“The Handmaiden” (South Korea) Directed by Chan-wook Park You gotta give it to Chan-wook Park (“Oldboy”, “Lady Vengeance”). He really knows how to create a beautiful looking film. He also knows how to write an epic script about incredibly simple … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #18: “The Handmaiden” (South Korea)
“Olympic Pride, American Prejudice” (USA) Directed by Deborah Riley Draper This may sound like the rantings of a voice-over professional, but, in many ways, the most important element of any documentary film which utilizes a narrator, is the dispassionate telling … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #17: “Olympic Pride, American Prejudice” (USA)
“You’re Killing Me, Susanna” (Mexico) Directed by Roberto Sneider So you say you’re looking for a cute RomCom featuring charming characters, incredibly steamy sex scenes, and maybe even a fish-out-water element? Well, as long as you don’t care that there … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #16: “You’re Killing Me, Susanna” (Mexico)
“Kaleidoscope” (UK) Directed by Rupert Jones Oy, this film. Part psycho-social character study, part who-dunnit and part very dark comedy…”Kaleidoscope” is all kinds of boring. While it does have some positives to offer, when all is said and done, “Kaleidoscope” … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #15: “Kaleidoscope” (UK)
“Karl Marx City” (Germany) Directed by Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker Okay…if you start a film with a title card that states the images and sounds we are about to see were taken directly from Stasi (East German Secret Police) … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #14: “Karl Marx City” (Germany)
“The Last Laugh” (USA) Directed by Ferne Pearlstein “The Last Laugh” is a joyful, yet occasionally difficult, documentary that picks up in some ways where “The Aristocrats” left off…analyzing a very specific subset of humor in Western culture. However, in … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #13: “The Last Laugh” (USA)
“The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki” (Finland) Directed by Juho Kuosmanen Finland is not known for a tradition of boxing films. I’m sure this is, in great part, due to the lack of international boxing champions or … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #12: “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki” (Finland)
“Paradise” (German/Russia) Directed by Andrey Konchalovsky So, as is the expectation for every iteration of the Chicago Film Fest, there exists a feature film about the Shoah (Holocaust for the uninitiated). Last year there was one such film by a … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #11: “Ray (Paradise)” (Germany/Russia)
“Strike A Pose” (USA) Directed by Ester Gold and Reijer Zwaan There are two types of bio-docs. The first has a certain filmcraft and style which illuminates the subject in a way that heightens the viewers’ emotions. The second simply … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #10: “Strike A Pose” (USA)
“Middle Man” (USA) Directed by Ned Crowley What a joy to see a wholly American film that is as wildly irreverent and dark as “Middle Men”. Made with mostly Chicago talent, this horrifyingly funny road movie, about a wannabe stand-up, … Continue reading 52nd Chicago International Film Festival Screening #9: “Middle Man” (USA)
The No Spoiler Critic 