Martin McDonagh’s new film puts prickly in the pastoral glazing its country charm with absolute acid every chance it gets. Part stern crime drama and part small-town chicanery, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri displays the next level of McDonagh’s talent and potential. Always the sharp storyteller since his roots on the Irish stage, McDonagh’s writing prowess elevates a premise that would fall flat as pure farce in other hands
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Michael Glover Smith’s words of mounting depth and weight turn idle chatter into soapboxes that eventually become proverbial fortifications built around questioned principles and shattered wills. The ensemble of performers delivers on the required heavy lifting from the director to make the multitude of human flaws believable yet still approachable. Mercury in Retrograde is a hidden gem.
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In a return engagement for a zany sequel, Every Movie Has a Lesson welcomes back the four fine ladies and working moms of the "TTC" (Terrific Teacher Committee). Say hello again to Donna Ferretti, Kelly Johnson, Manda Torres, and my own wife, Mrs. Thanh Shanahan, the purveyor of this website's "Pillow Rankings" section. Sixteen months ago, they reviewed Bad Moms on this website as "Guest Critics."
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This past week, I was cordially invited and honored to join a panel on the "Kicking the Seat" podcast hosted by Ian Simmons. As always, Ian is joined by his regular wingman David Fowlie of Keeping it Reel. We left a seat warm for mutual friend Emmanuel Noisette of E-Man's Movie Reviews, but he couldn't make it. Ian, David, and I have talked comic book movies before, so it was only proper to get together for Justice League.
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I do my best to write professional grade film criticism fit for a formal audience, becoming best friends with a thesaurus and using my big boy words. By day, I'm an elementary school educator. At work this year, I've been organizing a special field trip for 5th graders to see Wonder after they've been reading the novel all fall. This second "student-friendly" movie review is for them and other younger readers. Revised, this review scales down my review down from an 11.6 Flesch Kincaid readability level to a comfy 4.4 average.
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Wonder’s buoyant messages are the moving jolt of empathy this generation needs. Even better, its literal and figurative precepts carry an inspiring weight worthy to last many generations more. Directed by the good hands of Stephen Chbosky, Wonder is an instant classic, sure to become a new favorite, for its target audience and a winning (and rare) example of a film taking great care to do justice by the book it is based on.
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Justice League comes across like attempted course correction done on that Etch-a-Sketch. The artist, or artists in this case, are trying to retrace old paths and smooth over past missteps with redrawn swirls, lighter hues, and a fluffy cover-up we call comedy. That effort on the cinematic Etch-a-Sketch indeed changes the initial picture, but only after unnecessarily tedious effort and some remaining messy results.
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In her solo feature directorial debut, Greta Gerwig has stepped in and pushed this cinematic species tremendously forward with the dramedy Lady Bird. The film destroys any notion of the “manic pixie dream girl” fakery. Lady Bird is a cornucopia woven with striking candor and filled with delightful oxymorons artfully composed to challenge taboos and stereotypes. Let’s give each oxymoron a life lesson and a paragraph or two along the way.
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Fellow Chicago critic Jeff York is a delight to talk to on any and all topics, but our movie chats have become truly special. Jeff was able to view and review Kenneth Branagh's remake of Murder on the Orient Express. He's a self-professed fan and cover-to-cover expert on the Agatha Christie source novel and the previously celebrated 1974 film adaptation. His review will do better informative service than mine ever would.
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One of the most dramatic of all meteorological phenomenon is fog. It can be used to ratchet up tension, conceal terrifying creatures, and even provide important characters with a suitably dramatic entrance. Spanning genres from horror to sci-fi, mist and fog are more versatile than mere set dressing. This infographic from Vaping Man shares the importance (not forgetting the scare-factor) that fog brings to the silver screen.
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There are few things more scenic and compelling than a wide-open rooftop overlooking a sprawling urban landscape. The perception of heigh and depth does it all. Over the years, some iconic movie scenes have taken place on rooftops. Maybe it’s the risk of falling off, or the build-up to the inevitable showdown at the end. Here is an engaging infographic from Rubber Band on some of the best rooftop confrontations in movie history.
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No author has seen his work has seen his work made into more movies than Stephen King, with over 50 films originating from his writing. However, not every movie was a success. Courtesy of MoneyPod, enjoy this intriguing infographic on the cinematic successes and failures based on the works of Stephen King.
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