Top 20 Films of 2019: Part I
It’s humbling to realize that out of the twenty films I’ve selected as the finest of the year, only a small handful have received a wide theatrical release. Such is […]
Tag Archives: Universal Pictures
“The Witch” Reawakens Childhood Nightmares
Witches have always cast a spell on me. The more they frightened me as a child, the more I loved them. A few years ago, I ranked my top ten […]
The Walking Undead: Universal’s Classic “Dracula” Films
If Universal’s classic series of interlocking monster movies stands as the forbearer to Marvel’s current superhero franchise, then Dracula is surely the original Iron Man. His film was the one […]
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 […]
Cheer Up Charlize: Eight Essential Roles
Few performers in modern cinema have managed to reinvent themselves with as much spectacular success as Charlize Theron. Her various transformations over the last two decades have been astonishing to […]
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 […]
Popcorn Porn: “Fifty Shades” and “Kingsman”
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 […]
Persona Non Grata: The Persona of 3 Women on Mulholland Drive
I wrote the following essay back in college and later presented it at the University of Notre Dame’s Midwest Undergraduate Film Conference. It was written for Dan Rybicky’s class on […]
Why “The Birds” is a Film for Our Time
There’s a reason why great works of art are built to last. They tap into universal themes that can be applied to any generation, any culture, any personal life experience. […]
Indie Outlook 