MOVIE REVIEW: Surge

The answers to those measured questions are what makes Surge starring the award-winning Ben Whishaw so alarming and downright terrifying. Set over the course of just under two days in London and shot guerilla-style with handheld cameras that weave through the crowds and shifting locations, Surge careens through one man’s unpredictable downward spiral and the isolated damage it causes. These kinds of movies are certainly not for everyone, but this one is a fascinating test of stamina and understanding.

2021, 4 STARS, Film Festival, Home Media, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, StreamingDon ShanahanSeptember 24, 2021Comment

PREVIEW: 7th Annual Irish American Movie Hooley

Folks, 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.

2021, Column, Chicago Film Festival, Documentary, Foreign Film, Independent Film, Film Festival, SPECIALDon ShanahanSeptember 22, 2021Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Eyes of Tammy Faye

WebMD will tell you that selective listening involves “consciously or unconsciously choosing to listen to what is relevant to you and ignore what isn’t.” Marinate on that for a moment, especially the second part, and then apply that notion to the talking heads and one-track minds of the spiritually devout you see leading cameras and congregations of people with loose wallets and even looser gullibility. That’s the misplaced morality at the center of Michael Showalters’ The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

2021, 3 STARS, Film Festival, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanSeptember 19, 2021Comment

GUEST COLUMN: Low-Budget Films: 10 Shooting Tips to Make Your Mark

by Jean Hartley

Low-budget films don't mean bad films. Many cult films were shot for little money, and that hasn't stopped them from becoming classics. We live in a time where anyone can pick up a camera, make a movie, and make a big name out of it. If you're confident and you have something to say to the world - go for it. The tips below will help you organize the process and succeed.

2021, Column, Editorial, Independent FilmDon ShanahanSeptember 4, 2021Comment

GUEST COLUMN: Scary Movies You Probably Haven't Seen Before

by Lewis Robinson

Since the silent era, Hollywood has been producing horror films, and moviegoers love seeing pictures that make them jump out of their seats. Although early horror movies did not appeal to the general public as much as other genres, successful movies like Psycho convinced producers to focus more attention and resources on disturbing scripts once considered “pulp” stories. Soon, scary films became more lucrative and accessible to a growing audience. With dozens of horror films produced every year, it’s challenging to find the exceptional ones that are less well-known. Here is a list of horror movies you’ve never heard of.

2021, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Independent Film, Home MediaDon ShanahanAugust 31, 2021Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Green Knight

The Green Knight states all good myths are brave and bold. At some point, that profundity has to go beyond aesthetics. The screen titles also announce that what is presented is not that kind of legend. Yeah, and that’s the problem when considering the source material built with magical bedrock. Never has chivalric romance and so-called adventure been treated so pensively.

2021, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJuly 29, 2021The Green Knight, A24 Films, A24, David LoweryComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Joe Bell

Much of Joe Bell has the pungent trace of an unglamourous “glamour project” for Mark Wahlberg and likely a few of the film’s manly executive producer backers including Jake Gyllenhaal, NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks, and former NBA All-Star Michael Finley to name a few. Projecting for sure, this movie feels like a place where the A-lister is trying to put forth marketed atonement for his own past bigotry. When all of this movie adds up to be about him, the genuineness aligns to the wrong place.

2021, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Streaming, 2 STARSDon ShanahanJuly 21, 2021Joe Bell, Mark WahlbergComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Long Story Short

Rafe Spall’s Teddy shares a lovely line to his best girl Leanne, played by Zahra Newman, towards the beginning of Long Story Short. He says “I love you more than I did yesterday and not as much as I will tomorrow.” I adore that line. It speaks with such intentional optimism. If only we all lived our lives as honestly and as purposefully as that little mantra. If you see sweetness in that gracious sentiment, there’s much more where that came from in the romance at the center of this little Aussie VOD gem written and directed by actor Josh Lawson.

2021, 4 STARS, Home Media, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, StreamingDon ShanahanJuly 20, 2021Long Story ShortComment

GUEST CRITIC #70: Detroit

by Lafronda Stumn

As busy I get from time to time, I find that I can't see every movie under the sun, leaving my friends and colleagues to fill in the blanks for me. As poetically as I think I wax about movies on this website as a wannabe critic, there are other experts out there. Sometimes, it inspires me to see the movie too and get back to being my circle's go-to movie guy. Sometimes, they save me $9 and you 800+ words of blathering. In a new review series, I'm opening my site to friend submissions for guest movie reviews.

GUEST CRITIC, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Social Media, 2021Don ShanahanJuly 11, 2021Comment

GUEST CRITIC #69: Nomadland

by Lafronda Stumn

As busy I get from time to time, I find that I can't see every movie under the sun, leaving my friends and colleagues to fill in the blanks for me. As poetically as I think I wax about movies on this website as a wannabe critic, there are other experts out there. Sometimes, it inspires me to see the movie too and get back to being my circle's go-to movie guy. Sometimes, they save me $9 and you 800+ words of blathering. In a new review series, I'm opening my site to friend submissions for guest movie reviews.

GUEST CRITIC, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Social Media, 2021Don ShanahanJune 21, 2021Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Edge of the World

Edge of the World chronicles the story of James Brooke’s emergence as the first White Rajah of Sarawak on the Malaysian island of Borneo during the middle of the 19th century. The adoptive leader became the inspiration template for authors Rudyard Kipling and Joseph Conrad and their respective far-off adventure stories of The Man Who Would Be King and Lord Jim.

2021, 3 STARS, Independent Film, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, StreamingDon ShanahanJune 17, 2021Comment

GUEST CRITIC #66: Promising Young Woman

by Lafronda Stumn

As busy I get from time to time, I find that I can't see every movie under the sun, leaving my friends and colleagues to fill in the blanks for me. As poetically as I think I wax about movies on this website as a wannabe critic, there are other experts out there. Sometimes, it inspires me to see the movie too and get back to being my circle's go-to movie guy. Sometimes, they save me $9 and you 800+ words of blathering. In a new review series, I'm opening my site to friend submissions for guest movie reviews.

GUEST CRITIC, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Social Media, 2021Don ShanahanJune 7, 2021Comment