Today marks the end of the 54th Chicago International Film Festival, and I feel as if it’s only begun. My crazier-than-usual schedule combined with a lack of pre-festival press screenings […]
A “Starr” is truly born in “The Hate U Give,” George Tillman Jr.’s riveting screen adaptation of Angie Thomas’ bestselling book, which was published only last year. Amandla Stenberg turns […]
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, a.k.a. Lady Gaga, was born just six days after me on March 28th, 1986. Over the past decade, I’ve looked to her as one of the […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
There are few things more enjoyable than watching a great movie (or a not-so-great one) through the eyes of another person, especially if that person has the exuberance and wit […]
When you’re a teenager in the public school system, there are few things harder to be than yourself. Adolescence is such a volatile period of insecurity that kids often create […]
2017 has been an extraordinary year for cinema, and as per tradition, I am providing my list of the nominees I would like to see included in various awards season […]
