The following interview was originally published at HollywoodChicago.com on August 21st, 2012. Few performers are lucky enough to make their big-screen debut in a hit movie, let alone two. In […]
The following interview with actor/filmmaker Sophia Takal was originally published on September 5th, 2012, at HollywoodChicago.com. Takal’s third directorial feature, “Black Christmas,” arrives in theaters on Friday. In a mere […]
I’ll never forget the moment I first fell in love with the cinema of Quentin Tarantino. Having grown up Catholic pre-Gibson’s “Passion,” I was not at all accustomed to graphic […]
It sure is a great time to be a “Star Wars” fan, and it sure is a lousy time to be George Lucas, at least according to George Lucas. The […]
There are about a million or so ways Marielle Heller’s “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” could’ve flown clear off the rails. While leaving the screening room, I ran into […]
In a recent interview with Moviemaker Magazine, Chicago’s trailblazing indie auteur Joe Swanberg was praised by writer Sean Hood for creating a “sustainable production model” based on creative tribalism. The […]
Interesting how two of this summer’s most entertaining and expertly crafted blockbusters are ultimately about the same thing. Dean DuBlois’ “How to Train Your Dragon 2” and Matt Reeves’ “Dawn […]
The 2014 Sundance Film Festival, held from Thursday, January 16th, to Sunday, January 26th, in Park City, Utah, offers an embarrassment of riches for any self-respecting cinephile. Merely attempting to […]
Audacity reigned at both mainstream multiplexes and art house theaters in 2013, proving once and for all that cinematic storytelling is best experienced on a big screen with a large […]
I’m always perplexed by critics who complain that nothing happens in Joe Swanberg’s films, as if a more straightforward plot structure would serve as an improvement. Swanberg’s films don’t have […]
