CHICAGO – Fact or fiction is a current debate in news programming, especially as people naturally digest “the news” that makes them comfortable. A new five-episode web series created by filmmaker Ashton Swinford, “Miss Information,” is a satire-oriented show that seeks to entertain and educate viewers on the bias, fake news and bot infiltration that litters social media.
Catholic Church
Film Review: Authentic Coming-of-Age in Expressive ‘Lady Bird’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 13, 2017 - 1:39pmCHICAGO – In one of the best American films of 2017, Greta Gerwig went behind the camera to write and direct an autobiographical overview of her Senior Year in high school, within a directionless town and family. The result is enlightening truth, told with laugh-out-loud directness and connective empathy. The film is a total winner.
Film Review: ‘Novitiate’ Goes Inside the 1960s Catholic Church
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 3, 2017 - 1:13pmCHICAGO – In a “mystery of faith” narrative disguised as a feminist statement, the new film “Novitiate” goes inside a nunnery in 1964 America, just as the Catholic Church was about to make some radical changes to their procedures. How it affected the church is how it affected the nuns, and the intriguing insider story is full of back room shocks.
Film Review: Despite One Premise, Laughs Are Plenty in ‘The Little Hours’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 14, 2017 - 11:07amCHICAGO – It occurred to me in assessing “The Little Hours” that the basic premise is somewhat like “The Beguiled” – a man is taken in, rooster-like, into a henhouse where there are women with “needs.” Except this time, instead of a girl’s boarding school, it is a 14th Century nunnery. Get thee to it, if thou wants to laugheth.
Film Review: Celebrating the Ordinary Couple in ‘Love is Strange’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 29, 2014 - 6:53amCHICAGO – It is a time, and the time is now. Leave it to filmmaker Ira Sachs to break a barrier simply by having the right timing. Exploring a long time gay couple, right at the cusp of their now-legal marriage, opens the door to an odd series of ordinary circumstances in “Love is Strange.”
Interview: Director Ira Sachs Reminds Us ‘Love is Strange’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 27, 2014 - 7:40amCHICAGO – One of the notable films to kick off the autumn film season is writer/director Ira Sach’s “Love is Strange.” The story of two men in a longtime gay relationship, who finally can marry – but whose lives go off track unexpectedly – features brilliant performances from veterans John LIthgow and Alfred Molina.
Film Review: Life’s Other Plans at Full Disclosure in ‘Philomena’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 27, 2013 - 4:26pmCHICAGO – Although “Philomena” sounds like a faraway land, it actually is a name of a real Irish lady, who lost her son through a Catholic adoption service that was designed to hide her out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Judi Dench portrays the title character as an older woman, with Steve Coogan as the reporter trying to help locate the son for her.
Interview: Steve Coogan on the Art of Faith in ‘Philomena’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 26, 2013 - 12:14amCHICAGO – “Philomena” is not a state of being or location. It is the name of a woman whose child was taken away, through Catholic adoption services in Ireland during the mid 20th Century. Judi Dench portrays that woman in a modern context, and her costar is notable British comedian – and co-screenwriter of the story – Steve Coogan.
