My Favorite Cloris Leachman Performance
When I first heard that the tirelessly brilliant Cloris Leachman passed away yesterday at age 94, my mind immediately flashed back to the performance that made me a lifelong fan. […]
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Writing for RogerEbert.com: Vol. 6
On an icy night in December of last year, Julie Andrews arrived at the Chicago Theatre 14 years after her production of “The Boy Friend” graced the venue’s stage. She […]
John Fortson, Christie Lynn Smith and Abby Ryder Fortson on “Rated”
“I think we’re going to make a quarantine movie here pretty soon,” quipped actor/filmmaker John Fortson at the beginning of our Zoom chat a few days ago. Like all families […]
Why “Psycho” and “Alien” are the Perfect Double Bill
“Mother’s interrupted the course of our journey. She’s programmed to do that should certain conditions arise.”—Dallas (Tom Skerritt) 40 years ago today, Ridley Scott’s horror classic, “Alien,” went into wide […]
Emily Lape and Alison Hixon on “Mercy’s Girl”
Few films in recent memory have made me melt quite as often as “Mercy’s Girl,” Emily Lape’s debut feature as a writer, director, producer and editor. It was shot four […]
Out of Time: The Brilliant Soundtrack of Hal Ashby’s “Coming Home”
On May 7th of last year, I was fortunate enough to catch Amy Scott’s splendid documentary, “Hal,” at the Chicago Critics Film Festival. I had already been a fan of […]
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 […]
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 […]
Elizabeth Wood on “White Girl”
Nothing about the cinema of Elizabeth Wood could in any way be defined as timid. I’ll never forget the experience of seeing her solo feature debut, “White Girl,” at Chicago’s […]
Anne Zohra Berrached on “24 Weeks”
The topic of late-term abortion carries such a formidable taboo that few filmmakers have been brave enough to tackle it. German director Anne Zohra Berrached’s fearlessness was already on full […]
Indie Outlook 