CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Sony Pictures Classics
Film Review: ‘Wild Tales’ Boldly Catalogs the State of Civilization
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 1, 2015 - 1:31pmCHICAGO – Road rage, parking fines and weddings are unlikely subjects designed to showcase criminal inhumanity, but “Wild Tales” – from Argentina – takes those common themes and provides some lessons on the breakdown of our civilizaton, in a momentous prologue and five stellar stories.
Film Review: Life, Geopolitics & Hockey in Excellent ‘Red Army’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 7, 2015 - 2:42pmCHICAGO – How often can we learn life lessons from the most unlikely of sources? The documentary “Red Army” is one such source, as director Gabe Polsky tells the story of the Soviet Union hockey team, which expands to the the very parameters of human nature and competition.
Interview: Director Gabe Polsky on Superb Documentary ‘Red Army’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 3, 2015 - 3:49pmCHICAGO – Every red-blooded American has been told the story of the “Miracle on Ice,” the 1980 Winter Olympic upset of the mighty Soviet Union hockey team by Team USA. But who were the Soviet players? Why were they the best in the world? Director Gabe Polsky explores these questions in the documentary “Red Army.”
Film Review: Julianne Moore Delivers Shattering Portrayal in ‘Still Alice’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 16, 2015 - 1:01pmCHICAGO – In one of the best film acting performances from 2014, Julianne Moore devastatingly portrays a woman in her fifties who is a victim of early onset Alzheimer’s disease. As the effects of dementia physically deteriorates her life, it is a wonder if she is “Still Alice.”
Film Review: Eccentric Story of ‘Mr. Turner’ Still Visually Arresting
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 26, 2014 - 10:23amCHICAGO – The thing that can be said for British writer/director Mike Leigh is that it’s never known what story may capture his fancy. The auteur of “Happy-Go-Lucky,” “Topsy-Turvy,” “Secrets and Lies” and “Life is Sweet” now tackles the last quarter century of a notable British painter’s life, through his strange maneuverings and unconventionality, in “Mr. Turner.”
Film Review: Human Emotions Transcend Wealth in ‘Foxcatcher’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 21, 2014 - 12:40pmCHICAGO – In the memorable film “Barton Fink,” the title character is asked to write a wrestling movie for Wallace Beery. If Fink had isolated himself long enough, he might have come up with “Foxcatcher,” demonstrating once again that a true story is much stranger than fiction.
Interview: Director Bennett Miller is the Hound in ‘Foxcatcher’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 18, 2014 - 11:10amCHICAGO – There are many categories of film director types – facilitators, tacticians, framers, to name a few – but there are few real artists. Bennett Miller has guided three films in his career, “Capote,” “Moneyball” and his latest “Foxcatcher.” All three have a purposeful artistry, and explore the soul within the humanity it portrays.
Film Review: ‘Whiplash’ Finds a Big Rhythm, Gives it a Backbeat
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 17, 2014 - 7:18pmCHICAGO – When is the last time you had a bit of sweat after coming out of a movie? “Whiplash” will do that, and it contains not one action sequence or superhero, unless you consider J.K. Simmons as a sociopathic music guru a hero (he is in a way), and drumming as action (it is).
Interview: Director Damien Chazelle Cracks the ‘Whiplash’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 15, 2014 - 10:48amCHICAGO – Simply one of the best movies of 2014, “Whiplash” has a tone, energy and sensibility all its own. Damien Chazelle wrote and directed the story of a jazz drummer prodigy at a prestigious New York City music college, tortured by his tyrannical instructor. The drama is scintillating, in rhythm with the natural story flow.
Film Review: Celebrating the Ordinary Couple in ‘Love is Strange’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 29, 2014 - 6:53amCHICAGO – It is a time, and the time is now. Leave it to filmmaker Ira Sachs to break a barrier simply by having the right timing. Exploring a long time gay couple, right at the cusp of their now-legal marriage, opens the door to an odd series of ordinary circumstances in “Love is Strange.”