The following review is penned by guest contributor Patrick McDonald, freelance writer and the Über Critic. At the recent Emmy Awards, there was one TV series collecting the statues as […]
“That’s the magic of movies,” Alfred Hitchcock told Veronica Cartwright on the set of his 1963 masterpiece, “The Birds,” upon explaining to her how a bit of pantomime married with […]
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 […]
The structurally audacious, vividly nuanced work of Dutch filmmaker and playwright Joost van Ginkel has been one of my most cherished discoveries this year. His first feature, 2011’s “170 Hz,” […]
There is no foolproof guidebook on how to make a living as an artist. For Michael Glover Smith, his passion for film has taken him many places before he arrived […]
Few films this year have left me feeling more elated and hopeful than Rebecca Parrish’s sublime documentary, “Radical Grace.” It follows three key members of the “Nuns on the Bus” […]
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, audiences around the country have two pieces of cheerfully dumb, studio-approved, hard R-rated pornography to choose from at mainstream theaters. One is Sam Taylor-Johnson’s […]
Kasey, Anthony and Roque are three extraordinary Chicago teens with personalities and aspirations that are a natural fit for the big screen. They also just happen to be among the […]
There are few things less compelling than a reverential biopic that strips a fascinating human life of all blemishes and shortcomings. How can one be expected to get involved in […]
With the release of his 15th feature, the star-studded romantic comedy, “Drinking Buddies,” this past summer, it’s clear that the Windy City’s micro-budget auteur, Joe Swanberg, has succeeded in working […]
