Fellow Chicago critic Jeff York is a delight to talk to on any and all topics, but our movie chats have become truly special. Jeff was able to view and review Kenneth Branagh's remake of Murder on the Orient Express. He's a self-professed fan and cover-to-cover expert on the Agatha Christie source novel and the previously celebrated 1974 film adaptation. His review will do better informative service than mine ever would.
Read MoreThere is extreme thematic and visceral content in mother! that will rattle even the toughest souls. Metaphorical imagery and symbolism are everywhere, and the number of literal and figurative interpretations of what is implicitly or explicitly transpiring can kill as many brain cells as it multiplies. The film begs endless questioning. Surviving and absorbing the film becomes a maddening experience. In the end, what is evident to celebrate is also categorically impossible to fully condone.
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