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 […]
“Such a nasty woman…”—Donald Trump, interrupting Hillary Clinton during their final presidential debate I must’ve been four or five when I viewed a trailer on a rented VHS tape that […]
When Cristian Mungiu wrote the script for his Cannes prize-winner, “Graduation,” he had only one person in mind for the film. It was Maria Dragus, an actress he had first […]
Millie Bobby Brown in “Stranger Things.” Angourie Rice in “The Nice Guys.” Ella Ballentine in “The Monster.” Dafne Keen in “Logan.” All excellent examples of performances by young women who […]
It’s easy for one to regard fart jokes as the lowest form of humor known to man. I have little doubt that the first laugh ever elicited in human history […]
One of the most powerful moments at last year’s Cannes Film Festival took place during the press conference for Hungarian director László Nemes’s astonishing feature debut, “Son of Saul.” It’s […]
To demonstrate just how spectacular a year it has been for film, this Top 10 list is followed by three “special honorable mentions,” which should be considered a tie for […]
With digital sound and fury continuously vying for our attention on a daily basis, flashy spectacle can no longer guarantee our engagement. Our hearts must be engaged as well in […]
A fateful encounter occurs at the Chateau Marmont in David Cronenberg’s perversely entertaining Hollywood satire, “Maps to the Stars.” Grotesquely desperate actress Havana Segrand (Julianne Moore) crosses paths with a […]
These films mean so very much to me. The best thing an end-of-the-year list can do is entice readers to seek out movies they might have otherwise overlooked, and that […]
