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.
The Orchard
Tribal Side of Drug Trafficking in ‘Birds of Passage'
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 17, 2019 - 9:27pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of the overriding characteristics in the movies, when it comes to drug traffickers, is the stereotypical image of a fat and corrupt cartel leader who usually have machine gun wielding henchmen and bikini clad groupies. “Birds of Passage” goes back to the business of the drug trade, but it is about the families that controlled the territorial borders during that key era, and the basis of that control in ancient tribalism.
Emotionally Perfect Cowboy Elegy in ‘The Hero’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 20, 2017 - 12:25pmRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The great character actor Sam Elliott – known mostly for his cowboy roles in film/TV and his unique bass sounding voiceovers – gets an opportunity to deliver a nuanced and emotional performance as a hyper-realized version of himself. There is virtue and truth in this character journey.
Chef Emerges in ‘Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 28, 2017 - 9:54amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The culture of food has never been more pervasive, from entire broadcast channels devoted to it, to new trends in eating being invented seemingly every day. Where did it all start? The new film ‘Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent’ documents the chef that opened the door.
‘Neruda’ Turns the Biography Film Into Fine Art
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 4, 2017 - 8:27amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “In me nothing is extinguished or forgotten…” is a single line from a poem by Pablo Neruda (“If You Forget Me”), and succinctly describes the film tribute to him, written by Neruda’s fellow Chilean countryman Guillermo Calderón, and directed with grace by another Chilean, Pablo Larrain.
Superb Allegorical Story Told in Essential ‘Christine’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 18, 2016 - 8:25pmRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In one of the great American films of the year, character actor Rebecca Hall interprets a based-on-truth incident from the 1970s, as she portrays the title character of “Christine.” The film encapsulates the nature of mental health, gender issues and the pursuit of random numbers.