CHICAGO – It is Chicago where New York City native Harry Wood is debuting his first play, entitled “Roast,” through The Comrades theater company at the Greenhouse Theater Center. The comic drama, about a gathering of stand up comics and relatives to “roast” – rather than eulogize – a deceased fellow comedian, is a World Premiere that runs through August 18th, 2019. For tickets and more information, click here.
A24
‘The Farewell’ Greets with Cultural, Emotional Exploration
Submitted by JonHC on July 22, 2019 - 5:34am Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – We all have those family stories that seem just so uniquely ours that it is hard to believe anyone could actually relate to them. Stories that, at the time, don’t seem like anyone else would even understand. Lulu Wang proves in “The Farewell” that all it takes is a little empathy, a skilled storyteller, and a group of talented people to bring any story to life.
Mind-Blowing ‘Midsommar’ is Disturbing and Beautiful
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 4, 2019 - 11:27am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Midsommar” is beautifully composed, disturbing in nature and very very Swedish. Writer/Director Ari Aster creates a stunning sophomore effort (after his brilliant debut “Hereditary”) that is pure cinema, and weaves a fantastical tale of humanity stripped to its bare bones. It moves a bit slow, but it also builds to something completely original and unexpected.
Julianne Moore is a Ringing Sensation in ‘Gloria Bell’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 14, 2019 - 8:16pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The sheer ordinariness of life is not fodder for most dramatic films … the popcorn munchers generally turn out for something more high concept. But in Exhibit A, there is “Gloria Bell,” in which Julianne Moore portrays the title character in a series of ordinary extraordinary events.
Growing Up Fast in the Skateboard Life of ‘Mid90s’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 29, 2018 - 10:33amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Character actor Jonah Hill has just scored behind the camera. As writer/director of a authentic look back at the “Mid90s” he went back to his inner source of growing up in that 1990s time, skateboarding with his buds and experiencing the teenage life. The story never blinks, as the teens are authentic and the situations they get in even more so.
Awkward & Difficult is Played Out in ‘Eighth Grade’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 22, 2018 - 3:22pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – We’ve all been there. Depending on what school structure you lived through, everyone had issues in “Eighth Grade.” Writer/director Bo Burnham puts those universal issues in a modern context (social media, online video), and portrays them through a girl struggling to belong while navigating the choppy waters of adolescence. It’s difficult, awkward and representative.
Toni Collette Discovers that Horror is ‘Hereditary’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 8, 2018 - 6:20pmRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The classic horror/psychological films continue to chill our souls long after the experience of them. “Hereditary” uses a masterful performance by Toni Collette, and layers it with symbolic commentary and freaky scares to accomplish that lingering discomfort. After viewing it, the cluck of the tongue will never be the same.
Funny ‘The Disaster Artist’ Takes Us Back to ‘The Room’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 1, 2017 - 11:44am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “The Room” is a post-millennial cult movie that plays the midnight and college movie circuit, entertaining audiences with its sheer badness. Its story is told in the “The Disaster Artist,” featuring James Franco as the director of “The Room,” and he also directed the film. Very meta.
Authentic Coming-of-Age in Expressive ‘Lady Bird’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 13, 2017 - 1:30pmRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – 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.
Individualism in ‘Menashe’ Challenges the Tribe
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 15, 2017 - 11:05amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – We all belong to something, be it a family, workplace, congregation or (expansively) a tribe. But within all that belonging is a sometimes nagging feeling of being an outsider. There is not a human being in existence that hasn’t felt that way, and a new film expresses that feeling in “Menashe.”
‘It Comes at Night’ is a Terror-Filled, Nightmarish Delight
Submitted by JonHC on June 10, 2017 - 11:38pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Good horror films are difficult to find. Last year, we got the extremely satisfying horror film, “The Witch,” with breakout star Charlie the goat, AKA Black Phillip. Horror films that aren’t franchised cliches are hard to come by, but “It Comes at Night” delivers. The entire atmosphere is mysterious and foreboding. We go into this film blind as if we were stumbling through a forest at night. That is where we find the terrors, and ourselves.
