GUEST EDITORIAL: The "Parasite" Oscar Win as a Foreign Film is a Game Changer

by Susan Saurel

The Oscar awards 2020 was different as it recorded a streak-breaking award to a South Korean movie which attracts various commentaries in the world scene when Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite took the big hit after 91 years of a streak of English movie wins. At the 92nd Oscars, Parasite took the world by surprise when it was announced for the Best Pictures award, being the first of foreign film announced as the winner of a highly-rated award from the beginning of the Hollywood Film Academy. Also, it is recorded as the first South Korean movie nomination for a competitive award in the international award category.

MOVIE REVIEW: Run This Town

Behind every political monster has a staff of underlings who have stories to tell and permanent stains on their resumes. More often than not, unless they are a featured mouthpiece or the eventual public whistle-blower, we don’t really see these people, even when we know they are there. Across the guarded podiums, pushy microphones, and invasive cameras are also the faceless by-lines of cub reporters trying to break stories and make a name for themselves. They too are dependent on the grinding political machine. Run This Town gives faces and voices to unfortunate minions and nobodies tied to the late and former mayor of Toronto mayor Rob Ford.

2020, 3 STARS, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Video on DemandDon ShanahanMarch 8, 2020Run This TownComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Burden

It is very relevant and very opportune how the true-to-life main character’s last name fittingly became a perfect title for this kind of movie. Call it telling. Call it fate even. One could also call it a warning. Burden is as dramatic and uncomfortable as the many layers of the namesake word itself. The winner of the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival finally makes its theatrical bow nearly two years after its praised debut.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the "Feelin' Film" podcast for "If Beale Street Could Talk"

As a special for Black History Month, I was honored to join Aaron White and Patrick Hicks of the Feelin' Film Podcast for an opportunity to love all over my #1 film of 2018, If Beale Street Could Talk from Moonlight Oscar winner Barry Jenkins. Joining me as another guest and bringing the dais to four was Kolby Mac, the new host of FF’s “Black Label” podcast. This was such a wonderful episode! Listeners are in for a treat! Take a listen to the episode here or below:

GUEST COLUMN: 6 Finnish Movies You Need to Watch

by Anna Nilsen

Finland has a rich cinematic history, although it is not as widely talked about on the international scene as many other nations. To fix that and get more people into Finnish film culture, here are just a few of the top movies that the country has produced.

2020, Column, Editorial, Foreign Film, GUEST EDITORIAL, Independent Film, Home MediaDon ShanahanFebruary 27, 2020Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Night Clerk

Like it or not, there’s something carnal and entirely compelling about voyeurism. From trainwrecks to Peeping Toms, gazes can be easily fixated by the energy of those moments. There is an addictive draw that can be interest, mystery, surprise, titillation, or all of the above. The invasive level of wrongness in watching something you are likely not meant to see is measured by what one is doing or getting out of these observations. That’s a bit of the hook of The Night Clerk which allows a little gray hue on that potential wrongness.

2020, 3 STARS, Home Media, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanFebruary 21, 2020 Comment

SHORT FILM REVIEW: A Missed Connection

For a moment, think on the last bad day you experienced when the things you juggle in your life continued to collapse. What sort of “wit’s end” did you find yourself arriving at? Jog the memory of how you reacted to that ugly day. Did you lash out harmfully or did a figurative life preserver pull you out of the doldrums or stresses? Chicago filmmaker Matthew Weinstein’s newest short film A Missed Connection thrusts a character to such a breaking point and exquisitely presents a chance scenario likely dreamt of by many, yet afforded by few. This film plays on February 21st and 22nd as a selection of the Beloit International Film Festival.

2020, 5 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, SHORT FILMSDon ShanahanFebruary 19, 2020Bagels and MoreComment

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2020: The race for Best Picture

The short turnaround 92nd Academy Awards arrive host-free for the second consecutive year on Sunday, February 9th, barely a month after nominations were announced. The pace has added excitement and urgency right on down to my website’s 2020 Awards Tracker. Let’s start calling some winners. You have made it until the end. This last chapter column examines the Best Picture race. As I say every year, stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool!

2019, Column, Editorial, Foreign Film, Independent Film, SPECIAL, 2020Don ShanahanFebruary 6, 2020Comment

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2020: The minor film categories

The short turnaround 92nd Academy Awards arrive host-free for the second consecutive year on Sunday, February 9th, barely a month after nominations were announced. The pace has added excitement and urgency right on down to my website’s 2020 Awards Tracker. Let’s start calling some winners. This column examines the minor film categories of international, animated, and documentary films. As I say every year, stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool!

2019, Column, Editorial, Foreign Film, Independent Film, SPECIAL, SHORT FILMSDon ShanahanFebruary 5, 2020Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero

The filmmakers and artists at Fun Academy Motion Pictures answered that line of questioning the best way it ever can be: with a true story. Even better, they do so with a dog, in a humdinger of a tale far beyond a click-bait or “stop me if you heard this one” trivia that needs to be seen to be believed. Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that authenticity always earns appreciation. It’s even better when it resonates. This movie earns both. Discover something astonishing and adorable at the same time.

2018, 2020, 4 STARS, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, PodcastDon ShanahanFebruary 4, 2020Comment

CAPSULE REVIEWS: The 2020 Academy Award nominees for Best Animated Short

They may not get much attention when they’re not made by Disney and not appearing in front of their animated tentpoles, but the artistry and creativity is alive and well in the field of animated short films. This year’s five nominees for the 92nd Academy Award are some of the most stark and unique entries I’ve seen in the years I’ve been able to cover the annual best. Below are my capsule reviews of this year’s final five for Best Animated Short. Naturally, my niche of life lessons are included. Like the documentaries and live-action shorts in other Oscar categories, the animated films are presently collected in a single program to watch on the big screen at Landmark Theatre locations nationwide, including the three venues here in Chicago.

MOVIE REVIEW: Troop Zero

To rightly thumb its nose at the historically warped expectations of young ladies, Troop Zero may not be high-minded cinema. What it is, however, is high-hearted entertainment. That calls for trite covered in treat. Put this movie in front of any girl, hell, any kid period, that’s been demeaned about their differences or forced to conform to supposed societal standards. Let them watch this movie, smile, and stitch their own sash or freak flag to be proud of.

2020, 4 STARS, MOVIE REVIEW, Independent Film, StreamingDon ShanahanJanuary 22, 2020Comment