Environment

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review for the “Evil Does Not Exist,” the latest film from Japanese writer/director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, whose “Drive My Car” won Best International Film at the 2022 Oscars. In select theaters since May 10, 2024. See local listings.

CHICAGO – Carla Bruni is a Chicago preservationist, and had a unique idea for a Fellowship within her discipline. Her idea became “Community Glue,” a gathering of repair artists and seamstresses to … you guessed it … repair/mend broken and damaged items, instead of throwing them away.

CHICAGO – These are strange and isolating times for everyone. As someone who thrives on covering concerts, during the pandemic I sometimes feel like a part of me is missing. Luckily, one recent quarantine phenomenon that has helped me and other live music addicts fill the void is the surge of live online performances.

CHICAGO – “The Call Of The Wild” is an old fashioned story with some expensive and unnecessary technological upgrades. Foregoing man’s best friend in reality, the film replaces the featured dog with an entirely digital creation … which I can’t say was an improvement.

CHICAGO – It’s week three in Season Eight of Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema (APUC), featuring films from Taiwan. On Thursday, March 28th, 2019, APUC will screen “High Flash,” a whodunnit thriller mixing romance, corporate intrigue, the environment and politics.

CHICAGO – The British artist Andy Goldsworthy is a true “outsider” artist, because many of his works are rooted in the grown-and-death cycles of the great outdoors. He is described as a sculptor, photographer and environmentalist, but many of his art creations use materials available in any wooded area, based on a connection to nature combined with a creative soul. This is profiled in the second film about him from the same director, “Leaning Into the Wind - Andy Goldsworthy.”

CHICAGO – There are a few things in our lives that, if we’re lucky, we will never have to experience. Things like childbirth, limb loss, or a near death experience. The closest most of can get is by watching a well-made film. If “Deepwater Horizon” succeeds at anything, it’s creating the engrossing experience of being there on that fateful day.

CHICAGO – As modern life becomes more toxic and technology uses more chemicals within everyday foodstuffs and products, the consequence for disease and sickness as a result is an increasing threat. Ed Brown, a filmmaker and concerned family man, explores this phenomenon in a new documentary, “Unacceptable Levels.”