MOVIE REVIEW: Landline

If the Windy City can show us anything, it’s that die-hard Chicago Cub fans come in all shapes, sizes, and ages. More so, fans come from different walks of life, waving flags of different colors, including, best of all, the rainbow-colored variety. “Landline,” from local do-it-all filmmaker Matthew Aaron, is a fun-loving LGBTQ+ comedy merging ardent North Siders with snappy musings on our societal obsessions with technology, all in proximity to the heavenly palace that is Wrigley Field.

2017, 2 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Video on DemandDon ShanahanMarch 26, 2017Music Box Theatre2017, Landline, Matthew Aaron, LGBT, LGBTQ+, LGBTQ, Chicago, Chicago films, Ryne Sandberg, Chicago Cubs, Hall of Fame, Jim O'Heir, Tom Arnold, Chicago premiere, VOD, Video on Demand, Video On Demand, Music Box Theatre, Nick Searcy, Parks and Recreation, Breaking Bad, Patrick Hartigan, Chad Michael Singer, Betsy Brandt, Justified, Castaway, Wrigley Field, Lagunitas, Garnier, film review, movie review, independent films, indie film, Chicago filmmakers, film commentary, movie commentary, life lessons, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, Life lessons, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Facebook, Facebook page, Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan Comments

COLUMN: New Year's Resolutions for the Movie Industry in 2017

Plenty of regular everyday people make New Year's Resolutions, but I think bigger entities, namely movie makers and movie moguls, need to make them too. Annually, including this sixth edition, this is my absolute favorite editorial to write every year. I have fun taking the movie industry to task for things they need to change. I'm sarcastic, but I'm not the guy to take it to the false internet courage level of some Twitter troll. This will be as forward as I get all year.

2016, Column, Editorial, SPECIALDon ShanahanDecember 31, 2016New Year's Resolutions for the Movie Industry, New Year's Resolutions, Column, Editorial, 2016, 2017, New Year's Eve, Adam Sandler, Seth McFarlane, Michael Phillips, MTV, Donald Trump, Felicity Jones, Natalie Portman, Jessica Chastain, Jackie, Miss Sloane, Emma Stone, La La Land, #OscarsSoWhite, Moonlight, Fences, Hidden Figures, Mahershala Ali, Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Naomie Harris, Octavia Spencer, Ava DuVernay, 13th, The Birth of a Nation, Southside with You, The Fits, Kicks, LGBT, Disney/Marvel, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Sony Entertainment, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Homecoming, X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool, Doctor Strange, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Geoff Johns, Denis Villeneuve, Dwayne Johnson, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, Ridley Scott, Alien: Covenant, Jumanji, Baywatch, Kicking the Seat, Pixar, Pixar Punch, Sing, The Secret Life of Pets, The Angry Birds Movie, The Emoji Movie, Pete's Dragon, Mark Wahlberg, Deepwater Horizon, Patriots Day, Transformers: The Last Knight, Jason Statham, Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters, Damien ChazelleComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Moonlight

I dare you to look into the painful eyes of the three ages of Chiron and their matching performers and not have your soul triple in weight. The arc in "Moonlight" from the innocence of the little boy to the uncomfortable vulnerability hiding underneath the muscles and gold fronts of the hardened resulting adult is arduously moving on multiple levels. Observing his difficulties forces you to absorb the conflict and inescapable trepidation that surrounds the shared character. Pressing his heart to your own makes for one of the most moving and rewarding film experiences this year.

