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.