The Wilmette Theatre is excited to announce a new, curated film series for children and families starting this spring. KIDS KLASSICS is a themed film series screening some of the most beloved classics. Each screening will be followed by a fun and educational talkback to engage young audiences to think about films in a new way. Hosted by Chicago film critic for Every Movie Has a Lesson and educator Don Shanahan, who will lead an interactive discussion.
Read MoreIn what has become an annual day-after-hangover and post-Oscars tradition, I have this editorial that closes the book on one awards season and declares the next one open for competition. Each year, I pull out the crystal ball and look into the murky future to prognosticate which films coming in 2018 will we be applauding for at this time next year for the 91st Academy Awards. Here are 19 films to watch for the 2019 Oscars.
Read MoreThroughout the awards season, I’ve been tallying the minor and lead-up award winners in all of the Oscar categories on the 2018 Awards Tracker as a big source of my prognostication data. In this fifth post, we look at the races for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. As I say every year, stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool!
Read MoreThat crucial third act would make a heck of a short film on its own. If we could fast-forward to there, we would be in business. Instead, we get the Eastwood hero worship vanity project parade. Invisible yet incredibly overt, The 15:17 to Paris freely flies its flags of god-fearing conservative morals, manly superiority, unwavering courage, dreams of glory, and military brotherhood. The content isn't lowered for Eastwood’s credibility, but the execution is, even if there is an audience for this sort of thing.
Read MoreThe wild use of the word "expectations" is another soapbox for a different day (and soon), but I long for a day when the repetitive spoiler blathering could go away, allowing patience to create real hype, not the over-marketed variety we have now, to create a higher form of anticipation. With that hope in mind, I have a challenge for all of you.
Read MoreIn a reversal of this practical parable’s usual cadence, one man’s treasure is another man’s trash. This is where the tastes, descriptions, and comparisons begin for 1975’s The Astrologer. A young man named Craig Denney set out to direct and star is his own feature film to break into stardom. It was a passion project of sorts derailed by a backstory of avoidable failure. Along the same lines as trash versus treasure, one filmmaker’s passion project is another man’s vanity film.
Read MoreWelcome, listeners new and old, to the FIRST episode of our new series “Connecting With Classics.” In this initial episode, Aaron and I discuss the #77 film on AFI’s Top 100 10th Anniversary list, and one which is closely connected to current new release The Post. If All the President’s Men isn’t the best journalism film ever made, it’s certainly in the conversation. Join us for some history, some lessons, and as always some emotional connection.
Read MoreThe end of the year brings grading and reflection points for both the school teacher in me and the film critic. Looking at the online Trapper Keeper portfolio called Every Movie has a Lesson, I published 126 full film reviews in 2017, topping last year’s 114 and setting a new high mark. Here’s my definitive list of the "10 Best" films of 2017. True to this website’s specialty, each film will be paired with its best life lesson. Enjoy!
Read MoreThough the day job work was no longer in the way, good times with family and friends was the better thing to do than lock myself in a room on a laptop and write. Three of these films are cracking my Top 20 of 2017 and possibly even my final “10 Best” list. A year-end bang like that deserves to be talked about, and I couldn’t keep sitting on them without getting something out to you. To get the good word out there, here are some quick hot take capsules of the films with full reviews in the works.
Read MoreFor an elevated feeling, combine the buzz of a gambling win with the real-life thrill of victory that comes from spectator sports. Betting on sports is like double the juice when you combine fandom with fun. Over in the arena of movies, my specialty, sports betting has been a popular plot point within the genre of gambling movies. Here’s my list of the top ten best sports betting films, peppered with little salutes and recommendations.
Read MoreMinutes after stepping out of an advance press screening of the most-anticipated movie of the year, Emmanuel Noisette of E-Man's Movie Reviews summoned his recording equipment and a brake-pumping exhale session for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The SPOILER ALERT neon light is on for the two of us breaking down our impressions, reservations, likes, dislikes, hopes, and dreams for this middle chapter of a new trilogy.
Read MoreIn a new annual series, Every Movie Has a Lesson is going to look back twenty years to revisit, relearn, and reexamine a year of cinema history to share favorites, lists, and experiences from the films of that year. Twenty years ago, I graduated high school in 1997 and the movie milestones matched the personal ones for me. Here's my list of the best of 1997.
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