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. …

          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…

          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…

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…

        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…

      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…

      Long Shot feels like a movie that was written by a group of teenage boys hanging out in a basement.  A schlubby male fantasy filled with stoner jokes, gross out gags, and a love story about a beautiful, successful woman saving a vulgar, out of shape, down-on-his-luck writer.  Luckily, thanks to few funny moments and terrific performances by Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen, Long Shot feels more like a misfire than a complete…