DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: Score: A Film Music Documentary

This writer is an unabashed film music lover. I owned more film score CDs than ones of popular music back in the day and that ratio hasn’t changed with digital media. Hell, I wrote a long-form editorial three years ago proclaiming film music as an improvement of the Mozart Effect for babies and children which led to a playlist afterwards that I still use to this day. I am a mark for what Score: A Film Music Documentary was selling and many of the names and talents featured in the film are found on that personal playlist.

2017, 4 STARS, Chicago Film Festival, DOCUMENTARY REVIEW, Film Festival, MOVIE REVIEW, Video on DemandDon ShanahanJune 15, 2017Music Box Theatre2017, documentary review, Documentary filmmaking, documentary, documentary commentary, Score: A Film Music Documentary, Score, Matt Schrader, Hans Zimmer, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Nine Inch Nails, Danny Elfman, James Horner, Alfred Newman, Bernard Herrmann, Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, Max Steiner, King Kong, Charlie Chaplin, James Cameron, David Arnold, James Bond theme, James Bond films, Heitor Pereira, Despicable Me 2, Despicable Me, Smurfs, The Smurfs, Marco Beltrami, 3:10 to Yuma, Brian Tyler, Marvel Films, Marvel Cinematic Universe, John Debney, The Passion of the Christ, Leonard Maltin, John Burlingame, Mozart Effect, Ultimate Playlist of Movie Music Lullabies, film music, Film music, film scores, movie scores, Movie music, Chicago Critics Film Festival, 5th Chicago Critics Film Festival, life lessons, life lessons from film, life lessons from documentaries, film review, movie review, film commentary, movie commentary, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, 2017 Summer MoviesComment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Hero

The soon-to-be 73-year-old Sam Elliott is a goddamn national treasure and no one can convince me otherwise. Most folks go straight for the man’s imposing baritone voice or his sweet ‘stache. I go for his swagger and resolve. What makes Sam’s signature timbre memorable is the determination behind it, not its sound. The purpose makes the presence. Written especially for him by writer-director Brett Haley, The Hero is a sublime epistle to the silver screen specter cast by Sam Elliott.

MOVIE REVIEW: Cars 3

Wendy's founder Dave Thomas once said: “It all comes back to the basics. Serve customers the best-tasting food at a good value in a clean, comfortable restaurant, and they'll keep coming back.” Apply that telling quote of ease and simplicity to Cars 3 as a perfect parallel. The savvy creators at Pixar know how to package a quality product of with clean and clear values that gain brand loyalty from wide audiences. Returning to its Americana roots, Cars 3 rediscovers the franchise’s successful foundation of wholesome heart.

MOVIE REVIEW: I, Daniel Blake

I, Daniel Blake is unabashedly a “bleeding heart” film on literal and figurative levels. If this was a Hollywood film, it would be overrun with shouted speeches and orchestrational swells trying to manufacture emotional peaks. Fluff like that is unnecessary if you have the right poetic realism, For Loach, that’s second hand and he picks the right soapbox placement and thickness.

MOVIE REVIEW: It Comes at Night

Take the title of the film whatever way you wish, be it literally with the lurking threats of nightfall in this landscape or figuratively with the visions and nightmares one has while alone with their thoughts before sleeping. It Comes at Night is tightly comprised of excruciating moral challenges that escalate with time.

MOVIE REVIEW: Wonder Woman

The three-part noun definition of “wonder” can be summarized as “a cause of astonishment, the quality of excited admiration, or rapt attention at something awesomely mysterious or new to one’s experience.” Used as an adjective in a proper name, the word could not be more fitting of Princess Diana of Themyscira, better known as Wonder Woman. Whether it represents a cog in a larger universe, a historical watershed for women’s leadership, or the answered prayers of long-suffering fans and idolizing dreamers, Wonder Woman is a valiant, momentous, and satisfying first step fitting of the iconic heroine.

2017, 4 STARS, MOVIE REVIEW, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanMay 31, 2017ShowPlace ICON X at Roosevelt Collections2017, 2017 Summer Movies, DC Universe, DC Extended Universe, DCEU, DC C, Wonder Woman, Diana Prince, Princess Diana of Themyscira, Themyscira, Diana, Gal Gadot, Patty Jenkins, WB, Warner Bros. Pictures, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, dictionary, wonder, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Chris Pine, Danny Huston, Elena Anaya, comic book movie, comic book films, Comic Book Guy, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Man of Steel, Superman, Batman, Ewen Bremner, Said Taghmaouri, Eugene Brave Rock, Harry Gregson-Williams, Monster, Pattie Jenkins, Charlize Theron, Allan Heinberg, Jason Fuchs, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Zack Snyder, movie review, film review, movie commentary, short film commentary, life lessons, life lesson from film, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, Greek mythology, Ares, David Thewlis, movie casting, trolling, critics reactions, film critics, Rotten Tomatoes, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Dean

When standup comedians come to the big screen, they tend to stay with what works, extending their personas and bits into feature-length material within their comfort zones. Most lack creativity to make something unique out of their individuality. That is not the case with Demetri Martin making his impressive feature writing and directing debut with Dean. In 87 breezy minutes pushing against the grief of its characters, his film squeezes earnest sweetness out of bleak material that would never play on his comedy club stages.

