The Storm Clouds Broke
“No bags allowed,” said the theater attendant. Initially, I was shocked. I had carried my laptop bag with me to film screenings for the last several years, but today was […]
Tag Archives: Alfred Hitchcock
To Infinity and Beyond: Top Ten Pixar Movies
Perhaps only John Lasseter could’ve transformed an ordinary table lamp into the next Mickey Mouse. In his Oscar-nominated 1986 short, “Luxo Jr.”, Lasseter ingeniously brought a lamp to life by […]
Indie Outlook: Third Anniversary
Nothing excites me more than discovering an artist whose work is unlike anything I’ve seen before. The third year of Indie Outlook, my labor of love devoted to covering cinema’s […]
Jeffrey Westhoff on “The Boy Who Knew Too Much”
There were three film critics whose work I read on a weekly basis while growing up in Northern Illinois: Roger Ebert at the Chicago Sun-Times, Michael Wilmington at the Chicago […]
Top Ten Spielberg Summer Movies
Steven Spielberg is not only the undisputed king of summer movies, he invented them. Films were no longer mere entertainments, they were grand cultural events. The highest compliment one can […]
“Cinderella” (1950) VS “Cinderella” (2015)
It was the holiday season of 1987. Disney had rereleased its 1950 feature, “Cinderella,” in theaters on November 20th, and my parents decided to take their one-year-old son (full disclosure: […]
My Favorite Performance in the History of Cinema
It all starts with that helicopter shot. The Twentieth Century Fox logo twinkles in silence before fading out, as a billowing wind starts to sound. Suddenly, the audience finds itself […]
CIFF 2014: Six Films You Should See
Films have always been used as a vessel for escapist fantasy. The frivolous dilemmas of glamorous couples served as a comfort for Depression era-audiences just as superhero vehicles offer a […]
50 Enticing Titles at 50th CIFF
With the Chicago International Film Festival celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Indie Outlook is highlighting 50 of the most enticing titles scheduled to screen during the fest’s two-week run […]
Wandering in the Wilderness: Christian Indies of 2014
At its highest level, cinema can serve as a religious experience. It can strengthen our spiritual connection to the world around us while bringing us closer to life’s mysteries, illuminating […]
