The closing film for the 53rd Chicago International Film Festival was Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water, which seems destined for many Academy Award nominations this season. It also served as an opportunity to pay tribute to Michael Shannon, ...
When I taught 7th and 8th grade Language Arts, I always showed the students the documentary (16 mm. film rented from the local library) “Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees.” Imagine my excitement at learning that Director Brett Morgen (“The ...
Lady Bird is the name that Saiorse Ronan gives herself (in the film of the same name), rather than her given name of Christine. The Greta Gerwig-helmed indie film was smartly written and gives Gerwig an impressive directorial debut with ...
Director Sam Pollard brought his hugely entertaining documentary Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta’ Be Me to the 53rd Chicago International Film Festival and spoke about the fascinating subject of this film. A host of celebrities, ranging from Whoopie Goldberg to Billy ...
Sir Patrick Stewart Is Honored during Chicago International Film Festival was honored with a Special Tribute night on Wednesday, October 25, 2017, at the 53rd Chicago International Film Festival. This spring, the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor earned some ...
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is written and directed by Martin McDonagh (“In Bruges,” “Seven Psychopaths”) and if that doesn’t get your attention, a cast that includes Frances McDormand (“Fargo”), Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Peter Dinklage, and John Hawkes, just ...
The Chicago International Film Festival announced winners of many awards, celebrating the films chosen by the Festival juries in various categories on October 20th, 2017. Among those selected for awards were two foreign films that definitely impressed me: “The Charmer” ...
A Moon of Nickel and Ice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBP6Ws_13fU In the icy Russian mining city of Norlisk, population 177,000, residents endure sub-zero temperatures and the weight of a dark history. A Moon of Nickel and Ice: Once a Soviet labor camp in the ...
Thoroughbreds written and directed by Corey Finley, was a Sundance sensation and it was my favorite film on Sunday, October 15th at the Chicago International Film Festival. (Thoroughbreds does not officially open until March). The script for Thoroughbreds is very funny ...
The documentary The Experimental City written and directed by Chad Freidrichs (“The Pruitt-Igoe Myth) brings the fascinating true story of the MXC (Minnesota Experimental City) to the 53rd Annual Chicago International Film Festival for its World Premiere. In the 1960’s, ...
In her directorial debut after a lengthy career as a much-lauded actress, Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave takes on a cause near and dear to her heart in “Sea Sorrow.” That cause is trying to alleviate the refugee crisis affecting ...
Vanessa Redgrave is one of the most honored actresses of her generation. Now 80, she has been Oscar-nominated six times (winning for Best Supporting Actress for “Julia” in 1977) and may be the only British actress to have won an ...
