Those beautiful and gracious moments, slowed way down in between all the hustling hilarity in Jojo Rabbit, let you know exactly where the heart of this movie truly lies underneath the scathing satire. It is in the benevolence of helping people rather than warring with them. The titular young boy needs every ounce of such affection and the combat boots of Waititi’s movie are the clown shoes. Gusto meets gravitas in one of the most oddly poetic and beautifully brazen movies you may ever see.
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by Nellie Rodriguez
Movies are great for captivating your sense of sight and sound. If the bass is high enough, you can feel 'touch' in the film. But, it is harder for a movie to make you taste or smell something. Or is it?
Films that captivate your senses connect with us on all levels. But that feat is easier said than done. When we try to remember our most memorable moments of movies about cooking and food, we can almost experience the synesthetic power via images, sizzling sounds, etc. that make our mouths water.
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by Aimee Laurence
There are so many hundreds of movies based on the college experience, because it is such a transformational life event. This article sets out our top ten favorites.
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One does not have to dig very far on an internet search to find pressing current issues in American’s public education system. In an eye-opening and apropos way, there are so many that Education Week magazine maintains an active A-Z list to sort and track them. You could sing “The Alphabet Song” and ring a bell on just about every letter for matching examples from the real-life inspiration of Miss Virginia chronicling the emergence of school advocate Virginia Walden Ford.
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Anyone who seeks to own this version of The Lion King is doing so with a “how did they do that?” curiosity. The technical brilliance is its biggest selling point. That interest is answered very well by this disc release. Unlike its Pixar and Marvel offerings, Disney compiled a legitimate look into this re-imaginings wholly revolutionary bells and whistles. This movie will look gorgeous on your high-end television at home.
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THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What is the best 21st Century movie about capitalism and class anxiety?
I gotta say, this topic was much tamer and quite the switch from the dangerous inquiry last week. Every generation and decade has their bumper crop of movies about our American capitalizm. In my lifetime, I point to Wall Street in the 80s and Boiler Room in the 90s. For this century, I went sentimental more than combative. The Big Short was a tempting second place choice.
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Nothing about this place, its natural topography or its man-made constructs, looks, sounds, or feels comely. The disquiet is palpable. All the atmosphere is there in Robert Egger’s torturous and pin-pricking thriller. The unfortunate struggle is that the suspense ends there. There is not enough compelling story, mystery, or perversion to fill or overwhelm this eerie environment. All of the portending, however attuned it is to its sense of art, registers as pretentious.
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For the 55th year, the excellent and eclectic of national and international cinematic art descends on the Windy City for a fall conclave. The 55th Chicago International Film Festival begins on Wednesday, October 16th with the Opening Night bow of Edward Norton’s period crime drama Motherless Child and continues until October 27th with the Closing Night documentary premiere of The Torch chronicling the life of blues legend Buddy Guy. Norton’s film leads an eleven-day showcase of 21 different themed programs containing over 120 films.
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As a school teacher by day beyond this role as a film critic, let me say that there can never be enough messages sent about the troubling epidemic of bullying. All are necessary. All are helpful. We need every personal testimonial. We need every pamphlet. We need every artistic measure of expression that can gather attention, provoke thoughts, and change a few hearts. The Chicago-made short film Loyalty from filmmaker Ira Childs is one of those necessary contributions. The short recently played at the 25th Black Harvest Film Festival at the Siskel Center.
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Ang Lee’s new actioner Gemini Man is the cinematic embodiment of the figure of speech “chasing your tail.” A reminder from The Free Dictionary, defines that idiom as “to take action that is ineffectual and does not lead to progress” and “refers to how a dog can exhaust itself by chasing its own tail.” Boy, is that ever this movie. You have a multiple Academy Award-winning filmmaker chasing a technological benchmark that the industry cannot match. And you have a lead actor exhausting himself (and us) literally, instead of just figuratively, chasing his own tail.
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People find the reading of biographies of some of the most notable individuals in the world interesting. You cannot see what it changes in them until you have sat and read one. The film industry has not fallen short of the same approach to its greatest movie creations. One common category is that of biographies of individuals such as scientists. If you find biographies of scientists interesting, then you cannot miss looking out this list of biographical movies about scientists.
Read MoreTHIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What is the most “dangerous” movie of this century?
I’m not a believer that movies can incite violence, but I am a big believer that they can incite stupidity. Just like the poor fitness and health that comes from when all you eat is garbage, a mind can be trashed the same way. I put the school teacher hat on for my response to this week’s survey question and I don’t care if I get laughed at. Danger to me is seeing the youth of America in my classrooms accepting the Minions as high quality entertainment worth their screen time.
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