In an annual series, Every Movie Has a Lesson is going to look back twenty years to revisit, relearn, and reexamine a year of cinema history to share favorites, lists, and experiences from the films of that year. When measuring back as far as twenty years or more, I feel like “favorites” that have stood the test of time have aged to become some level of “best.” I feel like a bunch of those populate my reflective look back at the best of 1999.
Read MoreFor some, it’s quite difficult to come to terms with the fact that some of the iconic figures in the entertainment front were ordinary people at some point doing regular jobs and others going for days without shelter. Many of the biggest acts in the movie industry got their start by chance while others worked really hard to get to where they are currently. Well, we could go ahead to say it does help to be in the right place at the right time but then again for some hard work supersedes all.
Read MoreAs one of the founders and directors of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle, I am honored and thrilled to share with you the results of the third annual CIFCC Awards. On Saturday, February 2nd at a special evening members event hosted by the Cards Against Humanity Theater in Chicago, the film critics and guests gathered to honor the year in film, celebrate member accomplishments, and promote overall group achievements. The event was streamed live over the CIFCC YouTube channel.
Read MoreIf this teacher/critic learned anything himself this year it’s to more consistently define the difference between “favorite” and “best.” Often they are different measures, yet it is a special distinction when some films can be both. That’s a whole bunch of those of this definitive 2018 list. All ten and a few extra were no-doubt five-star films for me. True to this website’s specialty, each film will be paired with its best life lesson. Enjoy!
Read MoreAlright, I’ve spelled out my absolute “10 best” from 1998 in the previous post. It’s time to take the press badge off and get casual. Here are more categories of distinction and remembrance from 1998. Guess what? You still don’t see The Thin Red Line. That’s too bad. In the completely opposite direction, I was so very close to putting Wild Things in my Top 10 for 1998. Read on for more!
Read MoreIn an annual series, Every Movie Has a Lesson is going to look back twenty years to revisit, relearn, and reexamine a year of cinema history to share favorites, lists, and experiences from the films of that year. When measuring back as far as twenty years or more, I feel like “favorites” that have stood the test of time have aged to become some level of “best.” I feel like a bunch of those populate my reflective look back at the best of 1998.
Read MoreAll of these sumptuous and strenuous sways are the work of Barry Jenkins taking James Baldwin’s lengthy and verbose prose and shaping it into a carefully honed narrative fit for the visual storytelling of the motion picture art form. The power of Baldwin is in his words, combinations of asides and absolutes with both bountiful and poignant descriptive details in between. Every adapted word from Jenkins telegraphs that gravity and projects these historical scenarios with towering relevance and parallels to present society.
Read MorePlayed in nearly real-time, The Guilty jolts the audience with the fits and spurts of the received and dropped calls. Some are dangled snippets and others linger with impact. Their rising and falling tensions are shrewdly and sharply written by director Gustav Möller and TV writer Emil Nygaard Albertsen. Their unforgiving suspense create an engrossing and choking mood of unknown and mounting dread. The Guilty is as smooth and taut of a 85-minute feature as you’ll see, no matter the language.
Read MoreUsually for this website, half of a year equals half of a future “10 Best” in December, meaning normally only five films make this “best of” list. However, I have seen six 5-star feature films as well as one 5-star documentary and one 5-star short film. I’m giving all of them the spotlight. As always for this “so-far” list and the year-end final and true to my website’s hook, I present each film with its best life lesson from my review. Enjoy!
Read MoreWith each year of PR and press access, I’ve been diving deeper to experience more and more of what this art form and entertainment source has to offer. For the second year in a row and on the heels of the Oscars putting a bow on all things 2017, I wanted to share a list of personal recommendations of hidden gems from last year. Even these 17 are but drops in a larger bucket. There so many little gems that I have yet to see.
Read MoreThroughout the awards season, I’ve been tallying the minor and lead-up award winners in all of the Oscar categories on the 2018 Awards Tracker as a big source of my prognostication data. In this seventh post, we look at the race for Best Picture. As I say every year, stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool!
Read MoreThe end of the year brings grading and reflection points for both the school teacher in me and the film critic. Looking at the online Trapper Keeper portfolio called Every Movie has a Lesson, I published 126 full film reviews in 2017, topping last year’s 114 and setting a new high mark. Here’s my definitive list of the "10 Best" films of 2017. True to this website’s specialty, each film will be paired with its best life lesson. Enjoy!
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