CHICAGO – There is no better time to take in a stage play that is based in U.S. history, depicting the battle between fact and religion. The old theater chestnut – first mounted in 1955 – is “Inherit the Wind,” now at the Goodman Theatre, completing it’s short run through October 20th. For tickets and more information, click INHERIT.
Penelope Ann Miller
‘The Birth of a Nation’ Depends on its Own Piety
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 7, 2016 - 8:40amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “The Birth of a Nation” has been making news since it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival early this year. Taking place before the American Civil War, this incendiary look at a real slave rebellion in the deep South does pack a punch, but its approach isn’t completely successful.
Lauren Ambrose Shines in Heartbreaking Indie ‘About Sunny’
Submitted by mattmovieman on May 24, 2013 - 9:21amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In the annals of bad parenting portrayed on film, the heroine of Bryan Wizemann’s 2011 indie drama is a special case indeed. Though we watch helplessly as she makes countless bad decisions guaranteed to send her young daughter to intensive therapy, we don’t regard her as a sinister figure on the order of Monique’s monstrous matriarch in “Precious.” Our gaze is one of empathy.
‘The Artist’ is Magical Ode to Old Hollywood
Submitted by BrianTT on December 19, 2011 - 4:11pmRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “The Artist” is the kind of film for which a critic feels an added responsibility. The fact is that I know that a large number of readers won’t go anywhere near a movie that is described as “a black & white ode to silent films.” Eek. Sounds like torture. And yet, I also know for a fact that a vast majority of those same readers would LOVE “The Artist.” This is a stellar piece of filmmaking, one of the best of the year. Jump on the bandwagon early for what will surely be one of the major players of the upcoming awards season.
Excellent Young Actors Carry Rob Reiner’s Nostalgic ‘Flipped’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 29, 2010 - 10:18amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Rob Reiner’s “Flipped” is not merely nostalgic for an era when life seemed simpler and sweeter but for an age when every minor detail meant the world and love was as simple as looking into the eyes of a new neighbor. We all remember the days when the smallest act of kindness or meanness changed everything and, thanks to two very strong central performances, “Flipped” captures the essence of those times in a gentle, sentimental romance.