The Impossible

CHICAGO – I expected to write this feature from a relatively satisfied place. After all, it was such a good year for film and it seemed likely that the Academy were going to make some smart, forward-thinking decisions this morning. And then they took several steps back. Taking safe routes when more interesting ones were available.

CHICAGO – Juan Antonio Bayona’s “The Impossible” captures what its title implies. It transports us to an unimaginable situation, into an absolute nightmare in which air is replaced by rushing water, families are ripped apart, and people’s lives hang in the balance. It is a remarkable achievement in filmmaking, a film that is at times devastating, at times emotional, at times inspirational, and always riveting. It’s one of the best films of 2012.

CHICAGO – Juan Antonio Bayona’s “The Impossible,” starring Tom Holland, Naomi Watts, and Ewan McGregor, is one of the most emotionally wrenching films in years (and my #7 film of 2012). The movie recreates the devastating 2004 tsunami through the true story of a family that was there when it happened.

CHICAGO – Paul Thomas Anderson’s divisive “The Master” led the 2012 Chicago Film Critics Association nominees on Friday morning with a stunning ten.

CHICAGO – In its final days, the 48th Annual Chicago International Film Festival is poised to close with a glorious bang. Chicago native Robert Zemeckis (of “Back to the Future” and “Forrest Gump” fame) will return to the festival for the closing night screening of “Flight,” a thriller starring Denzel Washington. It’s Zemeckis’s first live-action feature since 2000’s “Cast Away.”

CHICAGO – The full schedule has been announced for the 48th Annual Chicago Film Festival, which runs from October 11 to October 25, 2012 and opens with a red carpet appearance by Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, & Alan Arkin and ends with one by Robert Zemeckis.