MEDIA APPEARANCE: "Connecting With Classics" Episode #2: "Casablanca"

Here in Episode 2 of “Connecting With Classics”, Feelin' Film's Aaron White, guest host Josh Effengee from LSG Media’s Science Fiction Film Podcast, and myself celebrate Valentine’s Day by discussing a film that is considered one of the greatest love stories ever told. Casablanca checks in at #3, NUMBER THREE!, on the AFI Top 100 10th Anniversary list. This is definitely a beloved classic, my own #1 all-time favorite movie, and we have a great conversation about its quality as a film and all of the ways it has resonated with us emotionally.

5 STARS, 2018, Media Appearance, MOVIE REVIEW, Podcast, Retrospective, SPECIAL, Social Media, Vintage ReviewDon ShanahanFebruary 20, 2018Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Black Panther

For any MCU film to do this leader and his civilization justice, it has to capture the traits of dominance. Ryan Coogler’s film accomplished that and then some with a stature and ferocity fitting of the comic book legend. Pushing aside the proclivity to have a empowered science nerd or a plucky quipster as its heroic lead, a Marvel film hasn’t been this brawny, righteous, and tough since Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Black Panther strides proudly and powerfully with every progressive step as one of the best MCU films we’ve ever seen.

2018, 5 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEW, SPECIAL, Social MediaDon ShanahanFebruary 14, 2018AMC River East 21Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Paddington 2

Brimming with cinematic and family-themed amusement and timeless with the effectiveness of that lead lesson no matter the audience, Paddington 2 is an genuine delight on multiple levels. With the origin story out of the way, the sequel expands and improves on the cheeky magic of its 2014 predecessor to dive into greater merriment, adventure, and emotional satisfaction. Add this on the short list of sequels that are better than their predecessors.

2018, 5 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJanuary 10, 2018Paddington StationComment

MOVIE REVIEW: I, Tonya

For anyone who thinks Suicide Squad star and The Wolf of Wall Street vamp Margot Robbie is just a hot bod and a pretty face, watch I, Tonya. The 27-year-old Aussie’s ferocious and zealous performance riding the peaks and valleys of disgraced former champion figure skater Tonya Harding will erase those old notions centered solely on attractiveness. Brimming with depravity and teaming with talent, I, Tonya may be the brashest film you will see seen this year

2017, 5 STARS, Chicago Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJanuary 1, 201853rd Chicago International Film FestivalComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Phantom Thread

Phantom Thread is a exquisite film of elevated aesthetics that drape over a scintillating story of tumultuous potential discord. There is infinite richness within the despair, spun by Daniel Day-Lewis re-teaming with his There Will Be Blood director Paul Thomas Anderson, as the fictional 1950s tailor of status. Mundane in some moments and mysterious in others, the sum of the literal and figurative details within the stitches and seams of this film make it one of the year’s best.

2017, 5 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanDecember 30, 2017Music Box TheatreComment

MOVIE REVIEW: All the Money in the World

Director Ridley Scott borrowed a torn recipe page from headline history with the intention of presenting a five-course narrative meal. The executive chef had to change out a key dish at the last minute before plating only to arrive at an even better cinematic dining experience than one thought possible. All the Money in the World delivers on the promise of scintillating and satisfying tension in every bite and one of the most delicious portions of big-screen villainy this year.

2017, 5 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanDecember 28, 2017AMC River East 21Comment

STUDENT-FRIENDLY MOVIE REVIEW: Wonder

I do my best to write professional grade film criticism fit for a formal audience, becoming best friends with a thesaurus and using my big boy words. By day, I'm an elementary school educator. At work this year, I've been organizing a special field trip for 5th graders to see Wonder after they've been reading the novel all fall. This second "student-friendly" movie review is for them and other younger readers. Revised, this review scales down my review down from an 11.6 Flesch Kincaid readability level to a comfy 4.4 average.

