MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the "You'll Probably Agree" YouTube channel talking the future for movie theaters

Back in May, I joined Mike Crowley’s You’ll Probably Agree podcast with Ian Simmons of Kicking the Seat and Pat McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com in discussing the state of movie theaters knee deep during this pandemic. Things looked brighter then. Now, six months later, with a spiking virus, streaming business moves, and conpanies closing or circling bankrupcies? Not so much. The four of us took to Mike’s YouTube channel recently to ponder the uncertain future. Enjoy this spirited conversation! I’m sure we’ll be doing it again soon.

Social Media, SPECIAL, Podcast, Media Appearance, 2020, Editorial, Home MediaDon ShanahanDecember 6, 2020Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Black Bear

Much to her flexible power for sardonic comedy or reckless abandon, actress Aubrey Plaza has a look. It’s not entirely a scowl. It’s not entirely a cynical grin. Deeming it a case of “resting bitch face” would be a dismissal to grander notions going on behind those eyes and curved lips. No, it’s more than that. It feels like all of the possible come-hither coyness mixed with all of the possible perilous threat her presence can express. She’s a puzzle, and it’s quite alright to love that about her.

2 STARS, 2020, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Independent Film, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, Streaming, Video on DemandDon ShanahanDecember 4, 2020Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Wander

What folks are going to find with the escalating thriller Wander is a screwy little movie saved by committed performances. The trouble comes when the committed performance comes from the character that should be (and ends up) committed in the clinical sense. Be ready to question everything in Wander because the audience lens and main character is a rooting-tooting conspiracy theorist, yarn-and-tape boards with newspaper clippings and all, who makes his scratch as a private investigator. The unreliable narrator energy is strong, but that’s the entertainment when you make it to the finish.

GUEST COLUMN: Top 5 Director's Cut Versions of Movies Everyone Should Watch

by Jennifer Holland

When it comes to deciding the final cut of the movie, directors are rarely the ones to make the call: it’s generally the producers that get this privilege. The reason behind this is that the ones who support the production financially usually have a better understanding of what the audience might like or dislike to see. Still, a professional who directs a movie often gets to make their own version of the film—the famous “director’s cut”—a version often longer than the one released to the general audience. Step inside your movie cave and get ready for a few surprises: here are the 5 movies which directors’ cuts you shouldn’t miss.

2020, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, LIST, SPECIALDon ShanahanDecember 3, 2020Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Luxor

There’s another great line in Luxor that says this is “a place that whispers to you if you listen.” It’s an effect threaded into the soundscape of the film by sound designer Frédéric Le Louet (The Informer) wafting in and out of the score from documentary composer Nascuy Linares (Embrace of the Serpent). The tourists around Hana hear tales of reincarnation and the passionate myths of polytheistic demigods. Whether she believes them or not does not compare to where her conflicted self esteem hangs precariously during this short holiday.

2020, 3 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Foreign Film, Independent Film, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, Streaming, Video on DemandDon ShanahanNovember 30, 2020Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Mank

Sports fans like to say “game recognizes game” when youngblood contemporaries hat-tip the greats in their presence or those that came before them. Thanks to The Social Network ten years ago diving into the not-so-nice history of Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook, David Fincher knows this Welles-Mankiewicz territory all too well. He put a bullseye on an emerging institution and enlisted the wily Aaron Sorkin to help him light the fuse. The masterful director returns with a stylish tribute to courage that came before him. He gets it. Call Mank “balls recognizing balls.”

2020, 4 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, Streaming, Video on DemandDon ShanahanNovember 29, 2020Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Sound of Metal

With rock-heavy undertones replaced by the dramatic struggles of silence, Sound of Metal can personify every one of those questions. This labor-of-love and festival darling debuts in limited release and Amazon Prime on December 4th. Led by a sensational, internalized performance from Riz Ahmed, read here, see on the screen, and hear anyway you can how this stands as one of the best films of the year.

MOVIE REVIEW: Superintelligence

As dippy as all of this in Superintelligence may sound and transpire, there are undeniable streaks of kindness bigger than terabytes. Not all that far removed from the likes of George Bailey or Walter Mitty, the imagination to root for hope and love in people with laughs along the way feels good. Such a sincere sweetness cannot be discounted or denied. Once again, simplicity earns that kind of vibe. Welcome that to your viewing coach this season. We could use it this year.

2020, 4 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, Streaming, Video on DemandDon ShanahanNovember 25, 2020Melissa McCarthy, SuperintelligenceComment

COLUMN: 7 Money-Related Shows to Binge on Netflix

The fear of a recession has urged many people to delve into the world of finance to learn how money is properly handled and what happened back during the 2008 recession. Fortunately, Netflix contains many shows and movies dealing with that exact subject plus a few other financial topics. Some of these shows, however, are restricted to US-only, meaning that people in other countries can’t watch them. Don’t worry, though, because a VPN for Netflix will help you navigate around that pesky geo-block. Now, without further ado, let’s talk about the seven best financial shows on Netflix.

2020, Column, Editorial, Home Media, Streaming, Video on DemandDon ShanahanNovember 24, 2020Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Happiest Season

The tug-of-war in Happiest Season between head and heart is everything. Even as a fictional holiday yarn, the setting of Clea DuVall’s comedy is rooted in a present social landscape where even the legalization of same-sex marriage five years ago has not reduced or healed all of the emotional risks and scars associated with being out on the matters of love. Poking fun at the hijinks of going back to a conservative home for Christmas is one thing. Layering the very tangible anxiety of LGBTQ+ societal fears within those laughs is quite another. Happiest Season earns worthy pride for its willingness and openness to hug out that daunting task.

2020, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, Streaming, Video on Demand, 2 STARSDon ShanahanNovember 23, 2020Happiest SeasonComment

GUEST EDITORIAL: Who's the Toughest Action Star of All Time?

by Alissa Zucker

A while back, I got to wondering who the toughest action hero of all time is. Not the actor playing the action hero, but the action hero themselves. In other words, I wanted to know what John McClane from the Die Hard series would do if he ended up in a fight with Dirty Harry. I wanted to know how Mad Max would fare in a fight against Han Solo. And so, I decided to create some fictional battles, and try and figure out the answer to this burning question!

2020, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, LIST, Social MediaDon ShanahanNovember 22, 2020Comment

GUEST EDITORIAL: The Best and Worst of Dumb Action War Movies

by Rebecca Carter

You could say that there's a lot of action films that borrow from the war film genre, without ever actually being war films themselves: They borrow Navy SEALs and aircraft carriers and war movie villains like terrorists. That doesn't necessarily make a good proportion of the big dumb action movies also war movies, it just makes them big dumb action movies with elements of a war film within them. When I think of war movies, I think of Black Hawk Down, not Die Hard.