CHICAGO – With a Chicago tradition that goes back four decades, the Goodman Theatre presents their holiday chestnut ‘A Christmas Carol’ for 2019, and it is simply stellar.
Science Fiction
‘Kin’ Overcomes Early Portrayal Issues to Score Big
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 31, 2018 - 9:08am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The concept of “family” has been romanticized to death in the movies in the last generation, coinciding with the increasing decline of actual togetherness. The new film “Kin” is essentially about family, but it also is about otherworldly weaponry, gritty crime lords and the old on-the-road story.
Consider the Meaning of Life Force in ‘Annihilation’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 23, 2018 - 7:19amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Alex Garland, the standout creator/director of “Ex Machina,” is back with “Annihilation,” another science fiction story. And like the previous film, it explores implications of a sci-fi event, in this case an outer space incident that restructures a cellular code, that ends up destructive.
Matt Damon in ‘Downsizing’ Offers Few Small Pleasures
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 22, 2017 - 9:51am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Downsizing” is an interesting premise that doesn’t ultimately go anywhere interesting. Part of the problem is that writer/director Alexander Payne doesn’t seem to know what kind of a movie he wants it to be… it’s part cerebral Woody Allen futuristic comedy, part sci-fi social satire about Midwestern malaise, and winds up failing at both.
Suspenseful ‘Life’ is Tense, Compelling Science Fiction
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 25, 2017 - 7:14am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Combining the invasion elements of “Alien” with the life-raft-in-space morbidity of “Gravity,” the new film “Life” maintains a grip from the enlightened beginning to the twisted end. Mars is the origin, so the film joins “The Martian” and “The Space Between Us” in sourcing the red planet.
Story Can’t Match Eye-Popping Visuals of ‘Passengers’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 24, 2016 - 9:31am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The use of science fiction for all kind of stories is one of the hottest go-to genres for Hollywood today. “Passengers” is a love story, and adds the visual glory of modern special effects…but the soapy tale of a star-crossed (literally) couple is problematic and cliché ridden, and breaks at the end with heroics that are shoehorned into the rest of the scenario.
Science of the Human Condition Makes an ‘Arrival’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 11, 2016 - 6:08pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The film genre of aliens from other planets is as old as the movies. But it hasn’t been told as boldly and humanely as the new film “Arrival.” Its theme is communication, and how this interaction relates to the concept of the life cycle. Yes, it’s lofty, but it is also edge-of-the-seat engaging.
‘Morgan’ Takes Out Intelligence in Artificial Intelligence
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 4, 2016 - 8:08pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There is nothing like the feeling of watching a completely immersive sci-fi film that delivers the complexity of technology in a modest package, and uses elements of nature to create a beautiful contrast. Unfortunately, “Morgan” doesn’t deliver on the enlightenment it promises.
There are Future Consequences in ‘Ex Machina’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 19, 2015 - 10:21pmRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The title “Ex Machina” is a play on Deus ex machina, the stage/scenario term meaning god from the machine, or the basic happy ending. By cutting out the “Deus” in the phrase, the film is left with just the machine, and the humans.
Farcical Themes Bring Laughs to ‘The World’s End’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 23, 2013 - 7:22amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In the collaboration of actors Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and director Edgar Wright, the best in life come in threes. Following their sublime “Shaun of the Dead” and the wacky “Hot Fuzz,” comes ther third comic film rendering, “The World’s End.”
Odd Fairy Tale of ‘Upside Down’ is Also Inside Out
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 15, 2013 - 11:44pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Definitely one of the strangest films so far in 2013 is “Upside Down,” featuring a dream pairing of Kirsten Dunst and Jim Sturgess. The problem is they exist as disparate lovers on opposing planets, with opposite gravitational pulls. Thus what is up for Kirsten is down for Jim, or vice-versa?
