MOVIE REVIEW: Moonlight

I dare you to look into the painful eyes of the three ages of Chiron and their matching performers and not have your soul triple in weight. The arc in "Moonlight" from the innocence of the little boy to the uncomfortable vulnerability hiding underneath the muscles and gold fronts of the hardened resulting adult is arduously moving on multiple levels. Observing his difficulties forces you to absorb the conflict and inescapable trepidation that surrounds the shared character. Pressing his heart to your own makes for one of the most moving and rewarding film experiences this year.

2016, 5 STARS, Chicago Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanNovember 6, 2016Landmark Century Centre Cinemas2016, Festival coverage, festival preview, Chicago International Film Festival, 52nd Chicago International Film Festival, Black Perspectives, Special Presentations, Moonlight, Barry Jenkins, Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, Alex Hibbert, Barbara Lewis, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Brad Pitt, Plan B, #OscarsSoWhite, James Laxton, Nicholas Britell, Loving, Jeff Nichols, Andre Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Janelle Monae, Jaden Piner, Liberty City, Miami, LGBT, LGBTQ+, Boyhood, Richard Linklater, film review, movie review, film commentary, movie commentary, Life lessons from movies, life lessons from films, life lessons from movies, life lessons, life lessons from film, Life lessons, Audience Award, 2016 Fall Movues, 2016 Fall Movies, 2016 Holiday Movies, Oscar contenders, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, independent filmsComment

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: Resilience: The Biology of Stress and Science of Hope

The light shed by the shared research, connections, and testimonials of James Redford’s documentary “Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope” opens eyes and stirs immediate personal reflection. Toward your own self or in the role of a parent, “Resilience” puts the right mirrors in front of faces. It is a worthy alarm notification that encourages more character building than being told to “pull up your bootstraps.”

SHORT FILM REVIEW: The Story of 90 Coins

"The Story of 90 Coins" is a microcosm of pure and modern young love that transfers in any language and is free of unnecessary cinematic obstacle courses that strain believability. This short story is completely relatable and endearing melodrama in all its approachable beauty that succeeds in under 10 minutes to tug heartstrings and linger in your consciousness. Don’t you dare call this an overlong greeting card, a miniature soap opera, or a expanded touchy-feely TV commercial.

MOVIE REVIEW: Middle Man

52nd Chicago International Film Festival U.S. Indies entry and presentation

“Middle Man” blends an acidic edge with showy panache that bleeds from every character, large and small. Credit the devious fun of Crowley for the snappy dialogue that pops from each character. The comedy is clever instead of coarse while maintaining its darkness. Nearly every speaking part of this colorful cast of funhouse mirrors nails a zinger or two that fits right into that line of taste.

MOVIE REVIEW: Certain Women

Spareness and simplicity can either be a fountain of nuance and austerity or it can be a vacuum of plainness and lethargy. Filmmaker Kelly Reichardt is a celebrated torchbearer of the minimalist film movement and her newest feature, “Certain Women,” boast three strong female leads in Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, and Kristen Stewart. Despite that base of acting forte and the patronage of Todd Haynes as an executive producer, the void outweighs any wellspring.

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: A Doctor's Sword

A masterfully powerful documentary, “A Doctor’s Sword,” chronicling the reflective and jarring tale of Irish World War II veteran Aidan MacCarthy, recently played as part of the second annual Irish American Movie Hooley at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. One half of this fine film is an astounding you-wouldn't-believe-it-if-I-told-you true story of World War II survival that would make "Unbroken" look like a nursery rhyme. Its calmer other half takes place in a present day where two proud families and two proud countries are forever bonded by shared history.

2016, 5 STARS, DOCUMENTARY REVIEW, Foreign Film, Independent Film, SPECIALDon ShanahanOctober 13, 2016Gene Siskel Film Center2015, 2016, Irish films, Irish American Movie Hooley, Irish American films, 2nd Annual Irish American Movie Hooley, Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago, Ireland, World War II, Battle of Dunkirk, Nagasaki bombing, A Doctor's Wars, A Doctor's Sword, Aidan MacCarthy, documentary review, Documentary filmmaking, documentary commentary, documentary, Best Documentary, Gary Lennon, Ronan Coyle, Unbroken, POW, Castletownbere, Beara Peninsula, County Cork, life lessons from film, Life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, life lessons from documentaries, life lessons, Life lessons, movie commentary, film commentary, film review, movie review, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Beneath Disheveled Stars

Kevin Baggott’s darkly comedic film “Beneath Disheveled Stars" was a favorite of the Cork Indie Film Festival and Brooklyn Underground Film Festival. The film recently opened the 2nd annual Irish American Movie Hooley at the Gene Siskel Film Center in downtown Chicago. As a self-made film from a self-made man, there are qualities to appreciate from this quixotic wild goose choose.

