DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: 42 Grams

Through 42 Grams, documentary director Jack C. Newell muddles away the self-importance and crafts his own dish laced with affinity and rapport. Following the trials and tribulations of gifted chef Chicago chef Jake Bickelhaupt and his wife Alexa, Newell’s film looks beyond the culinary decadence to reveal a core essence of ambition as relatable as any other version of the American Dream. The captive fascination swelling from that gathers attention and an audience where it normally would not.

2018, 4 STARS, DOCUMENTARY REVIEW, Film Festival, SPECIALDon ShanahanJanuary 27, 2018Gene Siskel Film Center42 Grams, Jack C. Newell, Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago, Chicago films, Jake Bickelhaupt, Alexa BickelhauptComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Mercury in Retrograde

Michael Glover Smith’s words of mounting depth and weight turn idle chatter into soapboxes that eventually become proverbial fortifications built around questioned principles and shattered wills. The ensemble of performers delivers on the required heavy lifting from the director to make the multitude of human flaws believable yet still approachable. Mercury in Retrograde is a hidden gem.

2017, 4 STARS, Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Social MediaDon ShanahanNovember 27, 20174th Annual Oakton Pop-Up Film Festival2017, independent films, micro-budget film, Mercury in Retrograde, Best Narrative Feature, Full Bloom Film Festival, 2017 Full Bloom Film Festival, 4th annual Oakton Pop-Up Film Festival, Oakton Pop-Up Film Festival, Michael Glover Smith, Michael Smith, Najarra Townsend, Alana Arenas, Jack C. Newell, Rubber, Contracted, Open Tables, Pam Powell, Pamela Powell, Reel Honest Reviews, The Daily Journal, Oakton Community College, Gene Siskel Film Center, Mercury retrograde, Charles-Camille Saint-Saens, The Carnival of Animals, Wolfgang Strutz, Jason Chiu, Roxane Mesquida, Cool Apocalypse, Dashiell Hammett, Ned Beaumont, The Glass Key, Fennville, Saugatuck, southwest Michigan, Chicago, Kevin Wehby, Shane Simmons, Mercury, movie review, film review, film critic, movie critic, film commentary, movie commentary, life lessons, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, life lessons from independent films, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Young Offenders

The banter and B.S. traded back and forth between Alex Murphy and Chris Walley is as hysterical as it is pleasurably uncouth. It’s an absolute wonder to realize that The Young Offenders is mutually their first on-camera film roles. Alex and Chris’s chemistry through sarcasm and shared shenanigans feels and looks effortless. Flabbergasted energy blasts out of both of them and it’s a hoot to watch. Seeing the two young actors operate these over-the-top losers with reckless abandon while still injecting a little coming-of-age heart for good measure, makes the film highly entertaining.

2017, 2016, 3 STARS, Chicago Film Festival, Foreign Film, Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 3, 2017Gene Siskel Film Center2017, The Young Offenders, Children's Act of 2001, Urban Dictionary, Knacker, Alex Murphy, Chris Walley, hijinks, Dominic MacHale, Shane Casey, Hilary Rose, Trainspotting, Danny Boyle, Conor MacSweeney, Jock Murphy, Euro, Peter Foott, Irish, Ireland, Ireland films, films set in Ireland, Irish American Movie Hooley, Irish films, Irish-themed films, Irish American films, 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey, Hibernian Transmedia, Movie Hooley, Gene Siskel Film Center, Siskel Film Center, Mike Houlihan, CIFCC, Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle, 3rd annual Irish American Movie Hooley, movie critic, film critic, foreign film, independent film, independent films, heist films, coming of age, movie review, film review, movie commentary, film commentary, Festival coverage, festival preview, closing night, comedy, life lessons, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, life lessons from films, life lessons from foreign films, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Emerald City

I know it’s the clickbait haven of Buzzfeed, but this list of jobs well-known celebrities had before they hit it big is pretty humbling and eye-opening at the same time. Once the millions roll in and we see the red carpets and flash bulbs, we forget the lucky breaks and hard work it took to get there, and that for every one of those matinee idols a thousand never make it. Upon seeing Emerald City at the 3rd annual Irish American Movie Hooley, I’ll gladly raise my glass in hopes that Colin Broderick’s minimum wage days are over.

2017, 2016, 4 STARS, Chicago Film Festival, Film Festival, Independent FilmDon ShanahanOctober 3, 2017Gene Siskel Film CenterColin Broderick, Emerald City, Buzzfeed, Irish American films, Irish American Movie Hooley, Irish, Irish-themed films, Irish films, 2017 Irish American Movie Hooley, 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey, Gene Siskel Film Center, Siskel Film Center, John Keating, Boardwalk Empire, John McConnell, The Departed, John Duddy, Hands of Stone, Rachel Broderick, Jacqueline Kealy, independent films, independent film, foreign film, foreign films, CIFCC, movie critic, film critic, Movie Hooley, 3rd annual Irish American Movie Hooley, Mike Houlihan, film reivew, film review, movie review, film commentary, movie commentary, life lessons, life lessons from films, life lessons from movies, life lessons from film, hardscrabble, New York City, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Hibernian TransmediaComment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Dunning Man

Inspired by true events, which will cause a fun double take as the film transpires, The Dunning Man is adapted from the published short stories of producer Kevin Fortuna. Precariously, at times, balancing somewhere between an urban drama and paperback crime novel, the film presents a seedy slice of Atlantic City calmed by nostalgic scene transitions of vintage footage of the city in its decadent heyday.

