While ambitious as a ripe tangent in borrowing a real-life scandal, the whole shadowing angle of May December overloads what was excessive enough as off-screen history to begin with. Applying a smattering of unlikely kinks and a confounding third act of insecurity swerves sinks the film. Haynes is left with a mood piece of examining taboo with more taboo. and it gets unattractively lost in just that very vibe.
Read MoreTo press that feeble aesthetic further, the dramatic soap of Empire of Light is that everyone is cleansed when lovely cinematic journeys push viewers and servants alike to go out and get the life they want. Movie theaters are indeed an oasis of culture, a safe haven for friendship, and a shared glue of communal experiences. Can movies unlock repressed emotions for Hilary or improve her attitudinal state? Maybe and maybe not, but it’s quaintly nice to think so.
Read MoreIf you believe it, the city of Chicago has more citizens of Irish ancestry than Boston, myself among them. That means we know our whiskey and we know how to party. As the Irish say, when a party gets rowdy, they call it a “hooley.” The Windy City has two upcoming opportunities to have that kind of cinematic party with the 8th annual Irish American Movie Hooley.
Read MoreCalling down the inspirational Biblical thunder of Psalm 22:20 that swings like a pendulum between beloved darlings delivering souls and the deadly teeth of sin, The Power of the Dog allows straight bitterness to build its texture of smoke. You have a western that doesn’t pull a trigger to make its points. It kills without blades or bullets. Call it a woman’s touch, if you must, but that would be dismissive when you consider the source material and its notable twists.
Read MoreAll of these lessons centered on Buddy’s experiences speak to the greater hopeful streak of generational bonds at the heart of the film. Backed by a soundtrack of reminiscent Van Morrison songs, the exit emotions of Belfast strike terrific chords for the power of home beyond brick and mortar. Branagh’s movie closes with a three-pronged tribute of “For the ones who stayed,” “For the ones who left,” and “For all the ones who were lost” as it transitions back to a current Northern Ireland where the healing has regenerated a viable city and region.
Read MoreTry as she may, though, I look at the woman playing Princess Diana, even with all the clear personal commitment, and all I see is Kristen Stewart. Thanks to her own natural twitches under her blonde helmet of hair, Stewart’s same agape expressions and same exasperating line deliveries land a lip bite or two away from showing us it’s more her than who’s she playing.
Read MoreReadying its eager and loose dramatic license, the opening message of The Harder They Fall begins with “While the events of this story are fictional…” and changes to proclaim “These. People. Existed.” fading in one word at a time with those table-slamming periods. Consider that an emphatic shout to be heard that is louder than any broken bone or gunshot that follows in this Netflix release. The indignation seething from this movie is warranted and gladly received.
Read MoreAll can be asked in a simpler way. Can the melodramatic be made mythic and can the gaudy be made truly grand? Do that and you’ve got the fans and the newbies. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune moves a great many things in spectacular fashion: sand, swords, aircraft, plots, necks, eardrums, eyelids, and more. For all its triumphant fury, what Dune doesn’t move is the heart. That is the unconquered core barrier that remains unshaken. Golly, do we ever have a jaw-dropping and cold movie!
Read MoreIt is also through her side of the story, clearly a huge product of Holofcener’s storytelling contributions, where the historical behaviors in The Last Duel accurately yet problematically fly against our still-evolving modern attitudes. While Scott’s film may follow the charted multiple perspectives of Jager’s well-researched novel, folding its painful and triggering trauma three times makes for an exorbitant and unsettling movie experience.
Read MoreFrom dramas and thrillers to documentaries and comedies, the 57th Chicago International Film Festival presents an outstanding diversity of offerings. As in other years, their competitive categories and programs include Cinemas of the Americas, International Comedy, Women in Cinema, OutLook, After Dark, the 25th anniversary of the Black Perspectives focus, and the City & State program highlighting films made in Chicago and throughout Illinois.
Read MoreLast year’s Drive-In offerings for the 56th Chicago International Film Festival were a big success at the ChiTown Movies location in the Pilsen neighborhood. Continuing that success, the Drive-In program has returned with its classic format for the upcoming 57th Chicago International Film Festival. Five drive-in features will be presented at 2343 South Throop Street. Tickets to the Chicago International Film Festival drive-in screenings, and the full program and drive-in schedule are available online now.
Read MoreFolks, it’s been a year, but fortunes and health are looking up enough to maybe get back to some good old fun. As the Irish say, when a party gets rowdy, they call it a “hooley.” For movie fans, I think it’s high time we mix a little whiskey with our night out. As the Irish like to say, when a party gets rowdy, they call it a “hooley.” With that vibrancy in mind, the 7th annual Irish American Movie Hooley returns to the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago this weekend. This resident Chicagoan with Irish roots has you covered.
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