This past week, I was cordially invited and honored to join a panel on the "Kicking the Seat" podcast hosted by Ian Simmons. As always, Ian is joined by his regular wingman David Fowlie of Keeping it Reel. We left a seat warm for mutual friend Emmanuel Noisette of E-Man's Movie Reviews, but he couldn't make it. Ian, David, and I have talked comic book movies before, so it was only proper to get together for Justice League.
Read MoreFellow CIFCC critic and director Jim Alexander of Reel Talker extended the invitation for me to co-host a new episode of his podcast. On this installment of the Reel Talker podcast, Jim and I discuss the July movie releases and which we consider hits or flops. Also, he and I disclose our Top 10 movie lists through the halfway point of 2017. Jim and I had very different picks, chock full of surprises!
Read MoreKathryn Bigelow's new film Detroit deserves the attention and lightning rod attraction it hopes to receive. Her historical drama is unrelenting in weight and topical in its parallels to similar and remaining mistreatment still happening today. On the same night as seeing an advance screening, three critics got together to unpack and reaction to Detroit. Aaron White, one of the hosts of the Feelin' Film Podcast, invited me and fellow Chicago critic Emmanuel Noisette of Eman's Movie Reviews to put our thoughts and feelings into words.
Read MoreSome movies move some people while leaving others scratching their heads. Welcome to an incredible movie therapy session. Aaron White of the Feelin' Film Podcast and I do our best to tell you what A Ghost Story is, and isn’t, so that you can decide if it’s worth your time. It will either frustrate you or leave you haunted. Listen now to this episide of "Feelin' It" to find out which you’ll be.
Read MoreThrough my collaboration with the folks at the Feelin' Film Podcast, I have had the pleasure of crossing virtual paths with Chad Hopkins, the host of The Cinescope Podcast. He cordially invited me on as a guest for a podcast talk on John Avildsen's The Karate Kid as an off-shoot sample of American values just in time for Independence Day.
Read MoreFriend-of-the-page Emmanuel Noisette of Eman's Movie Reviews invited me to record the beginnings of a new podcast for his brand. Because his YouTube reviews tend to be spoiler-free, these new chats will be spoiler-filled reactions and discussions. As always, we have a fun back-and-forth as two guys free of "fanlexia" to praise Spider-Man: Homecoming. Enjoy!
Read MoreScheduled months ago after starting to write my regular weekly column with them, the hosts of the "Feelin' Film" podcast, Aaron White and Patrick Hicks, kindly asked me to guest on a future full-length podcast episode. The film was Phil Alden Robinson's 1989 keeper (check that: classic) Field of Dreams. As fate would have it, the viewing and the show fell on Father's Day week. Father’s Day and baseball go together like Heaven and Iowa.
Read MoreThe new "Feelin' Film+" shows on the Feelin' Film Podcast website set out to document full-throated and unfiltered reactions to film showings, spoilers and all. Feelin' Film host Aaron White and his team have me on speed dial for these hot takes and mental exercise put on the mic and recorder. Here's my therapy session with Aaron for It Comes at Night.
Read MoreThe new "Feelin' It" quick takes on the Feelin' Film Podcast website are designed to be spoiler-free impressions to help audiences make decisions of whether to see a film or not. Feelin' Film co-leader Aaron White, a fellow press credentialed critic, has enlisted me to come on for many of these reaction discussions. Here are my two most recent appearances talking Cars 3 and Alien: Covenant.
Read MoreEpisode 3 of the Reel Talker Podcast is all about Wonder Woman. I was invited again to join Jim Alexander, my fellow co-founder and co-director of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle. Jim brings up his frustrations with the early Wonder Woman critic reactions while I discuss my favorite moments of the film and why I think it can be an inspirational movie. We also debate where Wonder Woman ranks among DC movies. All that and more in the Reel Talker podcast!
Read More“In a Valley of Violence” lives up to the promised bloodshed suggested by its title and spins its own brand of tension and, best of all, a frank and bone-dry humor that blows into the whole film. You will either love the comedic edge or find it a distraction from the revenge. There is an undeniable panache to the absurdity that makes the film an absolute hoot. This is the giddy Western Quentin Tarantino wishes he could make while he wastes six hours of our time and stretched disbelief.
Read MoreThree of the four founders and directors, including yours truly, of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle brandished their firearm-free first-takes and reviews of "War Dogs" starring Jonah Hill and Miles Teller, directed by Todd Phillips. Here's Pamela Powell, Jim Alexander, and myself with our first impressions!
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