CAPSULE REVIEWS: The 2nd Annual Irish American Movie Hooley

The second annual Irish American Movie Hooley at the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago. Presented by 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey and produced by Hibernian Transmedia, the spirited mini-festival has a slate of three films, two making their Chicago premieres between September 30 and October 2. This very writer and website was privy to viewing and reviewing this year’s Irish American Movie Hooley selections in advance. Here are my capsule reviews and recommendations.

2016, CAPSULE REVIEW, Film Festival, Foreign Film, DOCUMENTARY REVIEW, Independent Film, SPECIALDon ShanahanSeptember 29, 2016Gene Siskel Film Center2016, Documentary filmmaking, documentary, documentary commentary, documentary review, Capsule reviews, Irish American Movie Hooley, 2nd Annual Irish American Movie Hooley, Gene Siskel Film Center, film review, film commentary, movie review, movie commentary, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Chicago, film festival, festival preview, Festival coverage, Festival review, Beneath Disheveled Stars, Kevin Baggott, Premiere, Chicago premiere, Kilocrohane, County Cork, Brooklyn, Colin Martin, A Doctor's Sword, Aidan MacCarthy, Bob Jackson, Castletownbere, Beara Peninsula, Battle of Dunkirk, Nagasaki bombing, POW, A Doctor's Wars, Nicola MacCarthy, Adrienne MacCarthy, Ronan Coyle, Gary Lennon, The Lark's View, Fis na Fuiseoige, Aodh O CoileainComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Reparation

Building domestic suspense in poignant fashion and shifting between three eras, “Reparation” examines potent human flaws and plants them in small-town America with real-life consequences. This film doesn’t need a grandiose battlefield saga of hidden heroism to be the catalyst. This isn’t “American Sniper” and glossy hero worship. “Reparation” welcomes more intimate and jagged complications with authentic down-home realism and charm.

2015, 2016, 4 STARS, Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanSeptember 12, 2016The Wilmette TheatreReparation, Kyle Ham, The Wilmette Theatre, Chicago, Chicago premiere, Jon Huertas, Marc Menchaca, Virginia Newcomb, Drew Powell, Dale Dye Thomas, Brody Behr, Keith Szarabajka, The Activist, Steve Timm, Austin Film Festival, Breckenridge Film Festival, Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, Santa Fe Film Festival, River's Edge International Film Festival, Sedona International Film Festival, life lessons from films, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, life lessons, Life lessons, film commentary, movie commentary, film review, movie review, independent films, indie film, Putnam County, Indiana, Don Shanah, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Greencastle, PTSD, Dissociative Amnesia, Dissociative disordersComment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Sea of Trees

Cloying as it may be to some, “The Sea of Trees” still contains a poetry and a message of forced reflection and vitality with incorporeal nudges. These are touchy musings, for sure. Audiences that have the reflective capacity for tapping into those feelings and fears will appreciate this effort and the dedicated performances. Close-hearted and discomforted cynics that do not will flatly dismiss it instead and tell you (and it) to keep your feelings to yourself. This writer is openly capable of being in the first audience welcoming the deep thoughts.

MOVIE REVIEW: Southside with You

"Southside with You" is a date movie. It just happens to be about impossibly famous people. One of this film's many strong accomplishments is its ability to enamor and enchant you often to forget that the two main characters are the future President and First Lady of the United States of America. That is no small feat and one accomplished through flourishing grace from the filmmakers and magnetic allure from its lead performers.

MOVIE REVIEW: Level Up

As a clever and unusual experiment, “Level Up” maintains a sobering edge of straight-faced menace. Set to the electronica of the British musical duo Plaid, any sense of humor is present purely as a WTF moment of reminder of this scenario’s gonzo craziness. Targeting the metaphor of video game violence, once the clues bear fruit and darker confrontations ensue, “Level Up” earns your twisted interest and delivers on its high-concept potential with an adequate amount of thrill.

EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON

by Don Shanahan

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