MOVIE REVIEW: Wonder

Wonder’s buoyant messages are the moving jolt of empathy this generation needs. Even better, its literal and figurative precepts carry an inspiring weight worthy to last many generations more. Directed by the good hands of Stephen Chbosky, Wonder is an instant classic, sure to become a new favorite, for its target audience and a winning (and rare) example of a film taking great care to do justice by the book it is based on.

2017, 5 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanNovember 16, 2017The Wilmette Theatreelementary educator, Wonder, 2017 Holiday Films, 2017, R.J. Palacio, Cinderella, Auggie Pullman, Room, Jacob Tremblay, Treacher Collins syndrome, Star Wars, Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Mandy Patinkin, Noah Jupe, Suburbicon, Millie Davis, Elle McKinnon, Bryce Gheisar, Daveed Diggs, Ali Liebert, bullying, empathy, kindness, Steve Conrad, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Jack Thorne, A Long Way Down, Stephen Chbosky, Izabela Vidovic, Danielle Rose Russell, Nadji Jeter, Sonia Braga, medlodrama, coming of age, syrup, Wonder Woman, dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, movie critic, film critic, movie review, film review, movie commentary, film commentary, life lessons, life lessons from movies, life lessons from film, family films, family drama, family comedy, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Lady Bird

In her solo feature directorial debut, Greta Gerwig has stepped in and pushed this cinematic species tremendously forward with the dramedy Lady Bird. The film destroys any notion of the “manic pixie dream girl” fakery. Lady Bird is a cornucopia woven with striking candor and filled with delightful oxymorons artfully composed to challenge taboos and stereotypes. Let’s give each oxymoron a life lesson and a paragraph or two along the way.

2017, 5 STARS, Chicago Film Festival, Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanNovember 10, 2017AMC River East 212017, 2017 Fall Movies, Lady Bird, Now and Then, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Thirteen, Catherine Hardwicke, Kelly Fremon Craig, The Edge of Seventeen, John Hughes, Sixteen Candles, manic pixie dream girl, Greta Gerwig, oxymoron, Atonement, Brooklyn, Saoirse Ronan, Sacramento, Dave Matthews Band, Beanie Feldstein, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea, Goosebumps, Odeya Rush, Timothee Chalamet, Interstellar, Tracy Letts, Laurie Metcalf, Jon Brion, movie review, film review, life lessons, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, life lessons from films, Coming of Age films, Coming of Age movies, coming of age, Boyhood, movie critic, film critic, Chicago International Film Festival, 53rd Chicago International Film Festival, Festival Centerpiece, Festival review, festival preview, film festival, CIFF, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Wonderstruck

Haynes’ Wonderstruck still evokes true and impassioned power. The film strides within a sensitive middle ground of approachable and praiseworthy quaintness in addressing difficult youthful challenges and emotions. The effect is a grown-up experience audiences can, and should, appreciate compared to the mindless popcorn fluff and weightless distractions studio shovel into the PG marketplace. If a new definition could be created for the term “wonderstruck,” it would read “rapt attention.”

2017, 5 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 26, 2017Landmark Century Centre CinemasWonderstruck, Oakes Fegley, Millicent Simmonds, Todd HaynesComment

SHORT FILM REVIEW: Not Yet

For a while now, I have long wondered how someone could bottle that signature Pixar-level lightness for dramatic heft and pour it into a live-action piece with the same welcome whimsy. Pixar's animated feature films and shorts consistently have a special way with conveying humor within the most difficult emotions I might have found the closest attempt yet in Chad Hamilton’s lovely short film Not Yet.

MOVIE REVIEW: Loving Vincent

The filmmakers promised Loving Vincent to be nothing you’ve ever seen put to film and they were not lying. The sheer artistry is miraculous where even folded shirts look as dramatic as emoting faces. To call the biographical drama a work of art and astonishing technical achievement would be shameless understatements. The best part of all is the massive wellspring of creativity was thankfully applied to an engaged narrative worthy of the artistry and the legend cast by Vincent Van Gogh