CHICAGO – The Steppenwolf Theatre of Chicago continues to provide different viewpoints on the American stage, and their latest “Little Bear Ridge Road” is no exception. Featuring ensemble member Laurie Metcalf, it’s the resonate story of a family at the crossroads. For tickets/details, click LITTLE BEAR.
Sony Pictures Classics
Joy of Life Expands When Meeting ‘Toni Erdmann’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 30, 2017 - 10:37am![]() Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If you need a little cinema therapy, it doesn’t get any better than “Toni Erdmann.” This subtle story builds to generate a joyful feeling, which defines the small-but-important survival guides for this thing called life. Writer/director Maren Ade has delivered the goods, and the film is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Academy Awards.
Susan Sarandon Plays Smother Mother in ‘The Meddler’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 29, 2016 - 7:29am![]() Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Some mothers are born great, others have greatness thrust upon them. The Mom of “The Meddler” – portrayed with precise intuition by Susan Sarandon – is of the greatness-of-the-future variety, by simply evolving to be herself. Rose Byrne as daughter Lori tags along.
Personal Holocaust Horror is Rooted in ‘Son of Saul’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 29, 2016 - 2:02pm![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The Oscar nominated, Golden Globe winning Best Foreign Language Film is a another trip into the well of horror that was the Holocaust. After over 100 movie treatments, director László Nemes finds a more personal story to tell, and it all unfolds in “Son of Saul.”
Lily Tomlin Fuels the Journey Depicted in ‘Grandma’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 28, 2015 - 11:01am![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There is a circumstantial and frank presentation of abortion in the new Paul Weitz film “Grandma,” and it probably could not have resulted the way it did if the story wasn’t anchored by the great Lily Tomlin. She portrays the title character, helping her granddaughter get to the procedure.
Deep Thoughts, Shallow Characters in ‘Irrational Man’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 24, 2015 - 4:32pm![]() Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – At this point in his stellar career, what is fascinating about Woody Allen is basically what he thinks about. He is a successful, family-stable, millionaire filmmaker with mortality issues. In “Irrational Man,” he ponders the existential question of “what lights the spark of life?”
‘Wild Tales’ Boldly Catalogs the State of Civilization
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 1, 2015 - 1:29pm![]() Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – 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.
Life, Geopolitics & Hockey in Excellent ‘Red Army’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 7, 2015 - 2:38pm![]() Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – 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.
Julianne Moore Delivers Shattering Portrayal in ‘Still Alice’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 16, 2015 - 12:59pm![]() Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – 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.”
Eccentric Story of ‘Mr. Turner’ Still Visually Arresting
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 26, 2014 - 10:17am![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – 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.”
Human Emotions Transcend Wealth in ‘Foxcatcher’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 21, 2014 - 12:37pm![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – 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.
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