”) dated a long time ago and have turned their break-up into an acclaimed new romantic dramedy, “Celeste and Jesse Forever.” Don’t be fooled by its title. Jones and McCormack’s film opens with Celeste (Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg) at the end of their marriage.

CHICAGO – Julia Reichert is a filmmaker of legendary proportions. Her career has spanned from the radical 1960s to the present, and along the way she has made passionate documentaries about life affirming and life evolving events, earning three Oscar nominations. She will make an appearance at Female Filmmakers Night at the Midwest Independent Film Festival on August 7th.

CHICAGO – One of the questions we’re never suppose to ask the married couple without kids is, ‘when are you going to have kids?’ There might be specific reasons that it’s none of your damn business. Surprisingly, there is a whole so-called comedy based on this question and answer. Olivia Munn goes kid hatching in ‘The Babymakers.’

CHICAGO – The behemoth that is China, in both population and world dominance, has its underbelly exposed through the new documentary, “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry.” Written and directed by American expatriate Alison Klayman, this documentary of a famous Chinese artist named Ai Weiwei – whose dissident artistic expression woke up his fellow citizens and invited scrutiny from a angry government – is a one-of-a-kind story.

CHICAGO – The comedy troupe Broken Lizard conquered the film world with their first feature, “Super Troopers” in 2001. Over the next decade, they followed up with the popular “Club Dread” (2004) and “Beerfest” (2008). Broken Lizard performers Kevin Heffernan and Jay Chandrasekhar (who also directs) go domestic in the new film “The Babymakers.”

CHICAGO – Now that I’ve seen William Friedkin’s stunning adaptation of Tracy Letts’ “Killer Joe” with Matthew McConaughey and Juno Temple, I can only imagine what it must have been like to experience its intensity in a small theater in Evanston nearly twenty years ago.

CHICAGO – The “Step Up” series of films not only have popularized and reflected the modern dance fever, but have also launched careers – Channing Tatum among them. Kathryn McCormick and Ryan Guzman are the latest Romeo-and-Juliet types in the new “Step Up Revolution,” the fourth installment of the movie sensation.

CHICAGO – Writer/director Rodrigo Cortes really broke through with the award-winning “Buried,” starring Ryan Reynolds. He returns this week with a very different thriller called “Red Lights,” starring the great Cillian Murphy, who joined Mr. Cortes recently in Chicago for a discussion about “2001,” working with Robert De Niro, and the complexity of audience expectations.

CHICAGO – Five years after earning praise for his directorial debut, “…Around,” indie filmmaker David Spaltro has returned behind the camera to deliver his second feature. The film, “Things I Don’t Understand” may be many things, but a sophomore slump it is not.