NIGHTWATCH: DEMONS ARE FOREVER is stuck in the past
by Joe Carlough, Staff Writer
If you’re into gruesome thrillers, the original film is worth a revival, but, if I were you, I’d leave the sequel locked in the morgue.
I SAW THE TV GLOW connects us all through our own dissonances
by Tori Potenza, Staff Writer
The themes of I Saw the Tv Glow feel equally personal and universal. And if your formative years were the early 2000s there is even more of a chance that this will resonate.
Chicago Critics Film Festival: DANDELION, WHAT YOU WISH FOR, GASOLINE RAINBOW, GOOD ONE
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
The Chicago Critics Film Festival ended as of last night and had a delightful and varied lineup of films. Here are some that will be worth looking out for when they release more broadly.
THE LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY is an impressive feature debut
by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport & Editor in Chief
This film is a breath of fresh air amongst the suffocation caused by Hollywood superhero worlds, universe building, remakes, and rehashes.
Read MoreEVIL DOES NOT EXIST pulls back from language for a change in perspective
by Jo Rempel, Staff Writer
Evil Does Not Exist does not seek to mend the divide between humans and nature. Even if false, the divide is maintained by our actions and trickles down into our words.
FORCE OF NATURE: THE DRY 2 offers little more than nice looking locations
by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer
Force of Nature: The Dry 2 proves more is less.
Chicago Critics Film Festival: SING SING, CUCKOO, ME, I SAW THE TV GLOW
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
The Chicago Critics Film Festival is currently underway, with multiple films scheduled each day through Thursday, May 9. There are plenty of intriguing films still to come, so check out the lineup. I wanted to share some short takes on what I have seen so far!
THE IDEA OF YOU reminds us that Anne Hathaway absolutely has it
by Emily Maesar, Associate Editor, TVJawn
The Idea of You is a really fun and sweet film that should make any rom-com lover happy.
STRESS POSITIONS looks at surviving the mundanity of isolation
by Jo Rempel, Staff Writer
In Stress Positions, beauty is a way of questioning the world. The world in this particular case is the mid-pandemic reality, one of the ultra-mundane.
If nothing else, THE FALL GUY is loaded with charm
by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport & Editor in Chief
I want to see Gosling and Blunt team again because, even in a lackluster production, these two are a reminder that the idea of a Hollywood star is not dead.
BOY KILLS WORLD gets a little too goofy but always kicks ass
by Alex Rudolph, Staff Writer
The main problem with Boy Kills World is that we no longer live in a world where studios crank out a half-dozen movies like it every month.
HUMANE shows a glimpse of a horrific future
by Tina Kakadelis, Staff Writer
Humane marks the feature directorial debut of Caitlin Cronenberg who, like the rest of her family, weaves a tangled, chilling, family-drama thriller
CHALLENGERS deconstructs sex, relationships, and yes, tennis
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
In Luca Guadagnino’s latest film, Challengers, tennis becomes a malleable metaphor for the way we try to externalize our internal desires and the distance between ourselves and the people we feel closest to.
ABIGAIL mixes monster fun with slasher kills
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
The filmmakers clearly have a lot of affection for the classic monster movies and understand what made them scary to audiences almost a century ago.
CHICKEN FOR LINDA! is a savory film about the messiness of life
by Megan Robinson, Staff Writer
Chicken for Linda! is about mess. The messes we make and clean up, the messy people we all are deep down, and the messy emotions we face every single day.
LITTLE EMPTY BOXES is a stealth "health food" documentary with little empathy
by Alex Rudolph, Staff Writer
I felt like I had watched somebody use their loved one's death to sell supplements. It hurt. It'll hurt for a while.
SASQUATCH SUNSET hangs out in the woods with little to say
by Ian Hrabe, Staff Writer
Sasquatch Sunset is the sort of a movie you see on Netflix, remember how you heard about it when it came out, throw it on for 10 minutes, and then say, "Welp, glad I didn't pay to see that one in the theater."
Director’s Company x2: BUMPKIN SOUP and THE CRAZY FAMILY
by Clayton Hayes, Staff Writer
Director’s Company x2 is Japan Society’s double-feature homage to the pioneering independent production company that operated in Japan for a decade, from 1982 to 1992,
HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS is a triumph in low-budget slapstick comedy
by Gena Radcliffe, Staff Writer
Beyond the whimsical practical effects, and the fact that not a single word of dialogue is spoken other than occasional grunts and shouts, the real miracle of Hundreds of Beavers is that this extremely simple plot successfully carries an entire feature-length film.
ARCADIAN is a bland post-apocalyptic nothing
by Megan Robinson, Staff Writer
Arcadian tells and shows very little, in the end. Rather than reflecting this intentionally confusing apocalypse in the small family of father and sons, it feels instead insular and lacking in pathos.