Her

CHICAGO – She’s conquered the box office as the top grossing female star of all time, and she’s had a series of big superhero and prestige films. The Gene Siskel Film Center honored Scarlett Johansson with their Renaissance Award, at the Ritz Carlton in Chicago on June 20th, 2016.

CHICAGO – There is a tremendous excitement when a fresh director voice is realized, and writer/director/actor Benjamin Dickinson is one such discovery. His feature film debut is ‘Creative Control’ – which like previous futuristic films ‘Ex Machina’ and ‘Her’– explores sex and relationships through our technological evolution.

As a full-time film/TV/game critic and father of three, I very rarely have time to watch something more than once, even if it’s my favorite of the year. And yet I’ve revisited Spike Jonze’s “Her” twice now (for a total of three viewings) and it’s that very rare film that gets richer and more emotionally engaging with each subsequent viewing. I think by the end of the year, it might be my favorite film of 2013.

CHICAGO – Get your scorecards and pencils out, because this is the last stop you’ll need for all your 2014 Academy Award predicting needs…except for the 10 million other media outlets in the age of information. Why is HollywoodChicago.com better? Because our experts have insider information that we completely make up!

As there are upwards of 6,000 members in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, I simply do not have the time or wherewithal to graffiti on everyone’s house “Robert Redford?” However, I can at least make a post on the internet calling out those they have snubbed; exposing where their collective categorizing as a majority of old white males went wrong.

After an intense season of outside-industry kudos delivery, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has proclaimed its favorites of a memorable award season. “12 Years a Slave” continues its momentum with nominees for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay and more.

It’s that most wonderful time of the year in which one group of people (journalists) try to figure out what another group of people (Academy members) think are the best films and performances of the year. Sure, we have the Guild nominees, critics awards, and general buzz but there’s only one thing that I can tell you for sure — one of the predictions below will be wrong. And yet we go out on that limb again every year.

CHICAGO – The year caught up with me. 2013 was characterized by a soft start and a strong finish, but overall there were impressive contenders throughout the year and some fine examples of great storytelling and filmmaking. Risks were taken, some truth emerged and even in more “mainstream” films, there were flashes of promise.

How do we connect with other people? Why do we often push away those we need and stay with those we don’t? Why do we hold on to relationships long after they have stopped working? Is a physical relationship with no intellectual or emotional component somehow more valuable than one that can never be person-to-person but engages on a deeper level? And how do the ways we deal with love and loss impact the way we look at the rest of the world? And why aren’t more movies as good as “Her”?

Steve McQueen’s harrowing “12 Years a Slave” was the big winner at an awards dinner held on December 16, 2013 by the Chicago Film Critics Association, of which HollywoodChicago.com writer Brian Tallerico is the Vice President and HC film critics Adam Fendelman & Patrick McDonald are voting members.