Olmo Omerzu on “Winter Flies”
Olmo Omerzu has quickly emerged as one of my favorite filmmakers yet to be discovered by the majority of Americans. By age 33, the Slavic director has helmed three features […]
Author Archives: Indie Outlook
Miranda Harcourt on “The Changeover” and Whānau Values in New Zealand
When I flew to cover the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for RogerEbert.com earlier this summer, it was only my second time outside of North America. I was thrilled yet […]
Dazzling “Cielo” Provides Dose of Spiritual Awareness
Alison McAlpine’s documentary “Cielo” is the sort of meditative tone poem guaranteed to evoke moments in life that altered your perception of existence. That first ride on a plane where […]
Austin Pendleton and Ann Whitney on “Calumet”
The mind boggles when attempting to summarize the careers of Austin Pendleton and Ann Whitney. They are two of the finest actors ever to grace the stage in Chicago, and […]
Masterful 1990 German Film “The Nasty Girl” is Frighteningly Timely
“Such a nasty woman…”—Donald Trump, interrupting Hillary Clinton during their final presidential debate I must’ve been four or five when I viewed a trailer on a rented VHS tape that […]
Why Bo Burnham’s “Eighth Grade” Gets It Right
“Let me sail, let me sail, let the Orinoco flow. Let me reach, let me beach on the shores of Tripoli. Let me sail, let me sail, let me crash […]
Writing for RogerEbert.com: Vol. 4
A surreal and wonderful event occurred during my coverage of the 90th Academy Awards for RogerEbert.com. I was in the official press room surrounded by 200 other journalists, including Ebert […]
Indie Outlook: Sixth Anniversary
When people ask me for advice on how to be a writer, I always encourage them to find a way to write about what they love, regardless of what their […]
The Wizardry of Frank Oz: Why You Must See “In & Of Itself”
It has been exactly one month since I saw Frank Oz’s “In & Of Itself” at the Daryl Roth Theatre in New York City. Ever since that unforgettable evening, not […]
Schrader & Brüggemann: Masters of Slow Cinema
The most exciting film opening in Chicagoland theaters today has absolutely nothing to do with “Star Wars,” though it does harken back to another crucial work of the 1970s. Before […]
