MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the "Feelin' Film" podcast for "Memphis Belle"

I had the honor and pleasure this past week to join the war-movie-loving hosts on the Feelin' Film Podcast talking about a true underseeen throwback geme: 1990’s Memphis Belle directed by 90s hitmaker Michael Caton-Jones. This podcast plane ride was celebrating Veteran’s Day week in conjunction with the new Midway movie arriving in theaters this week. Memphis Belle was a worn-out VHS childhood favorite of my brother and me. Patrick had that lifelong affinity as well and Aaron, the former Navy man, had nothing but respect

MOVIE REVIEW: Jojo Rabbit

Those beautiful and gracious moments, slowed way down in between all the hustling hilarity in Jojo Rabbit, let you know exactly where the heart of this movie truly lies underneath the scathing satire. It is in the benevolence of helping people rather than warring with them. The titular young boy needs every ounce of such affection and the combat boots of Waititi’s movie are the clown shoes. Gusto meets gravitas in one of the most oddly poetic and beautifully brazen movies you may ever see.

MOVIE REVIEW: Miss Virginia

One does not have to dig very far on an internet search to find pressing current issues in American’s public education system. In an eye-opening and apropos way, there are so many that Education Week magazine maintains an active A-Z list to sort and track them. You could sing “The Alphabet Song” and ring a bell on just about every letter for matching examples from the real-life inspiration of Miss Virginia chronicling the emergence of school advocate Virginia Walden Ford.

2019, 4 STARS, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Video on DemandDon ShanahanOctober 23, 2019Miss Virginia, Uzo AdubaComment

REWIND REVIEW: The Lion King

Anyone who seeks to own this version of The Lion King is doing so with a “how did they do that?” curiosity. The technical brilliance is its biggest selling point. That interest is answered very well by this disc release. Unlike its Pixar and Marvel offerings, Disney compiled a legitimate look into this re-imaginings wholly revolutionary bells and whistles. This movie will look gorgeous on your high-end television at home.

2019, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, Video on Demand, VIDEO REVIEW, DISC REVIEW, 2 STARSDon ShanahanOctober 21, 2019Avengers: EndgameComment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Lighthouse

Nothing about this place, its natural topography or its man-made constructs, looks, sounds, or feels comely. The disquiet is palpable. All the atmosphere is there in Robert Egger’s torturous and pin-pricking thriller. The unfortunate struggle is that the suspense ends there. There is not enough compelling story, mystery, or perversion to fill or overwhelm this eerie environment. All of the portending, however attuned it is to its sense of art, registers as pretentious.

2 STARS, 2019, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 14, 2019AMC River East 21The LighthouseComment

SHORT FILM REVIEW: Loyalty

As a school teacher by day beyond this role as a film critic, let me say that there can never be enough messages sent about the troubling epidemic of bullying. All are necessary. All are helpful. We need every personal testimonial. We need every pamphlet. We need every artistic measure of expression that can gather attention, provoke thoughts, and change a few hearts. The Chicago-made short film Loyalty from filmmaker Ira Childs is one of those necessary contributions. The short recently played at the 25th Black Harvest Film Festival at the Siskel Center.

MOVIE REVIEW: Gemini Man

Ang Lee’s new actioner Gemini Man is the cinematic embodiment of the figure of speech “chasing your tail.” A reminder from The Free Dictionary, defines that idiom as “to take action that is ineffectual and does not lead to progress” and “refers to how a dog can exhaust itself by chasing its own tail.” Boy, is that ever this movie. You have a multiple Academy Award-winning filmmaker chasing a technological benchmark that the industry cannot match. And you have a lead actor exhausting himself (and us) literally, instead of just figuratively, chasing his own tail.

2 STARS, 2019, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 10, 2019Arclight ChicagoComment

REWIND REVIEW: Toy Story 4

I should rename this section from “Late Homework Excuse” to “Inciting a School Riot” for my participation with the June release of Toy Story 4. I saw the film early for press, covered a fun family event at Navy Pier, and was very unimpressed by the final product. My review was one of the initial wave of four that broke the Rotten Tomatoes perfect 100% Tomatometer score for the movie. The trolling comments and death threats followed and I wrote about that experience. I didn’t want to be that guy, but I just couldn’t call this sequel worthwhile trying to follow the near-perfection of Toy Story 3.

2019, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, Video on Demand, VIDEO REVIEW, DISC REVIEW, 2 STARSDon ShanahanOctober 8, 2019Avengers: EndgameComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Joker

A pungent plethora of hot-button words are being branded into the film flesh of Todd Phillips’ Joker. Be them complementary or damning, they seemingly cannot be rubbed away. An interesting debate to have is classifying which of those fiery adjectives actually talk about the film and not some external controversy, projection, trigger, or angle being spun before Joker even hits public screens. Not to be undone, this writer offers a self-appointed definitive word centered on the movie itself, one that he’s never used in a review in nine years and change. The word is gall.

2019, 5 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 3, 2019AMC River East 21 Comments

VINTAGE REVIEW: The Untouchables

History and popularity have been kind to Brian De Palma’s crime movie achievement. The American Film Institute nominated the movie in five categories (Movies, Thrills, Hero, Villain, Film Score, and Gangster Film) during its “100 Years” series last decade. Then and now, The Untouchables earned a city’s pride and spurred new popularity to the Capone legend. Its success also fueled a star’s rise (Costner), secured another’s lasting legacy (Connery), and reminded audiences just how sharply talented its steward was. Once the end credits hit and Morricone plays us all out, you can also feel Brian De Palma channeling tough-guy Jimmy Malone with a “here endeth the lesson.” The hitmaker never lost his edge.

2019, 4 STARS, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, Social Media, RetrospectiveDon ShanahanSeptember 22, 2019The RookeryComment

VINTAGE REVIEW: Simply Irresistible

The raunch-less love scenes of cooking, kissing, and dancing can initially seem to come from a different movie than a ’90s-era romantic comedy in the same year as American Pie. But then, with the dedication for the glossy showmanship never shrinking, you realize you’re exactly in a throwback. With a tweak of two of period adjustment and pacing, Simply Irresistible would fit either in the Pillow Talk genre of farces or the It Happened One Night-level screwball comedies.

2019, 3 STARS, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, Vintage ReviewDon ShanahanSeptember 22, 2019Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Ad Astra

That throbbing level of staggering aura occurring parallel to poignant familial intimacy in Ad Astra is remarkably captivating. This is an accomplishment of contemplative science fiction that is felt in your core as much as it pours wonderment in your eyes. The high concept space opera vibes and the melancholic musings have been stretched and exploited further in other cinematic offerings within this fictional discipline. Nevertheless, the sharpness of execution here is something to behold with plenty of profundity to absorb and impress.

2019, 4 STARS, MOVIE REVIEW, Film FestivalDon ShanahanSeptember 18, 2019Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON X Comment