In Before Dawn “c’est la guerre” constitutes defeatism because, more often than not, war cannot be helped by the grunts in the dirt holding or pushing a line. These young men who are uttering the phrase halfway around the world from their homes and families have learned the futility of their actions. They say it knowing they are trapped in what they thought would be a heroic quest and a patriotic cause.
Read MoreWith that domesticated and relatable-beyond-borders quality, Cottontail is creating a greater journey, one venturing beyond any map charting the route to Akiko’s destined lakeside. Completing one’s final wishes is a quest of closure. You are answering a soul beyond the grave to finish something they could not. Yet, that course has branching paths of unsettled grievances, corrected connection, overdue forgiveness, and fulfilled promises.
Read MoreThe Animal Kingdom manifests a present-day landscape where an unexplained divergence of evolution has been causing citizens to gradually metamorphose into animal-human amalgamations. Set in the modernized nation of France, these occurrences over the last two years are being treated and investigated like a disease or contagion. This precariously established environment of mutations puts director Thomas Cailley’s film closer to the disturbing pages of H. G. Wells than some uncanny Marvel comic adventure.
Read MoreThe moving experiences come from sharing the expressed gastronomical artistry. The art of those fears is in unique masterful cooking. The cooking comes from the two-decade partnership between Eugénie and Dodin. Their partnership has blossomed to a long-term love of understanding and freedom that has avoided the culminating step of marriage. Simply put, food is merely the setting of shared quality time for the rest of life.
Read MoreIdeas are cool, but they need more expanse to really mature. Solid screenplays creating potent implications or gripping conflicts must execute that demand. Restore Point lays out such boosts, but drives more around the bigger picture rather than through it. Be that as it may, the intriguing neo-noir mystery at its core remains worth the effort and attention you can give.
Read MoreThe Zone of Interest doesn’t go there, and it wasn’t going to. The cold and taciturn performances from Freidel and Hüller are designed to not create sympathy for the subjects, which is perfectly fine. Rather this film was just going to sit there and listen. That’s the experience it was aiming for, and, in doing so, it participates in a layer of its own “how could they.” The trouble is, like the Nazis portrayed in the film, the answers to that question are “quite easily” and “quite comfortably.” Because their needles don’t move, neither do yours against its painful pace.
Read MoreBelle is a striking new interpretation of Beauty and the Beast that presents that type of barren simplicity to a tale as old as time. With a rustic storytelling scythe, Silicon Beach writer-director Max Gold chops down the tall grass of finery and strips away the usual imperial accouterments. Melding the intimations of fantasy and horror, Belle gets down to the nitty-gritty of the classic saga’s dramatic center and its truthfully terrifying undercurrents.
Read MoreIn a scant 76 minutes, Infinite Sea bravely approaches contemplative science fiction with a tiny budget for VFX (also managed by Aramal himself) and an aim for abstract and cognitive obstacles of the human condition. Much can be complimented in those crisply stylish attempts at big ideas and even bigger questions. Yet, it is hard to fathom the so-called infinite as having something missing, but a penetrative punch is absent. The bridled chemistry of the leads is what you will put your finger on to blame.
Read MoreDeep down, all movies are passion projects for the people that make them. Sometimes, it is difficult to see that passion come through fully in the finished film. Uninspired moments, pretentious indulgences, shortcuts of effort, or even the limits of ambition will dilute the fervor of how the given movie came to exist. To that end, the rarer feat is a film that never, even for a second, loses or runs out of its passion. S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR is one of those special movies.
Read MoreIf you believe it, the city of Chicago has more citizens of Irish ancestry than Boston, myself among them. That means we know our whiskey and we know how to party. As the Irish say, when a party gets rowdy, they call it a “hooley.” The Windy City has two upcoming opportunities to have that kind of cinematic party with the 8th annual Irish American Movie Hooley.
Read MoreThe drama of Both Sides of the Blade teeters on the prompted conversations of control mutually requested by Sara and Jean. Equal and patient communication among spouses is a must. It puts internal monologues on the record before the wrong ideas fester. Talk clears the air, even when truths are shared and lies are dropped. In Both Sides of the Blade, the line of “no need to worry” is a repeated conversation killer that dooms Sara and Jean. When those alarming thoughts are present, that’s precisely the time for more talk, not less.
Read MoreFolks, it’s been a year, but fortunes and health are looking up enough to maybe get back to some good old fun. As the Irish say, when a party gets rowdy, they call it a “hooley.” For movie fans, I think it’s high time we mix a little whiskey with our night out. As the Irish like to say, when a party gets rowdy, they call it a “hooley.” With that vibrancy in mind, the 7th annual Irish American Movie Hooley returns to the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago this weekend. This resident Chicagoan with Irish roots has you covered.
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