INFOGRAPHIC: Vacation destinations that are out of this world

Every town and city in the world employ various strategies to attract tourists to helps boost the local economy. If certain towns were lucky enough to be the backdrop of some of the most famous TV shows and movies, it’s only natural for the city councils to capitalize on the recent trend of tourists visiting set locations based on their favorite shows. Alpharooms, an online travel booking agent, has created travel brochures for FOUR of the most iconic TV and movie locations so fans can immerse themselves into these ‘out of this world’ holiday destinations browsing.

2019, Column, Editorial, Infographic, LIST, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanJuly 9, 2019Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Extra Innings

The expression “heart in the right place” is normally used as a smallish complement to counteract some obvious flaw or as a baseline pleasantry when something does not achieve its goal fully. Albert Dabah’s intensely personal independent film Extra Innings carries that expression with neither of those dismissive caveats. Its heart is indeed in the right place, with that position being right next to its soul. That soul is wearing cleats, a ball cap, a weathered glove, and a stirrup-ed uniform patrolling the grasses of center field on a baseball diamond on a sunny summer day.

2019, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Social Media, Video on Demand, 4 STARSDon ShanahanJuly 9, 2019Comment

INFOGRAPHIC: America's most popular Pixar movies by state

A generation has grown up with Pixar, starting with Toy Story way back in 1995. Now that Toy Story 4 is upon us, it’s safe to assume that Buzz Lightyear wasn’t kidding about taking it “To infinity . . . and beyond!” In celebration of the June 21 release of Toy Story 4, we toyed around with Google Trends to determine the most popular Pixar movie in each state. Let’s see what everyone ages three and up has been searching for in the Pixar world this year.

2019, Editorial, Infographic, LIST, Social MediaDon ShanahanJuly 8, 2019Comment

MEDIA APPEARANCE: David Ehrlich's IndieWire Critics Survey on July 8, 2019

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: What is the best ever horror performance and how did it leverage the genre to accomplish something that might not have been possible in a more grounded type of film?

Horror is not my cup of tea, coffee, cocktail, or even water, and I didn’t see Midsommar which inspired this week’s survey question, but I have dipped my toe in enough good and classic horror to pick out a great performance or two. I’ve seen no one unravel under the fictional stresses better than Mia Farrow in Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby.

Independent Film, Media Appearance, Social Media, SPECIAL, 2019Don ShanahanJuly 8, 2019David EhrlichComment

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable

The light produced by this documentary matches the inspirational shine of the subject herself. Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable is an admirable and impressive chronicle of its sunlit sporting world of “calculated chaos.” Over and over, with every step she takes forward as a woman and as a competitor, Bethany Hamilton remains undefined by the famous shark attack incident that claimed her left arm. Instead, her actions and stature make her the pillar very worth celebrating.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the "Kicking the Seat" podcast talking "Spider-Man: Far From Home"

Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast leads what has come to be lovingly called “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” to explore another big and loud comic book movie. Matching the fireworks of the holiday, Spider-Man: Far From Home was the entertainment coming off the grill to the picnic table for our talk. As always, Ian, David Fowlie of Keeping It Reel and Emmanuel Noisette of E-Man’s Movie Reviews, and myself bounce the ideas. Us unqualified old men are joined by a special guest from the target demographic, David’s teenage daughter Grace. This was a very fun and long show for all of us! Give Kicking the Seat, a subscribe, follow, and a listen:

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the "You'll Probably Agree" podcast talking "Toy Story 4" and 1989's "Batman"

Let me be either the first or the next person to tell you how cool it is to talk to Mike Crowley about movies. Mike has recently revamped his “You’ll Probably Agree” brand and platform to include written and podcast content to go with his videos. This past week, Mike wanted to share a podcast discussion on Toy Story 4, especially with our differing takes between his positive one and my internet-reviled “rotten” tag. We also went from one box of toys to another to reminisce about the 30th anniversary of Tim Burton’s classic Batman. This was a damn good time with a damn good dude!

Social Media, SPECIAL, 2019, Editorial, Podcast, Media AppearanceDon ShanahanJune 28, 2019Comment

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Every Movie Has a Lesson mentioned on ComicBook.com!

In the spirit of any press counting as good press, Every Movie Has a Lesson was mentioned in a news piece on ComicBook.com recently as one of the first and few Rotten Tomatoes-approved critics to give Toy Story 4 a negative or “rotten” review,. Cameron Bolomolo was reporting on the first wave of negative reviews hitting the Toy Story 4 Tomatometer, spoiling a 100% rating. Dubious as some might find it, it was still an honor to be noticed and mentioned respectfully.

2019, Media Appearance, NEWS, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanJune 28, 2019Toy Story 4, ComicBook.com, Media Appearance, Rotten TomatoesComment

CAPSULE REVIEWS: Feature films of the first ever Rom Com Fest

Founded by entrepreneur and romantic comedy connoisseur Miraya Berke, the goal is celebrating the joy to be had and the art on display in this undervalued film genre. I think this is a smashing idea for a festival and I jumped at the chance to offer some remote coverage for its five-film competition slate. Compiled below are my capsule reviews for the movies I viewed in order from highest to lowest recommendation:

MEDIA APPEARANCE: David Ehrlich's IndieWire Critics Survey on June 25, 2019

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: With 2019 almost half-over, what is the best movie performance of the year so far?

With June soon swooning to July, critics will start making their halfway and “so far” lists of films and performances. David Ehrlich put performances on the table to measure for this week’s survey and an outstanding list was built. I love the selection of Lupita Nyong’o from Us. She would be my 1A choice, but I was wowed this weekend by Ann Lupo in a little movie call In Reality which just won the top award of the debut Rom Com Fest in Los Angeles. Give this week’s survey a look.

Independent Film, Media Appearance, Social Media, SPECIAL, 2019Don ShanahanJune 24, 2019David EhrlichComment

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the "Kicking the Seat" podcast talking "Toy Story 4"

It with Ian Simmons of the Kicking the Seat podcast where I no longer feel like an island after watching and review Toy Story 4. He and I sat next to each other at the screening and both shared a great deal of chagrin afterwards. We put that together for his latest podcast episode against the positive interventions of David Fowlie of Keeping It Reel and Emmanuel Noisette of E-Man’s Movie Reviews. In addition to talking out the highs and lows of the movie, I was invited to share my experience this past week of being one of the extremely few “Rotten” Rotten Tomatoes reviews for Toy Story 4. Great conversations here for my 20th appearance on Ian’s fine sh Give it a listen!

EVENT: Scenes from the "Toy Story 4" Ultimate RV event at Navy Pier

This past Friday in Chicago, the “Toy Story 4” Ultimate RV event came to Polk Plaza area of Navy Pier. Sponsored by GoRVing.com, the movie-themed event had an alluring array of free activities. Contestants young and old could spin wheels, take selfies with “Forky,” toss snakes into boots, or throw rings around rockets to win various prizes, Toy Story swag, and even Fandango vouchers for free movie tickets. Every Movie Has a Lesson (and my eager family) was able to get an early peek at the festivities and wanted to share some sights and sounds from the sunny display on a perfect June morning, just in time for the movie’s box office debut.