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

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

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

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the "Kicking the Seat" podcast and talking "All the President's Men" for the "ReelPolitk" series

If the two of us were paid for doing this stuff, Ian Simmons of Kicking the Seat and I would be following the money for All the President’s Men. For a little something different than our usual big roundtables for new movies, Ian and I put the recorders on to mix politics and movies together. The dark parking garage was optional. For nearly an hour, we build bridges between old brilliance and analog journalism to our 24-hour news cycle and current times with this masterpiece being the mold. Enjoy this very topical and jovial shared conversation!

Media Appearance, Podcast, Social Media, SPECIAL, 2019Don ShanahanDecember 23, 2019AMC River East 21Kicking the Seat, JokerComment

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the "Kicking the Seat" podcast and YouTube talking "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"

The dead speak! On an early morning in advance of its much ballyhooed release, Ian Simmons of Kicking the Seat assembled the clones of myself, David Fowlie of Keeping It Reel, Emmanuel Noisette of E-Man’s Movie Reviews, and Mike Crowley of You’ll Probably Agree to put all of our Midichlorians on the table to immediately react to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. There’s so much forceful spirit on this dais, you would think it’s the real versions of all of us. Enjoy this podcast episode!

Media Appearance, Podcast, Social Media, SPECIAL, 2019Don ShanahanDecember 23, 2019AMC River East 21Kicking the Seat, JokerComment

COLUMN: Looking for Some of the Best Classic Movie Posters? Buy Online

According to Forbes, movie enthusiasts are always looking for novelty. However, they are obsessed with only those films that match with the conventional genres they seem to be used to and comfortable with. They would like to enjoy something new, fresh and original within the same genre. Movie buffs love original stories that present unique visceral experiences, visuals, and viewpoints. Over the years, many Hollywood movies have won the hearts of millions of viewers. Let us explore some of the classic film posters that are still in huge demand among movie buffs, auctioneers, and collectors. If you are thinking of adding to your collection of classic movie posters, buy online for an amazing selection.

2019, Column, Editorial, Home Media, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanDecember 23, 2019Comment

EDITORIAL: How Do People See AI in Movies?

AI in the real world isn’t remotely advanced enough to allow it to have a true personality. But in movies, AI has been a constant source of interest for many people since the very beginning. Movies allow filmmakers to explore a world in which AI is truly sentient. But that sentience hasn’t always been good.Interestingly enough, when you spread out AI in movies by intelligence and morality, you may start to see a strange correlation. In general, childlike robots tend to be typed as “good,” while superhuman robots tend to be typed as “evil.” Walk through this ranking of AI in movies and see how people tend to type AI across the board.

2019, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, LIST, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanDecember 23, 2019Comment

EDITORIAL: How to Create a Perfect Female Character to Grab Millennials' Attention to Your Movie

Everyone sees millennials as the young generation who gets bored very quickly and is continually looking for something new to do or watch. When it comes to movies, the industry changed in the past years, given the millennials' appetite to spend more time in front of the TV, watching Netflix, than going to the cinema. Still, the film industry manages to reach incredible peaks and attract millennials’ attention in different forms. When you write female characters for millennials, you need to keep high standards. Even though the cost of quality might be high when trying to meet millennials’ needs, the benefits will exceed all the efforts.

2019, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanDecember 23, 2019Comment

GUEST COLUMN: Christmas Movies for Couples: Make Your Christmas Ideal

By Cheryl Hearts

When the weather outside is cold, the best way to enjoy your stay with your partner indoors is by watching a romantic Christmas movie with them. Nothing beats having a homemade dinner or a well-baked pizza, a bottle of quality wine, a dark room, and a huge TV for Christmas with your partner. This kind of romantic atmosphere helps you build a new level of intimacy that would strengthen your relationship and make you cherish the value of being with your partner.