Here are my collected reviews for the Oscar nominees for Best Animated Short Film. Listed in order of rating and true to my website’s hook, each review includes a life lesson takeaway. A collected program of these films is available from various theater chains, including the Landmark Cinemas locations here in Chicago, starting on February 9th. In 90 minutes-and-change, you get five exceptional works for one ticket. Calling all Oscar completists!
Read MoreThough the day job work was no longer in the way, good times with family and friends was the better thing to do than lock myself in a room on a laptop and write. Three of these films are cracking my Top 20 of 2017 and possibly even my final “10 Best” list. A year-end bang like that deserves to be talked about, and I couldn’t keep sitting on them without getting something out to you. To get the good word out there, here are some quick hot take capsules of the films with full reviews in the works.
Read MoreThe 53rd Chicago International FIlm Festival brings over 1,000 films of all genres and sizes to our fair city. There are premieres aplenty, between those making their world, North American, or Chicago debuts. Opening with a red carpet premiere of Marshall, peaking with the centerpiece of Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, and closing with the Oscar contender The Shape of Water from Guillermo del Toro, the 53rd CIFF fills the AMC River East 21 for two weeks. For the fourth year in a row, Every Movie Has a Lesson has been granted press credentials to cover the CIFF and here are my capsule reviews.
Read MoreThe third annual Irish American Movie Hooley is happening this weekend at the Gene Siskel Film Center from September 29-October 1st. This very writer and website was both lucky and honored to cover this event last year and has again been granted coverage access this year. The event is comprised of three feature films, two of which are directorial debuts, all of whom are making their Chicago premieres. Here are my capsule reviews of the three films. Get your Irish on at the Siskel Film Center this weekend!
Read MoreI was invited to be a contributor on their weekly Super News Live program on Facebook. The page has a whopping 474,000+ likes! One of their new segments collects quick reviews and hot takes of current new film releases from site contributors like myself. Check out your boy batting second in this video talking Baywatch.
Read MoreOver 40 feature-length and short films, many of which making their Chicago premieres, graced the main screen of the Music Box Theatre this past week-and-change as part of the fifth annual Chicago Critics Film Festival. It was an honor and pleasure to be be granted press credentials to cover the event. Here are my collected capsule reviews of the short film programs.
Read MoreOver 40 feature-length and short films, many of which making their Chicago premieres, graced the main screen of the Music Box Theatre this past week-and-change as part of the fifth annual Chicago Critics Film Festival. It was an honor and pleasure to be be granted press credentials to cover the event. Here are my collected capsule reviews of the feature-length films.
Read More2017 Chicago Irish Film Festival: Shorts Program II
In the world of poker, they say all you need is a chip and a chair to play and be a factor. For a musician, all you need is a time and a place. Your voice and instruments can do the rest. Not every concert needs to be in front of hundreds or thousands of adoring fans powered by a stadium’s worth of light and speakers. A singer and a microphone can fit just about anywhere. Well, how about a barbershop, and not the quartet variety?
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2017 Chicago Irish Film Festival: Shorts Program I
Diverting from the other short films in this program at the Chicago Irish Film Festival, “Blackbird” leans to the existential and experimental. The abstract feel and weighty themes are in place to knock one’s socks off. However, in an ironic fashion, this is a short film that feels too short.
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 MoreGive a warm, Show-Me-State welcome to Mr. Shane Bowen. Shane is a fourth grade teacher in the St Louis area. Like so many educators (myself included), Shane flexes a creative muscle outside of the textbooks and paper-grading. Mr. Bowen also writes novels as a hobby. Shane recently started his own publishing company, Out the Window Books at www.outthewindowbooks.com. This man has talent and knows the power of a good beer and a good movie. Enjoy this review of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."
Read MoreAfter attending a last-minute press screening of "Moana" for a plus-one Date Night with my wife and "Pillow Rankings" cohort Thanh Shanahan, I was cordially invited by "Kicking the Seat" film critic and friend-of-the-page Ian Simmons to once again be a guest on his stellar podcast. This 173rd episode was my first solo flight with Ian and we shared a highly enjoyable back-and-forth at the Golden Nugget Pancake House about strong female characters, Candyland conundrums, the appetizing animated short "Inner Workings," the ever-present Dwayne Johnson bump, mythology comparisons, Katherine Helmond tributes, and much more.
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