MOVIE REVIEW: Jackie

Mesmerizing describes the film as a whole and its incomparable lead performance from Academy Award winner Natalie Portman playing First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the immediate hours and days following her husband's 1963 assassination. Far from a biopic and more of a psychological examination, Portman and Larrain sear the screen with emotion and imagery that is as captivating as it is difficult. It is astonishing that it takes a foreign director to create the most empowering portrait of American history put to film in years.

2016, 5 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Chicago Film Festival, Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanDecember 9, 2016Chicago International Film Festival2016, 2016 Holiday Movies, Jackie, Jackie Kennedy, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Robert Kennedy, Greta Gerwig, Chicago International Film Festival, 52nd Chicago International Film Festival, Special Presentations, Best of 2016, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actress, JFK, Pablo Larrain, No, Neruda, Billy Crudup, Max Casella, John Hurt, John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Jr., Caroline Kennedy, Movie presidents, First Lady, Camelot, movie review, film review, movie commentary, film commentary, film festival, Festival review, Festival coverage, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, life lessons from films, life lessons, Life lessons, life lesson, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Jacqueline Kennedy, Jean Rabasse, Halina Gebarowicz, Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe, Broadway musical, Mica Levi, Noah Oppenheim, Madeline Fontaine, Mac Casella, Jack Valenti, John Carroll Lynch, Lyndon B. Johnson, Casper Phillipsom, Theodore H. White, LIFE magazine, Hyannis PortComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Hunter Gatherer

The micro-budgeted indie film “Hunter Gatherer” is the directorial debut of art director Josh Locy. The filmmaker has cut his teeth creating the visual palettes of independent fare such as an art director on David Gordon Green’s “Prince Avalanche” and Peter Sattler’s “Camp X-Ray.” His film, led by a charismatic performance from Andre Royo, shows the egotistical plight of a recently released con trying to reinsert himself in his old South Central Los Angeles neighborhood.

2016, 3 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Chicago Film Festival, Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Video on DemandDon ShanahanDecember 8, 2016Chicago International Film Festival2016, Hunter Gatherer, Joshua Locy, Josh Locy, Andre Royo, Chicago International Film Festival, 52nd Chicago International Film Festival, U.S. Indies, independent films, micro-budget film, Ashley Wilkinson, George Sample III, Adam Robinson, Jon Aguirresarobe, X-Ray, Prince Avalanche, The Wire, Kellie Stewart, life lessons, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, life lessons from films, life lesson, movie review, film review, movie commentary, film commentary, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, VOD, Video On Demand, SXSW Film Festival, 2016 SXSW Film Festival, Best Narrative Feature, Best Actor, Camp X-RayComment

SHORT FILM REVIEW: Borrowed Time

This website and writer has long celebrated the “Pixar Punch,” the animation studio’s uncanny ability to absolutely destroy our hearts with raw and simple emotionality in perfectly calculated amounts and moments within their feature films. In quicker chunks of time, Pixar’s animated shorts are no slouch at hitting the same body blows. Their settings have always been warm and sunny family films, long begging the question of what would more adult fare look like in the same creative boxing gloves. “Borrowed Time” is a striking glimpse into such a possibility

2016, 4 STARS, Independent Film, SHORT FILMS, MOVIE REVIEW, Social MediaDon ShanahanDecember 6, 2016Short Film, short film commentary, short film review, Short films, animated films, Best Animated Short Film, Best Animated Short, animated shorts, animated short films, Pixar, Pixar Punch, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Quorum Films, Borrowed Time, western genre, western themes, life lessons from movies, life lessons, life lessons from films, life lessons from film, life lessons from short films, life lessons from animated films, life lessons from animated shorts, Gustavo Santaolalla, Brokeback Mountain, Babel, Oscar contenders, Oscar nominations, Lou Hamou-Lhadj, Andrew Coats, Amanda Deering Jones, Blue Sky Studios, Finding Dory, Piper, Moana, Inner Workings, film reivew, film review, film commentary, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Manchester by the Sea

There is an unmistakable layer of “people-watching” cinema brings to its artistic atmosphere and aesthetic. An omnipresent camera grants private points-of-view, shines light on secrets, and challenges the observational skills of the audience. Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea” introduces the wearisome life of one solitary man and proceeds to unearth the repressed sorrow and unspoken emotions that lie underneath his mundane exterior. The most praiseworthy character-driven films have the patience to cultivate its truths with substance and the wisdom to never give you everything. Lonergan’s near-perfect jewel is a new exemplar of such qualities and one of the finest films of 2016.

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.