Being “in the dark” is a savory place to be for a film like this. Keenly and decisively, “The Blackcoat’s Daughter” carries a nearly strict reliance on suggestion and atmosphere over exploitation. For that, Perkins and company get it and do not need a “throwback” label to prove it. They know that our mental guessing is always more frightening than showing every little thing.
Read More2017 Chicago Irish Film Festival: Short Program II
Kids not only say the darndest things, but do the darndest things too. “The Debt” is a highly charming short film illustrating a child’s view of courtship and love. The romantic ways of the world are foreign to the young, so they make up their own ideas. Engaging and well-acted by youth performers, this short film will charm you to pieces.
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Bill Condon’s “Beauty and the Beast” stands firmly on its own merit. True to Disney’s recent trajectory, its goal is to “reimagine” a previous animated classic into the live-action medium for a new era and audience. Unlike the recent treatments of "Cinderella" and "Malificent," this "Beauty and the Beast" stays a full-blown musical. Imitation, emulation, and homage are all part of that process, but so is reappraisal and reinterpretation. Those later two actions are what drive this new fantasy film to soaring and successful heights.
Read More“Kong: Skull Island” taps into the same definition of “spectacle” that applies to “Jurassic World” nearly two years ago. This ain’t your old “King Kong.” This is “go big or go home.” If you’re looking for the version steeped in awe and wonder, go watch the 1933 original. To expand the original’s wonderment with the best of today’s special effects, go watch Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake. If you want a rip-roaring roller coaster with no strings, rules, or heavy gravitas attached, you’ve come to the right place in 2017.
Read MoreTo come right to the point, “Get Out” is an 104-minute living embodiment of a slow-burning WTF moment that just keeps growing with every new detail. And it’s glorious for being that very thing. More psychological thriller than the spattered horror it’s being billed to be, Jordan Peele’s directorial debut is subversively edgy and devilishly clever.
Read More2017 Chicago Irish Film Festival: Shorts Program
Director Peter Delaney and writer Daniel Mooney flesh out miniature character study with decent results. Andrew Bennett gives a very solid performance to construct numerous shades of character within Joe. He is a man that is losing touch with his comfort zone. We never fully know his issues and we shouldn’t have to.
Read More2017 Chicago Irish Film Festival: Shorts Program
As it plays out its thirteen minutes, “First Kiss” is hilarious and charming in its tidy simplicity. Written by Fitzpatrick himself and directed by Patrick O’Shea, the short film generates the right amplitude of sparks cooled by the right temperament of sweetness.
Read MoreChock full of more jokes, puns, and references than there are virtual plastic bricks, “The LEGO Batman Movie” is a breezy blast of unabashed fun. Twirling with dazzling animation and saturated with endless character possibilities, these two hours of zippy entertainment offer exhilarating playful engagement for young audiences and many absolute belly laughs for the adults. Like “The LEGO Movie” before it, the biggest flaw will always be the manic pace.
Read MoreThis year’s Academy Award nominees for Best Animated Short are an eclectic bunch. One of them, “Borrowed Time,” I have previously reviewed in full on this website. Here are my collected capsule reviews of the slate of five, complete with my signature life lessons. Look for the theaters this month bundling these nominees together for public viewing and ticket opportunities.
Read MoreRenowned Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar seizes our attention and lights the fires of intrigue with human simplicity in “Julieta,” his 20th feature film and Spain’s entry this year for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award. Concocting a brew of passion coupled with remorse across personal history young and old, Almodovar unspools the tangled threads of a guilt-ridden woman’s heart. Adapted from three Alice Munro short stories, “Julieta” is a strong return to the female-focused storyscapes that have made him a legend.
Read MoreDirected by Christoforos “Christopher” Papakaliatis, “Worlds Apart” presents three narratives and three different flavors of passion. Each surrounds a Greek native in a burgeoning romantic relationship with an immigrant from another land. Thematically, all that transpires in the film riffs on recurring imagery and commonality with the mythical story of Eros, the Greek god of love. Layering a topical worldview tinged with allegory every step of the way, “Worlds Apart” is a mature and beguiling romantic drama.
Read MoreEvery influential man or woman had a formative period of their life where their impressionable knowledge coalesced into cemented principles that would guide them going forward. The outgoing 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, is no different. The new Netflix and VOD entry “Barry,” from director Vikram Gandhi, muses on the internal and external catalysts that shaped the then-20-year-old piece of unformed clay into the future leader of the free world.
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