2016, 5 STARS, Chicago Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanNovember 6, 2016Landmark Century Centre Cinemas2016, Festival coverage, festival preview, Chicago International Film Festival, 52nd Chicago International Film Festival, Black Perspectives, Special Presentations, Moonlight, Barry Jenkins, Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, Alex Hibbert, Barbara Lewis, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Brad Pitt, Plan B, #OscarsSoWhite, James Laxton, Nicholas Britell, Loving, Jeff Nichols, Andre Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Janelle Monae, Jaden Piner, Liberty City, Miami, LGBT, LGBTQ+, Boyhood, Richard Linklater, film review, movie review, film commentary, movie commentary, Life lessons from movies, life lessons from films, life lessons from movies, life lessons, life lessons from film, Life lessons, Audience Award, 2016 Fall Movues, 2016 Fall Movies, 2016 Holiday Movies, Oscar contenders, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, independent filmsComment

MOVIE REVIEW: BFFs

While watching a film about dysfunctional relationships, regardless of its drama or comedy slant, one cannot help but measure their own relationship against the examples they are observing on screen. The judgmental reactions, either spoken or unspoken, cannot be contained. To capitalize on that drawing power without going to far, frankness and believability become key. Debuting on VOD on June 3, the film festival favorite "BFFs" can call those two storytelling essentials allies and welcomes the fun of esteem-boosting judging.

COLUMN: New Year's Resolutions for the Movie Industry in 2016

As I say every year, plenty of regular everyday people make New Year's Resolutions, but I think bigger entities, namely movie makers and movie moguls, need to make them too. Over the life of this website, this is my absolute favorite editorial to write every year. I have fun taking the movie industry to task for things they need to change. I'm sarcastic, but I'm not the guy to take it to the false internet courage level of some Twitter troll. This will be as forward as I get all year.

2016, Column, Editorial, SPECIALDon ShanahanJanuary 1, 2016New Year's Resolutions, New Year's Resolutions for the Movie Industry, Movie trends, Movie problems, 2016, Column, Editorial, 2015 films, strong female protagonists, female protagonists, female leads, LGBT, LGBTQ+, Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road, Carol, The Danish Girl, Stonewall, Grandma, racism, xenophobia, jingoism, Chi-Raq, documentary, Netflix, Beasts of No Nation, J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Lucasfilm, Walt Disney Pictures, Han Solo, Boba Fett, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Golden Goose, Kevin Feige, Marvel Films, Joss Whedon, Ava DuVernay, Black Panther, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Warner Bros. Pictures, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Spider-Man, Sony Pictures, Adam Sandler, Pixels, The Ridiculous 6, VOD, Video On Demand, Seth McFarlane, Ted 2, Terminator, Terminator: Genisys, Minions, Honest Trailers, Jennifer Lawrence, Alicia Vikander, Brie Larson, Room, Ex Machina, Joy, The Good Dinosaur, Fifty Shades of GreyComment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Danish Girl

Tom Hooper's new film, "The Danish Girl" based on the fictionalized account of Lili Elbe, spearheads what has been a banner 2015 year for LGBT film subjects. This a film not about a character looking for love. All that person wants is to be the truest version of themselves on the inside in a time where what that means on the outside would not be accepted publicly. The philosophy of it all brings us back to Ralph Waldo Emerson when he said, "What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you." "The Danish Girl" delivers a story that matches the matter of Emerson's thoughts on the past, future, and inside.

MOVIE REVIEW: Carol

51st Chicago International Film Festival OUT-Look Special Presentation

"Carol," among many other superlatives, is a film completely driven by the weight of reason and accountability within its female lead characters. Played by Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and Oscar nominee Rooney Mara, we witness two women formulating the capacity to reason with the undeniable truths they find in their hearts while understanding the ramifications and accountability acting on those feelings would result in as women of the pre-feminist 1950s. "Carol" is a fascinating and empowering love story, no matter what label you associate for your identity or disposition.

MOVIE REVIEW: The New Girlfriend

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the most basic two-part definition of the word "identity" is "who someone is" and "the qualities, beliefs, etc. that make a particular person or group different from others." That notion of identity speaks to both our distinguishing physical appearance and persona on the outside as well as our internal soul, thoughts, preferences, and desires. In 2015, a captivating year where our own country has legalized same sex marriage and the introduction of Caitlyn Jenner set off shockwaves, our society is coming around to learning and understanding that not all identities fit into the usual two check-boxes of "male" and "female." We are witnessing the emerging battle for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) equality right before our eyes.

EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON

by Don Shanahan

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