A Decade of Lady Gaga: Ten Unforgettable Performances
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, a.k.a. Lady Gaga, was born just six days after me on March 28th, 1986. Over the past decade, I’ve looked to her as one of the […]
Tag Archives: Vertigo
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 […]
That Moment When You Realize You Are Agent Cooper
“I believe that these mysteries are not separate entities but are, in fact, complementary verses of the same song. Now I cannot hear it yet, but I can feel it, […]
Top 20 Films of 2017: Part II
In a year that has consistently felt like an apocalyptic black comedy, albeit one that is no laughing matter, the greatest films have served as an anchor of sanity. I’m […]
The Angels, They Forgot Her: The Tragedy of “The Blackcoat’s Daughter”
“Just because someone isn’t alive anymore doesn’t mean your exploration of the relationship you have with that person doesn’t continue,” observed filmmaker Osgood “Oz” Perkins during our interview this past […]
Herrmann & Hitchcock: Symphony of Suspense
Few collaborations between artists have ever led to as indelible an array of art as the partnership of Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann. Of course, both men’s careers are legendary […]
The Living Dead
“Scottie, do you believe that someone out of the past—someone dead—can enter and take possession of a living being?”—Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) in “Vertigo” This ominous query forms the basis […]
Memories of Ebertfest 2014
Amazing how you can know someone for a few days and feel as though you’ve made a friend for life. That’s an experience not uncommon to the attendees at Ebertfest, […]
Top Ten Most Underrated Hitchcock Movies
Thirty-four years after his death, Alfred Hitchcock is more popular than ever. One of his films (“Vertigo”) was hailed by critics worldwide as the greatest film ever made, dethroning “Citizen […]
Shane Carruth on “Upstream Color”
Upon initial glance, Shane Carruth’s “Upstream Color” may seem like the most formidably impenetrable head-scratcher in many a moon. Like any potent fever dream, the film plays directly on the […]
Indie Outlook 