April 2013

CHICAGO – Every film buff remembers the first time they laid eyes on director Stanley Kubrick’s memorable horror classic, “The Shining.” In the film, Scatman Crothers’ character warns young Danny, “There ain’t nothing in Room 237…so stay out.” Filmmaker Rodney Ascher has ignored that warning in his documentary, “Room 237,” and takes us inside one of the most analyzed films in cinema history.

CHICAGO – The “Soup Nazi” is in Chicago. Actor Larry Thomas – who memorably portrayed that character on two episodes of “Seinfeld” – has a role in the new Chicago-based independent film “You Don’t Say!” directed by local veteran filmmaker Robert Alaniz. “You Don’t Say!” premieres on Saturday, April 6th, at the historic Patio Theater in Chicago, with a red carpet and after-film Q&A.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The silent film, which was revived by the 2011 Best Picture Oscar winner “The Artist,” is honored again in the new film “Blancanieves.” This artful re-imagining of the Snow White story – set in Spanish bullfighting rings – cherishes the feel of silent film, and features clever composition.

CHICAGO – When the trailer for Fede Alvarez’s remake of the Sam Raimi classic “Evil Dead” hit the net, horror fans giggled with glee. A gore fest with no CGI made in the spirit of the flick that made Bruce Campbell a star? Sign me up. With the weakened state of the genre overall (last year was a rough one for horror fans), we were kind of banking on this one.

CHICAGO – Derek Cianfrance’s masterful “The Place Beyond the Pines” is a complex, epic piece of storytelling about the ripple effect of crime through families and across generations. Drastic action does not exist in a vacuum. It influences generations below and those impacted by their parent’s decisions.

CHICAGO – When I first walked into the Chicago film critic’s screening room in January of 2008, Roger Ebert was sitting there, in the seat where he always held court. I had met him only a couple times earlier, as just a film buff and his admirer. It was the first time I was to join him as a fellow film critic, and it didn’t seem possible.

CHICAGO – The Chicago Sun-Times has reported that Roger Ebert, beloved and influential film critic at the Chicago Sun-Times, has died today at age 70, of complications due to cancer.

CHICAGO – The mystery of Stanley Kubrick is one of his great attributes. He directed a scant 12 major films in a forty year career, each with its own genre-busting stamp. His work has inspired an overall passion for films, numerous analytical studies and a new documentary about the theories behind his 1980 masterpiece, “The Shining.” Rodney Ascher directs this strange and compelling film, “Room 237.”

CHICAGO – Any list of the most influential films of the ’70s that doesn’t include Terrence Malick’s brilliant “Badlands” is incomplete. It’s one of those cinematic works that’s so important to its era and how it influenced filmmakers that saw it that it’s hard to put into reviews in a brief review such as this one. It is iconic in the way Malick took the familiar (it’s based on a true story that was well-known at the time) and made it artistic. It’s also a great selection for The Criterion Collection, joining Malick’s “Days of Heaven” and “The Thin Red Line” in the most important series of Blu-rays ever released.

CHICAGO – How do so many talented comedians end up making such an awful sitcom as ABC’s “How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life)”? The show is proof that the writer is still the king of television and that even a cast this notable can’t save cliched, poorly-written comedy.

CHICAGO – One of the characteristics of the expanded TV spectrum is new programming from unlikely sources. DIRECTV is debuting a new series for their subscribers, a street drama called “Rogue.” The series features Thandie Newton as a conflicted undercover cop, and co-stars Joshua Sasse and Leah Gibson.