180 Essential Films by Female Directors
Yesterday, Greta Gerwig became the fifth woman ever to be nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards. This richly deserved achievement arrives 41 years after Lina Wertmüller made history […]
Indie Outlook Picks the 2017 Nominees
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 […]
Top 10 Moments in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”
Immediately after I saw Rian Johnson’s “Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi” at a press screening last week, I knew that I had to see it again before fully […]
Top 20 Films of 2017: Part II
In a year that has consistently felt like an apocalyptic black comedy, albeit one that is no laughing matter, the greatest films have served as an anchor of sanity. I’m […]
Top 20 Films of 2017: Part I
Over the past 11 years I’ve spent on the movie beat in Chicago, there have never been as many contenders for my annual “best of” list as there are in […]
Jumping the Wall: Andrew Droz Palermo’s “One & Two”
Timothée Chalamet and Kiernan Shipka are two of the best actors of their generation. The camera can hold on their faces for an indefinite amount of time and be constantly […]
Something Rare and Sacred: Elvira Lind’s “Bobbi Jene”
What constitutes an out-of-body experience for moviegoers? For me, it’s when a film transports me so entirely into the life of the person onscreen that I feel as if I […]
What’s Going On Here: The Dark Side of “The Room”
If laughter is one of the greatest gifts we can give and receive, then Tommy Wiseau’s 2003 cinematic disaster, “The Room,” is the bargain basement gift that keeps on giving. […]
Clare Cooney on “Runner”
A year before the Harvey Weinstein scandal upended Hollywood by placing a glaring spotlight on its culture of sexual harassment, the career of a similarly revered-yet-notorious figure in the Chicago […]
Margaret Betts on “Novitiate”
I’ve never tired of my parents’ stories detailing their Catholic education. Their vivid memories of the nuns who taught them run the gamut from endearing and hilarious to flat-out terrifying. […]
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