If you remember from my recent appearance on an minisode of the Feelin' Film podcast, I cannot be the only person who needed a therapy session after this film. David Lowery's film has been a transcendental experience for some audiences and something oddly impatient that sends others that will walk out scratching their heads. See where I fall with the "Movie Classroom" version of my review

MOVIE CLASSROOM: The Big Sick

Excellent romantic comedies have been a rare thing for the entire 17 years so far of this century. For one to arrive and stand above the crowd as one of the best romantic comedies in years and one of the best films of the year, period, is special. If you haven't already, meet The Big Sick starring Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, and Ray Romano. Through the ShowMe app on the Every Movie Has a Lesson YouTube channel, hear and see what my review has to say about the film and why it's my #2 film of 2017 so far.

MOVIE CLASSROOM: Detroit

I cannot beat the drum for the word "timely" enough when it comes to Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit. Her follow-up to Zero Dark Thirty is a jarring yet important film that speaks volumes and draws numerous parallels from 1967 to 2017. As hard as it is to watch, it is equally essentially viewing that poses the challenges for progress, increased empathy, and improved dialogue on a multitude of racial, ethical, and societal issues that have not gone away in a half-century and beyond.

MOVIE CLASSROOM: Atomic Blonde

There are not enough loud writing colors on the ShowMe app to give the splashy neon of Atomic Blonde the rub it deserves, but, hopefully, my words do the trick. Come and bow at the altar of Charlize Theron, as I did for this review. The film may not be anything special in the spy department, but the Monster Oscar winner deserves the fist-pumps for the toughness and guile she put on display.

MOVIE REVIEW: Detroit

For a film like Detroit with difficult content thrust upon audiences to endure, this is not a place to seek entertainment or joy. Instead, Detroit is a challenge of cementing respect and achieving an empathy deeper than basic sympathy. Step into a beyond-cautionary tale of history that school books skipped or have forgotten. Let Detroit stir and inspire conversations. Let the emotions, good and bad, come and talk about them.

2017, 4 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJuly 28, 2017ShowPlace ICON X at Roosevelt Collections2017, 2017 Summer Movies, Detroit, Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, Long Hot Summer of 1967, Jackson State, Los Angeles, Ferguson, Baltimore, blind pig, George Romney, Algiers Motel, The Algiers Motel incident, Jason Mitchell, Algee Smith, Jacob Latimore, Hannah Moore, Kaitlyn Dever, Anthony Mackie, Will Poulter, Jack Reynor, Ben O'Tooel, Austin Hebert, John Boyega, Barry Ackroyd, Captain Phillips, Unbroken, Jacob Lawrence, Migration series, cautionary tale, race relations, Life Lessons, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, historical drama, real-life events, real-life people, 1967, movie review, film review, movie commentary, film commentary, film critic, movie critic, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle, CIFCCComment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Little Hours

The phrase “nuns behaving badly” sounds like a bad porno title or a silly hashtag. Alas, that’s the low-hanging fruit and chicanery afoot in The Little Hours. Tracing inspiration to a yarn from one of Giovanni Boccaccio’s collected 14th century novellas in The Decameron, the new ensemble film from Jeff Baena wraps it religious habit up with wit, erotica, and practical jokes from Italian prose translated into a modern vernacular.

2017, 3 STARS, Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Video on DemandDon ShanahanJuly 14, 2017Music Box TheatreThe Little Hours, Jeff Baena, Looking, Lauren Weedman, Life After Beth, Joshy, Masetto da Lamporecchio, The Mila Kunis Effect, The Decameron, Giovanni Boccaccio, Chicago Critics Film Festival, 5th Chicago Critics Film Festival, 2017 Chicago Critics Film Festival, CFCA, CIFCC, Fred Armisen, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Kate Micucci, Nick Offerman, David Franco, film review, movie review, film commentary, movie commentary, life lessons, independent film, independent films, Music Box Theatre, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, social commentary, Sex comedies, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: A Ghost Story

Welcome to the polarizing gamut of engagement, acceptance, and disquiet of A Ghost Story. This is a wholly original film that takes preparation, patience, absorption, and reflection that some, or even many, may not be ready for. Presented in the rounded and claustrophobic corners of a centered 1.33:1 aspect ratio, it is safe to say, you will see nothing like this all year and maybe several more.

2017, 3 STARS, Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJuly 12, 2017Music Box Theatre2017, 2017 Chicago Critics Film Festival, 5th Chicago Critics Film Festival, David Lowery, A Ghost Story, Sundance Film Festival, 2017 Sundance Film Festival, Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Andrew Droz Palermo, Terrence Malick, Emmanuel Lubezki, Daniel Hart, Dark Rooms, I Get Overwhelmed, Annell Brodeur, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, aspect ratio, polarizing, CIFCC, Music Box Theatre, Virginia Woolf, A Haunted House, patience, ghost stories, life lessons, independent film, A24 Films, A24, life lessons from movies, life lessons from film, film review, movie review, film commentary, movie commentary, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Pete's Dragon, social commentary, film critics, film critic, movie critic, movie critics, Chicago Film Critics Association, film festival, Festival coverage, Festival reviewComment

MOVIE CLASSROOM: War for the Planet of the Apes

It's time to call the prequel trilogy of Planet of the Apes one of the best movie trilogies of all-time. It's time to give serious Oscar consideration to Andy Serkis as Caeser. It's time to see what is, so far, the best film of 2017. Hear those thoughts and more in my "Movie Classroom" interactive whiteboard video review for War for the Planet of the Apes as it appears published on the Every Movie Has a Lesson YouTube channel. See this film immediately.

MOVIE CLASSROOM: Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man: Homecoming, starring Tom Holland as a true and proper teenage Spider-Man/Peter Parker, is a welcome and refreshing clean slate for the character. It's too bad it took three franchise attempts to get here. Filled to the brim with both easter eggs, supporting characters, swell touches of character, and zesty heart, this is the Spider-Man film you've always hoped for. Enjoy my full spoken review layered with an interactive whiteboard lesson for the latest "Movie Classroom" video review on this website's YouTube channel:

MOVIE CLASSROOM: Baby Driver

Edgar Wright's new film Baby Driver falls in the category of sub-genre of action films that I like to call "kinetic films." Hear that genre definition, how Baby Driver fits the bill as ideal summer entertainment and more as I present the spoken form of my full review of the film accompanied by an interactive whiteboard lesson via the ShowMe app. Enjoy the latest video review in my "Movie Classroom" series on this website's YouTube channel:

MOVIE CLASSROOM: The Beguiled

Sofia Coppola's film may have been lauded at the Cannes Film Festival, but The Beguiled was a bit of a miss for me, despite its rich aesthetics. Here my full review, complete with new intro music and title card, and watch an interactive whiteboard lesson of notes and fun created by the ShowMe app for iPad over on my YouTube channel and "Movie Classroom" series.

EDITORIAL: The Best of 2017 (so far)

I'm beginning to love making this annual halfway point list. For me, 2017 has been a year for immense volume. Since January, I've reviewed 64 films, 58 of which were 2017 releases and not carryovers from a late 2016 awards season. Thanks to some film festival and advance press access, you can add 16 short films and four more feature films pending the windows to publish reviews. True to my website's hook, I present each film with its best life lesson from my review.