Movie Review: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Movie Review: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

  The Mission: Impossible franchise is my favorite movie franchise still churning out movies. I don’t think there is a single bad movie in the franchise (yes, even Mission: Impossible 2 is good), and I could argue that since 2011’s Ghost Protocol, the franchise has produced some of the greatest action films ever made. So, needless to say, I was excited for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the latest and potentially final entry of the…

Read More

Movie Review: Friendship

Movie Review: Friendship

  Friendship might be the hardest I have laughed in a movie this decade. Written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, Friendship is an absurdist comedy that finds two of our best comedic stars working at the height of their powers in perfect unison. It’s a shame it forgets to be a movie for the last act. Tim Robinson plays Craig, an unassuming suburban dad who works for a marketing company, wears nothing but Ocean View…

Read More

Movie Review: A Little Prayer (Chicago Critics Film Festival)

Movie Review: A Little Prayer (Chicago Critics Film Festival)

  A Little Prayer is a gem of a movie. A drama that lets you live with a family and understand the ins and outs of how they function, elements of their past, and all their personalities. It makes you feel like you are part of this family, or that you have been invited in and are staying in the guest room. A Little Prayer centers around Bill (David Strathairn) and his family. Bill owns…

Read More

Movie Review: Fantasy Life (Chicago Critics Film Festival)

Movie Review: Fantasy Life (Chicago Critics Film Festival)

  There is one great thing about Matthew Shear’s Fantasy Life, and that is Amanda Peet. Peet, who came to prominence in the early 2000s in such films as The Whole Nine Yards, Saving Silverman, and Identity but has not been in a theatrical film since 2015’s Sleeping With Other People, gives a spectacular performance as Dianne, an actress and mother who hires Sam (Shear) to be the family’s au pair as she prepares for…

Read More

Movie Review: It Ends (Chicago Critics Film Festival)

Movie Review: It Ends (Chicago Critics Film Festival)

  It Ends starts with four friends, Tyler (Mitchell Cole), James (Phinehas Yoon), Fisher (Noah Toth), and Day (Akira Jackson) are on a seemingly late-night cruise. Their GPS has them make a right turn down a dark road. After driving down the road for a bit, they turn around to go back to the main highway, only for them to continue driving on the same road. They soon realize they might be on a never-ending…

Read More

Movie Review: The Baltimorons (Chicago Critics Film Festival)

Movie Review: The Baltimorons (Chicago Critics Film Festival)

  Jay Duplass crafts one of the best Christmas movies in recent years with The Baltimorons, a sweet and uproarious Christmas journey through the heart of Baltimore. Cliff (Michael Strassner), a recently sober former improv comic, is on his way to his girlfriend’s (Olivia Luccardi) parents’ house on Christmas Eve when an accident at the front stoop forces him to take an emergency trip to the dentist. It being Christmas Eve, not many dentists’ offices…

Read More

Movie Review: April (Chicago Critics Film Festival)

Movie Review: April (Chicago Critics Film Festival)

  Dea Kulumbegashvili’s April is one of the toughest filmgoing experiences I have had in a long time. This is a raw, unflinching, and uncompromising look at what women are going through in present-day Georgia. Nina (Ia Sukhitashvili), an OB-GYN and one of the most respected doctors around, faces accusations after a newborn passes away shortly after birth. With her life under a microscope during the investigation, Nina continues to pursue her medical duties, including…

Read More

From the Collection: Some Like It Hot

From the Collection: Some Like It Hot

Billy Wilder’s classic comedy Some Like It Hot recently got a 4K upgrade from the Criterion Collection. One of the most beloved films of all time, this sizzling masterpiece by Billy Wilder set a new standard for Hollywood comedy. After witnessing a mob hit, Chicago musicians Joe and Jerry (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, in landmark performances) skip town by donning drag and joining an all-female band en route to Miami. The charm of the…

Read More

The Most Exciting Movies Playing at the 2025 Chicago Critics Film Festival

The Most Exciting Movies Playing at the 2025 Chicago Critics Film Festival

The Chicago Critics Film Festival returns to the historic Music Box Theater in Chicago for the 12th time to highlight some of the most exciting films making their rounds on the film festival circuit. Once again, the festival showcases an eclectic group of films, from indie sensations to midnight hits to anniversary screenings of beloved favorites. Here are some of the titles I am most excited about at this year’s festival. Film synopsis from IMDb….

Read More