MOVIE REVIEW: Alien: Covenant

Designed by H.R. Giger and manifested by Oscar-winning special effects puppetry, the unforgettable xenomorph creature that debuted in 1979’s Alien lunged with more menace than suddenness. The acid-dripping extraterrestrial was an overpowering stalker. Fast-forward 38 years to Alien: Covenant, and the CGI-boosted effects capable today have accelerated the monster’s lethal velocity to an unhinged and downright bonkers level. Let me tell you, that’s a dandy of a jolt.

2017, 4 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanMay 16, 2017ShowPlace ICON X at Roosevelt Collections2017, 2017 Summer Movies, Alien: Covenant, Alien, Prometheus, Ridley Scott, Billy Crudup, Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterson, Hermann Goering, Alien franchise, Prometheus sequel, sequels, movie sequels, prequel, reboot, Rogue One, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars, Darth Vader, 1979, Sigourney Weaver, Carmen Ejogo, Demian Bichir, Danny McBride, Jed Kurzel, Macbeth, Pietro Scalia, Dariusz Wolski, New Zealand, xenomorph, H.R. Giger, Origae-6, facehugger, Noomi Repace, Guy Pearce, Weyland Corporation, 20th Century Fox, John Logan, Dante Harper, Neill Blomkamp, James Cameron, special effects, Science Fiction films, Science Fiction, Science fiction, horror films, horror, R-rated summer films, movie review, film review, movie commentary, film commentary, life lessons, life lessons from movies, life lessons from film, Life lessons, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

SHORT FILM REVIEW: Jack & Amelia

The key strength of “Jack and Amelia” is the focused narrative that sketches a telling and accurate microcosm example of Chicago. It blends lifestyles for people feeling the city’s stresses in their own unique ways. Just when you think you these four central characters are random and will stay random, the short-order shifts and twists of “Jack and Amelia” push their destinies forward in engaging and cunning ways. This really was a blossoming treat.

MOVIE REVIEW: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2” is an brazen explosion of Crayola-sheened special effects wonder mixed with invisible grays of magnetic character growth and depth. Just as with the first film, Marvel and company have taken a D-list roster of obscure also-rans and created new superstars and household names that you actually care about. True to the unwritten rules of sequels, the core is bolstered and improvements have been made.

4 STARS, 2017, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanMay 4, 2017AMC River East 212017 Summer Movies, Disney/Marvel, Visual Effects, life lessons from movies, comic book films, Bradley Cooper, movie commentary, Groot, film commentary, James Gunn, The Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Dave Bautista, life lessons from films, Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, 2017, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, movie review, 2017 Summer Movie Challenge, Marvel Entertainment, life lessons, comic book movie, Zoe Saldana, Star Lord, Marvel Comics, Karen Gillan, film review, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thanos, Kurt Russell, The Avengers, Nebula, Glenn Close, soundtrack, Michael Rooker, Chris Pratt, Rocket Raccoon, Drax, Thor: Ragonark, Marvel Films, Peter Quill, life lessons from film, Dave Jordan, Sean Gunn, Star Trek Into Darkness, Elizabeth Debicki, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Sylvester Stallone, Starhawk, Stakar Ogord, Taserface, Chris Sullivan, Star-Lord, Yondo, MTV Pop-Up Video, Wham Bam, Silver, Father & Son, Cat Stevens, Oprah Winfrey, Oprah Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Love, Lies

“Love, Lies” plays upon the decaying dichotomy orbiting the two women as they vie for love and validation against dignity and betrayal. It’s impossible not to feel the emotions imbued into the punctuating moments of expression through song that fully embody the conflict and romantic encumbrances weighing on the characters. The music is the vital and resonating fiber that unites the period atmosphere with the stirring portrayals of talent.

2017, 4 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Film Festival, Foreign Film, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Social MediaDon ShanahanMay 4, 2017AMC River East 212017, 2016, 2017 Asian Pop-Up Cinema, Asian Pop-Up Cinema, Love Lies, Seoul, Gyeongseong, Jo Eun-soo, Lee Byung-hoo, Korea, South Korea, Park Sung-woong, Yoo Yeon-seok, Reply 1994, Cold Eyes, The Wailing, New World, Japan, Park Heung-sik, Foreign films, foreign films, foreign film, life lessons from foreign films, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, life lessons, melodramas, movie melodramas, film review, movie review, film commentary, movie commentary, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Chicago premiere, Danielle Garnier, Garnier Public Relations, Sophia's Choice, Sophia's Choice Presents Comments

MOVIE REVIEW: My Egg Boy

The trappings of “My Egg Boy” are firmly entrenched in melodrama, yet kissed with delightful fancy. The strength is in the dynamic writing to weave practical magic with fertile imagination. The romantic and symbolistic peaks and valleys built by Tien-Yu Fu are endlessly relatable even when characterized. What begins as whimsy evolves quite affectingly to something rapturously heartfelt.

EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON

by Don Shanahan

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