May 2017

CHICAGO – In all film festivals, the real hidden talent can often be found in the Short Films Program. This is the beginning for many great filmmakers, and it is up to the film reporters and programmers to unearth these creative jewels. Film Critic and Writer Collin Souter is the Short Films Programmer for the Chicago Critics Film Festival (CCFF), and the fest will be presenting two separate programs on May 13th and 14th, 2017, during the run of the festival, which takes place from May 12th through May 18th at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre (details below).

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – This is the Amy Schumer-in-the-movies we’ve all been waiting for… the brash zing factory who has a bit of insecurity behind her adventurous and licentious ways. Schumer teams with Goldie Hawn in a mother and daughter laugh factory called “Snatched.”

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated new film “Alien: Covenant” starring Michael Fassbender!

CHICAGO – Cinema/Chicago – the parent organization of the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) – announced today that Mimi Plauché will take over as Artistic Director for the festival, effective immediately. She assumes the position formerly head by Michael Kutza, the Founder of CIFF. Kutza will continue with the festival as President & CEO, overseeing operations, the branding of Cinema/Chicago, fundraising and the education programs.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – As a film set in 1962, shot on glorious black & white 16mm stock, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki” has both a feeling that it was made back then, and a timelessness that radiates from that quality. The film is about a boxer, but his heart turns out to be the champion.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – There is a peculiar and particular morality in the maneuverings of “The Dinner,” a multi-course meditation on how a tragic incident can split both opinion and family. Everything in the present situation has a below-the-surface past that festers like an unhealed wound, constantly causing pain.

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new comedy “Snatched” starring Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn!

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – When I first saw “Guardians of the Galaxy” I was unfamiliar with the comic book source. I enjoyed the film, but worried it might be just a little too nerdy and obscure to develop a following. Now with “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” the series has solidified itself as the class clowns of the Marvel Studios cinematic universe, and it’s been embraced for it.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – In animation, the real innovators who evolve the artform are the risk takers who stamp their own inspiration on those cartoon images. Director Dash Shaw is one of those breakthroughs, who creates a work of anarchistic art in “My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea.”

CHICAGO – The 13th annual CineYouth Festival – presented by Cinema/Chicago – starts on Thursday, May 4th, 2017, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, kicking off a three day festival run. The opening night film is the animated “My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea,” a debut by director Dash Shaw, who will make an appearance on behalf of the film for the CineYouth Festival.

CHICAGO – The Midwest Independent Film Festival, the year round “First Tuesday” film happening in Chicago, is about to go cartoony. The Fest’s first-ever Animation Showcase will take place on Tuesday, May 2nd, 2017, at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema in Chicago. For complete details and to purchase tickets, click here.