Wild Rose is like a country 8 Mile by way of Glasgow. It’s an inspirational, gritty musical about the struggles of following your dream versus the responsibilities of real life featuring one of the year’s best performances. Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley) is a talented, charismatic, aspiring country music singer. Fresh out of prison and reunited with her son and daughter, all she wants is to get out of Glasgow and…
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When you are someone who seems as many movies as I do, you tend to know the path certain movies are going to go. You let the movie play out and eventually, you can figure out what is going to happen beat for beat. Being surprised in a movie is not something that happens as often as I would like it to, which is what makes Richard Shepard’s The Perfection so special. …
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Seeing Greener Grass at the Chicago Critics Film Festival was my third time seeing the film. The first two times I saw it was at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where I left both screenings feeling like I liked the movie, but was little put off at some points. Seeing it for a third time changed my opinion quite a bit, as I now find Greener Grass a delirious black comedy perfect…
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Saint Frances kicked off the 7th annual Chicago Critics Film Festival and what a delightful way to start the festival it was. Alex Thompson’s film is smart, funny, endearing, authentic, and showcases the talent of writer/start Kelly O’Sullivan. Bridget (Kelly O’Sullivan) isn’t society’s definition of successful. She’s a 34 year old waitress with no prospects for a lover or for a family, which is cool with Bridget. Bridget still thinks…
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The Chicago Critics Film Festival kicks off this weekend at the famed Music Box Theater in Chicago. This is the seventh year of this festival, a festival that highlights some of the hottest titles making their way around the festival circuit. Every year features a great batch of movies and this year is no different. I am excited to see as many great movies as I can at this years festival, but these are the…
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This review was originally published for Vents magazine. Link HERE The word parabellum is a Latin phrase meaning, “if you want peace, prepare for war” and a war is what we got in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, the exhaustingly thrilling, gorgeously shot third installment of one of cinema’s greatest action franchises. The last time we saw Mr. Wick (Keanu Reeves), he had just killed fellow assassin Santino D’Antonio…
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I was in to Pokémon when it first became popular in the United States back in the late 90’s/early 2000’s. I had the cards, played the game on my Gameboy, and even watched the show and the movies based on the show. Watching Pokémon Detective Pikachu brought me back to that time. It might be different from the Pokémon I grew up with, taking place in a different world with plenty…
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Anne Hathaway is one of my favorite actresses working today. Since seeing her in The Princess Diaries nearly twenty years ago, Hathaway has continuously grown as an actress, challenging herself to play a number of different characters and play them well. Whether she is acting in an Oscar-worthy drama or a fun popcorn flick, Hathaway always gives her all and is good in everything she does, even if the movie doesn’t match her skill. This…
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It is time for us to get excited for one of the most exciting times in the cinematic year: Summer Movie season! This is one of the most exciting times as a movie-goer, as the cinemas are loaded with blockbusters, sequels, and even some hidden gems along the way. I love the balance between mindless, exciting entertainment and smaller, thought-provoking indies that come out of nowhere. Not sure what movies to see this summer? Don’t…
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I can’t say my expectations were high for The Intruder. I generally try to have a level head when going into every movie, for fair judgement, but this one was leaning on the, “why am I seeing this?” side. But I have to tell you, I had a ball watching it. Sure there are some issues with some of the story beats and some of the “scary” scenes made me chuckle rather than…
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