2017, 3 STARS, Chicago Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Social MediaDon ShanahanSeptember 28, 2017Gene Siskel Film Center2016, 2017, The Dunning Man, Irish, Irish films, Irish-themed films, Irish American films, Irish American Movie Hooley, 2017 Irish American Movie Hooley, 3rd annual Irish American Movie Hooley, Ireland, Ireland films, 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey, Hibernian Transmedia, Movie Hooley, Gene Siskel Film Center, Siskel Film Center, Opening Night Film, Mike Houlihan, Atlantic City, Dun, James Carpinello, Gotham, Tom Kemp, Manchester by the Sea, Luke Cage, Queen Sugar, Green Zone, Nicoye Banks, Langston Fishburne, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Matthew Rimmer, Scott Oakley, Kevin Fortuna, Michael Clayton, Petr Cikhart, San Jose Film Festival, Hoboken Film Festival, Emerald Loop Bar, film review, movie review, film commentary, movie commentary, film critic, movie critic, CIFCC, Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle, life lessons, life lessons from film, life lessons from films, life lessons from movies, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

CAPSULE REVIEWS: The third annual Irish American Movie Hooley

The third annual Irish American Movie Hooley is happening this weekend at the Gene Siskel Film Center from September 29-October 1st. This very writer and website was both lucky and honored to cover this event last year and has again been granted coverage access this year. The event is comprised of three feature films, two of which are directorial debuts, all of whom are making their Chicago premieres. Here are my capsule reviews of the three films. Get your Irish on at the Siskel Film Center this weekend!

PREVIEW: The third annual Irish American Movie Hooley

The Gene Siskel Film Center will host the third annual Irish American Movie Hooley from September 29-October 1st. This year’s event is comprised of three feature films, two of which are directorial debuts, all of whom are making their Chicago premieres. All screenings and events are at the Gene Siskel Film Center. his very writer and website was both lucky and honored to cover this event last year and will again this year. Stay tuned here for future capsule reviews and full reviews.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Long Night of Francisco Sanctis

In a terse 80 minutes, The Long Night of Francisco Sanctis locks its suspenseful build and holds your attention. Open-ended as it is, the film could have employed additional time to hammer its points home and offer a payoff. However, it’s minimal surface and suddenness feels intentional to mirror the mysterious fates that befell so many people of this era. Quietly powerful, the effect and feeling are convincing.

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: Resilience: The Biology of Stress and Science of Hope

The light shed by the shared research, connections, and testimonials of James Redford’s documentary “Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope” opens eyes and stirs immediate personal reflection. Toward your own self or in the role of a parent, “Resilience” puts the right mirrors in front of faces. It is a worthy alarm notification that encourages more character building than being told to “pull up your bootstraps.”

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: The Lark's View

Ireland is a proud country where a pagan history has been blended with Christianity for two millennia. Mythology has merged with scripture and history has absorbed legend. “The Lark’s View” is a documentary reflecting the current and lost traditions on the century anniversary of the significant Easter Rising conflict of 1916.

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: A Doctor's Sword

A masterfully powerful documentary, “A Doctor’s Sword,” chronicling the reflective and jarring tale of Irish World War II veteran Aidan MacCarthy, recently played as part of the second annual Irish American Movie Hooley at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. One half of this fine film is an astounding you-wouldn't-believe-it-if-I-told-you true story of World War II survival that would make "Unbroken" look like a nursery rhyme. Its calmer other half takes place in a present day where two proud families and two proud countries are forever bonded by shared history.

2016, 5 STARS, DOCUMENTARY REVIEW, Foreign Film, Independent Film, SPECIALDon ShanahanOctober 13, 2016Gene Siskel Film Center2015, 2016, Irish films, Irish American Movie Hooley, Irish American films, 2nd Annual Irish American Movie Hooley, Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago, Ireland, World War II, Battle of Dunkirk, Nagasaki bombing, A Doctor's Wars, A Doctor's Sword, Aidan MacCarthy, documentary review, Documentary filmmaking, documentary commentary, documentary, Best Documentary, Gary Lennon, Ronan Coyle, Unbroken, POW, Castletownbere, Beara Peninsula, County Cork, life lessons from film, Life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, life lessons from documentaries, life lessons, Life lessons, movie commentary, film commentary, film review, movie review, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Beneath Disheveled Stars

Kevin Baggott’s darkly comedic film “Beneath Disheveled Stars" was a favorite of the Cork Indie Film Festival and Brooklyn Underground Film Festival. The film recently opened the 2nd annual Irish American Movie Hooley at the Gene Siskel Film Center in downtown Chicago. As a self-made film from a self-made man, there are qualities to appreciate from this quixotic wild goose choose.

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