Oscilloscope

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com features an audio review of the newly released “The Twentieth Century,” the debut of Canadian filmmaker Matthew Rankin. The film is a surreal retelling of Canadian history, specifically regarding former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King.

CHICAGO – The name Hal Ashby might not be as familiar to today’s film watchers, but the movies he made in the 1970s are considered classics… like “Harold and Maude,” “The Last Detail,” “Shampoo,” “Coming Home” and “Being There.” The short spark of his creative energy is profiled in a documentary by Amy Scott simply called “Hal.” The film opens at the Gene Siskel Film Center on November 9th, 2018. For details and ticket info, click here.

CHICAGO – Elvis Presley, besides being one of the most famous entertainers of the 20th Century, does symbolize to an extent what can happen to icons when they turn towards certain directions in a career. Director Eugene Jarecki has created an amazing documentary about Elvis called “The King,” that uses his rise and decline as a symbol for the American Dream.

CHICAGO – Elvis Presley, besides being one of the most famous entertainers of the 20th Century, does symbolize to an extent what can happen to icons when they turn towards certain directions in a career. Director Eugene Jarecki has created an amazing documentary about Elvis called “The King,” that uses his rise and decline as a symbol for the American Dream.

CHICAGO – “Bellflower” is another indie drama about romance gone horribly awry. And yet it’s also not “another” anything. With unique style choices and competing streaks of nihilism, romantic love, and misogyny, star/writer/director Evan Glodell’s debut made waves in certain circles and now comes to Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of one of the most impressive home release studios on the market, Oscilloscope. The film is such a dark slice of work that it will only appeal to a certain audience but at least Oscilloscope treats the fans of this likely cult classic well.

CHICAGO – Kelly Reichardt’s “Meek’s Cutoff” is certainly not a film for everyone. It features long, drawn-out scenes that are not only free of dialogue but basically just feature sorrowful people walking to the rhythm of the wagon wheel and the tune of the blowing wind. For the right viewers, these passages will frustrate but if you give yourself over to this remarkable film, they will build tension inside of you in a unique, discomfiting way.

CHICAGO – Two of the best documentaries of 2010 were recently released on DVD and both are well-worth your time in the very near future as they serve as prime examples of the vitality of the form of non-fiction filmmaking. Both “A Film Unfinished” and the Oscar-winning “Inside Job” are riveting filmmaking, proof that subjects that one might consider dry can be turned into a devastating experience.

CHICAGO – James Franco gave a riveting performance in Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours” that is likely to earn one of the best actors of his generation an Academy Award nomination in a few weeks, but it wasn’t his only stellar turn in 2010. He also thoroughly delivered as the legendary poet Allen Ginsberg in the hybrid “Howl,” a film that’s part poem, part courtroom drama, and part history lesson. It doesn’t always come together but it’s worth seeing just for Franco’s work and the strength of the source material alone.

CHICAGO – The brilliant “Exit Through the Gift Shop” may look like a documentary but it’s closer to a piece of performance art, a daring examination of the creative expression of street art that becomes an expression itself. How much of it is true? How much is scripted? Unlike other “controversial” 2010 documentaries “I’m Still Here” and “Catfish” it doesn’t matter this time because Banksy’s amazing film is a joy to behold either way.