Jon Espino

CHICAGO – Film has always felt like a much more accessible way to get cultured than, say, going to watch a play or opera. Watching a foreign film can educate you about the world and history as well as any play. “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” promised that kind of experience, but your time is better served catching the actual ballet at a local theater instead.

CHICAGO – The Bandit. Gator. The Man Who Loved Women. Jack Horner. Burt Reynolds played all these roles, in a roller coaster career that encompassed three eras of film and television. Reynolds died last month at age 82, taking with him a different breed of movie star, one that stole a scene with a self assured wink, mischievous smile and high pitched laugh.

CHICAGO – I was one of the last sentinels; a conscientious objector in the war against comic book films. The handful of these that come out yearly had yet to weigh heavy on my film soul, especially when so many of the newer ones creating unique experiences, like “Deadpool” and “Thor: Ragnarok”.

CHICAGO – Writer Neil Simon was an American treasure, and created humor that anchored his often neurotic characters into our consciousness. From his early days in 1950s TV (“Your Show of Shows”) to winning a 1990s Pulitzer Prize for “Lost in Yonkers,” he refined and produced “the laugh.” Simon died on August 26th, 2018, at age 91, in New York City.

CHICAGO - Cuando rehagas una película, tienes que asegurarte de que vale la pena rehacerla y es relevante hoy. Eugenio Derbez hace exactamente eso con “Overboard”. La película se actualiza social y culturalmente, y es sorprendentemente familiar. Esta versión también se lanzará en teatros con un doblaje en español. Hablamos con el legendario comediante Eugenio Derbez sobre la película, ser Mexicano en Hollywood y mucho más!

CHICAGO - When you remake a film, you have to make sure it is worth remaking and is relevant today. Eugenio Derbez does exactly that with “Overboard”. The film is socially and culturally updated, and made surprisingly family friendly.

CHICAGO - High school is either the best or worst experience of people’s lives. There is no middle ground. It’s always a constant battle that doesn’t end even after a decade. Add that pressure on top of coming home for the holiday with a hint of death and you get “Most Likely to Murder”. We talk with Adam Pally and Dan Gregor about comedy, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”, and more!

CHICAGO - Many people think that human trafficking is a problem in other countries, but not the US. They would be wrong. This modern form of slavery is alive and well in the US, but it is well-hidden, especially since most people don’t pay attention to the signs. Writer/Director Deon Taylor and actor Laz Alonso talk to us about this dark topic and much more!

CHICAGO - As a whole, we have a fascination with watching destruction in front of us. It provides a catharsis from our heavily stressed lives, especially in the Trump era. It provides a necessary release of aggression, the same way video games do for people. “Rampage” scratches that itch, but only if you aren’t also looking to be intellectually stimulated or care about plot coherence.

CHICAGO – Terror and fear take several forms. Sometimes it’s something as simple as spiders or snakes or even an incompetent president. Other times it can take the form of natural states, like darkness. Horror films channel our fears, but the great ones give us something new to fear. “A Quiet Place” lures us in with the safety of silence, only to reveal the monsters hiding within.