“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” Directed by David Yates With the disclaimer that I never read the books, I’ve found the Harry Potter film series to be delightful, charming and often wondrous. They each have epic plots and … Continue reading “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
“A Man Called Ove” (Sweden) Directed by Hannes Holm My parents…now happily married for over 63 years…began pestering me to see this film over two weeks ago. Knowing little about it, other than it is Sweden’s offering for the Foreign … Continue reading “A Man Called Ove” (Sweden)
“Arrival” Directed by Denis Villeneuve “Arrival”. Hmm… so… okay… imagine if Terence Malick (in his “Tree of Life” phase) had made “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” but WITH Denis Villeneuve’s attention to tension. This should give you a decent … Continue reading “Arrival”
“The Together Project” (France/Iceland) Directed by Solveig Anspach This utterly goofy and highly enjoyable film from the late Solveig Anspach, might be one of the strangest (and most earnest) RomCom’s I’ve seen. At its core, it sounds simple enough…a Frenchman … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #23: “The Together Project” (France/Iceland)
“Dog Days” (China) Directed by Jordan Schiele Sweat. Lots of it. Jordan Schiele’s debut feature is a small, road movie about a woman searching for her child, accompanied by a young male stripper. It will do nothing to please Chinese … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #22: “Dog Days” (China)
“Saint George” (Portugal) Directed by Marco Martins I don’t have a long (or any) history with Portugese cinema, so I can’t adequately tell if the style of “Saint George” (“Sao Jorge”) is typical fare. But I AM fairly conversant in … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #21: “Saint George” (Portugal)
“The View From Tall” (USA) Directed by Caitlin Parrish and Erica Weiss This first feature for directors Parrish and Weiss is based on the play written by Ms. Parrish and revolves around the relationship between a young woman coming out … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #20: “The View From Tall” (USA)
“Soul On A String” (China) Directed by Zhang Yang Zhang Yang’s mysterious epic is, above all else, beautiful to look at and a worthwhile experience. Set in the mountainous regions of Tibet, at its outset “String” feels like a Sergio … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #19: “Soul On A String” (China)
“Doctor Strange” Directed by Scott Derrickson I went in to “Doctor Strange” utterly ignorant of this Marvel character’s history. And, usually, that’s not a problem with Marvel films, because, unlike DC Comic films, Marvel films are filled with an underlying … Continue reading “Doctor Strange”
“Gimme Danger” Directed by Jim Jarmusch There is a quote in Jarmusch’s effusive documentary about The Stooges, spoken by Iggy Pop, that goes something like this: “When I look out at [current] audiences that come to see The Stooges, I … Continue reading “Gimme Danger”
The No Spoiler Critic 