MOVIE REVIEW: Rush

Technically sound in every way and employing today's quality of visual effects, Rush chisels its own place on that Mount Rushmore of racing films as an instant classic.

"2013 Fall Movies", "2013", "4 STARS", "Movie Review", "Rush"Don ShanahanSeptember 29, 2013Chicago, IL, USAComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Don Jon

With romance in its cross-hairs and obsession at its fingertips, the end result of Don Jon is a challenging and worthy playing field that addresses just how wide that gap is between romance and obsession.

"2013 Fall Movies", "2013", "4 STARS", "Don Jon", "Movie Review"Don ShanahanSeptember 28, 2013Chicago, IL, USAComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Thanks For Sharing

Thanks For Sharing goes to great lengths to highlight the varying degrees and effects of this disease and the clear need for solid support and rehabilitation, all while doing so in an entertaining manner. There are fair jokes to be made, but they are matched by ugly dark flaws of character that could happen to any one of us.

"2013 Fall Movies", "2013", "3 STARS", "Movie Review", "Thanks For Sharing"Don ShanahanSeptember 23, 2013Chicago, IL, USAComment

MOVIE REVIEW: A Single Shot

A Single Shot attempts some key moments to further the suspense, but they are short and not all that captivating. More so, the movie takes far too many breaks for meandering character moments to spotlight the supporting players clicking with Rockwell.

"2 STARS", "2013 Fall Movies", "2013", "A Single Shot", "Movie Review", "Video On Demand"Don ShanahanSeptember 23, 2013Chicago, IL, USAComment

MOVIES IN THE BLIND SPOT: Capricorn One

BLIND SPOT REVIEW #4: Capricorn One

Going back and seeing the movies I should have seen or always wanted to see, but missed.

MOVIE REVIEW: The World's End

Well, this year's culprit for blowing up a good idea and a solid start is The World's End, the third entry in the cult favorite "Three Flavours Cornetto" trilogy that combines writer/director Edgar Wright, producer Nira Park, and buddy lead actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The previous two entries of that team were the zombie romp Shaun of the Dead and the buddy cop spoof Hot Fuzz. Both were fairly successful cult comedies that each added a little extra weirdness layer to their character yarns to varying degrees of success. For The World's End, the third time is not the charm.

"Movie Review", "The World's End", "2 STARS", "2013 Summer Movies", "2013"Don ShanahanSeptember 9, 2013Comment

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on "Day at the Movies" weekly radio show!

We dissected a few of my all-time Top 10 of the genre and offered recommendations of underseen gems.

EDITORIAL: What happened to the "high school" movie?

A college classmate and Facebook friend of mine posed a particular question to me this past spring. As a devout fan of fun movies, he asked me "what happened to the high school movie?" It was a simple, but intriguing question that I've wrestled over for months now. Most importantly, he was right. Hollywood doesn't make the same high school movies they used to.

"2013", "Column", "Editorial", "High School Movies", "What Happened to the High School Movie"Don ShanahanSeptember 5, 2013Comment