Netflix Discoveries: “In Bloom” and “Wet Bum”
Ever since I purchased a Blu-ray player that enables me to stream content from Netflix directly onto my TV, I have spent many an evening searching for titles—primarily foreign and […]
Category Archives: Indie Spotlight
I Don’t Know If I’m Coming or Going: An Appreciation of “Nine Lives”
Some wonderful things happen in the moments prior to a film screening. Strangers in the audience strike up a conversation, connections are made and in some cases, lives are forever […]
Emer Kinsella on a Life in Music
While covering a Columbia Links fundraiser held last summer at the childhood home of Ernest Hemingway, I was entranced by the live music performed throughout the evening by film composer […]
Pupinia Stewart is Stealing My Sanity
“Slowly, the penguins steal my sanity.”—message on T-shirt worn by friend in high school Among my very favorite memories of adolescence are the times that my sister and I would […]
Brad Bischoff on “The Grasshopper”
Let’s forgo beating around the bush and cut to the chase: Brad Bischoff is one of the most exciting writer/directors in the Chicagoland area. He’s made several short films, many […]
Roaring with Laughter: “The Lion in Winter”
When master cinematographer Douglas Slocombe passed away last month at age 103, tributes began pouring in from cinephiles around the globe, many of them citing his infamous work on the […]
Dietrich Brüggemann on “Heil”
In the fall of 2014, I was covering the Chicago International Film Festival when I stumbled upon Dietrich Brüggemann’s German drama “Stations of the Cross.” It was a shattering portrait […]
Harrison Ford’s Ten Best Non-Lucas Films
Ever since I saw “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” a whopping four times in theaters, I’ve been on a bit of a Harrison Ford kick. His triumphant return […]
The Walking Undead: Universal’s Classic “Dracula” Films
If Universal’s classic series of interlocking monster movies stands as the forbearer to Marvel’s current superhero franchise, then Dracula is surely the original Iron Man. His film was the one […]
Indie Outlook 