GUEST COLUMN: Warm Comedies for a Winter Evening

by Justin Osborne

When the temperatures start going down outside, the only fun thing left to do is snuggling up on your couch with some of the best winter comedies. It will be extremely cold out there. But so long as you have a blanket, snacks, candles and some holiday comedies, you’ll not only feel warm but also laugh all night long. There will always be something for everyone here. It doesn’t matter whether you are alone, with your family or your better half. You’ll have a variety of options to choose from to ensure you don’t leave your house until things get better outside. When it’s too cold to go outside, here are some of the best winter movies for you. Keep reading!

2020, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, Streaming, SPECIALDon ShanahanJanuary 16, 2020Comment

EDITORIAL: Five surprises and snubs from the 92nd Academy Award nominations

Leave it to the annual early morning Oscar nominations to always find a way to rock our worlds. Earlier this morning in an excellent show of diversity, Searching actor John Cho and Insecure TV star Issa Rae presented the names and films looking for validation and immortality come the night of February 9th in front of a (thankfully) host-less crowd for the second year in a row. I know I chase this race every year on my Awards Tracker page, but there are always swerves. Here are five knee-jerk snubs and five surprises from the nominees:

2019, Column, Social Media, SPECIAL, 2020, Editorial, Independent FilmDon ShanahanJanuary 13, 2020Dolby TheatreComment

GUEST COLUMN: 10 Best Inspirational Movie for Self Growth

By Stella Lincoln

Films can be transformational in your view of health, wealth and wellness or even give you a more creative aspect. Whether it is a biopic that encourages you to make the world a new backing or a documentary that makes you ruin your life, certain films can act as catalysts for personal transformation. With these extremely good movies, you will surely get motivated.

2020, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, SPECIAL, Social MediaDon ShanahanJanuary 9, 2020Guest Column, Guest Editorial, Stella LincolnComment

GUEST EDITORIAL: What Lessons Do 5 Top Pet Movies Teach You?

By Stella Lincoln

The animation was like never before at the start of this century. In the name of entertainment, not only did globalization have an impact on children's bedtime stories, but it was also intruding in ethics and morality in the form of rude caricatures and indecent cartoons. Nevertheless, you can let your children see easily with cartoons, and many of them are considered classics. Animals were popular with children when cartoons were concerned. Children may want to be able to see them moving on their monitors because they cannot communicate with many mice or lions like Ratatouille and The Lion King.

2020, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, LIST, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanJanuary 9, 2020Guest Column, Guest EditorialComment

COLUMN: My Top 100 Movies of the 2010s

To build a master list, I turned to the Pub Meeple Ranking Engine. I entered a list of just under 200 five-star and high four-star movies and let the hundreds of clickable “versus” matchup permutations slot everything. It’s really a slick tool, and it nailed my results. The cream of the rose to the top, just as they should. I’ve said this before on other lists, but this is more about “best” than “favorites.” Also, I did not include documentaries. Quality edges easy entertainment more often than not. Here are the results with a little commentary here and there in between!

SPECIAL: Fourth annual CIC Award Winners

I was among the 20 prolific members of Chicago Indie Critics who cast their final ballots last week to declare the winners of 23 categories for their fourth annual film awards. At a special ceremony open to the public last evening at the Cards Against Humanity Theater in Chicago hosted by stand-up comedienne and former film critic Katie Baker, the CIC film critics, fans, and guests gathered to celebrate milestones, commiserate among peers and professionals, and honor the very best from 2019.

2019, CIC, EVENT, Media Appearance, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanJanuary 6, 2020Cards Against Humanity TheaterCIC, CIFCC, Chicago Indie CriticsComment

COLUMN: New Year's Resolutions for the Movie Industry for 2020

Plenty of regular everyday people make New Year's Resolutions, but I think bigger entities, namely movie makers and movie moguls, need to make them too. Annually, including this eighth edition, have fun taking the movie industry to task for things they need to change. As always, some resolutions come true while others get mentioned and reiterated every year. Welcome to 2020. Enjoy this year’s and this decade’s hopes and dreams.

Column, Editorial, LIST, Social Media, SPECIAL, 2020Don ShanahanJanuary 1, 2020Comment

COLUMN: The 10 Best Movies of 2019

In all, I published “only” 94 film reviews in 2019, which is plenty, but down from 110 last year and my high mark of 126 in 2017. I saw a dozen and a half more, but full-time school teachers, husbands, and dads like me only have so much free time to put 1000 words down every time. Work-life balance, so to speak, is always a challenge, one that I aim to do better in the life direction. No matter, I think I’ve got 2019 figured out. Here are my picks for the ten best films of the year accompanied by, as always and true to my site’s namesake niche, their best life lesson.

2019, 2020, Best Films, Column, Editorial, LIST, SPECIALDon ShanahanJanuary 1, 2020 Comment

SPECIAL: Fourth annual CIC Award Nominations

Leading all films with an impressive eight nominations is Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women. Two of those nominations highlight Gerwig’s work as a director and screenwriter. Following next with seven nominations each is the quartet of The Irishman, Marriage Story, 1917, and Parasite. On an individual level leading the field, Parasite’s Bong Joon-ho earned five personal nominations and Lulu Wang of The Farewell earned four across the 23 categories. In all, 43 films are represented with nominations for the 2019 CIC Awards.

2019, CIC, EVENT, Media Appearance, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanDecember 29, 2019Cards Against Humanity TheaterCIC, CIFCC, Chicago Indie CriticsComment

20 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE: The best of the rest of 1999

As the historians will tell you, 1999 was a damn fine year. Man, that was living. There are many films from that year that count as favorites and greats in several different ways. Some have gotten better with age and some have worsened, even dropping at as former favorites. Here are my little breakdowns of the “rest of 1999.” Enjoy some personal favorites, underrated gems, guilty pleasures, overrated picks, and still bad dogs.

Best Films, Column, Editorial, Retrospective, SPECIAL, 2019Don ShanahanDecember 28, 20191999Comment

20 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE: The 10 Best Films of 1999

In an annual series, Every Movie Has a Lesson is going to look back twenty years to revisit, relearn, and reexamine a year of cinema history to share favorites, lists, and experiences from the films of that year. When measuring back as far as twenty years or more, I feel like “favorites” that have stood the test of time have aged to become some level of “best.” I feel like a bunch of those populate my reflective look back at the best of 1999.

Best Films, Column, Editorial, LIST, Retrospective, SPECIAL, 2019Don ShanahanDecember 27, 2019Saint Joseph's College1999Comment

GUEST COLUMN: 7 Best Movies to Watch While Being On a Winter Break

Winter breaks are awesome because they give you the time you need to spend with yourself and your family and friends. Some people love visiting their friends or family, while others love spending time indoors, drinking mulled wine and enjoying the cozy atmosphere. Winter holiday is the perfect moment to relax and chill, and how can you better do this otherwise than watching some movies? Some movies are full of action and thrill, but some movies inspire you to be good and calm. When it is snowing and the weather is cold, you can enjoy a cup of hot chocolate, some cookies, and a movie.

Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanDecember 27, 2019 Comments