The title of Spanish writer/director Antonio Méndez Esparza’s “Life and Nothing More” asserts to viewers that what they will witness over the next two hours won’t be comprised of tidy contrivances. In his sophomore...
Gerard Butler’s character in “Hunter Killer” is a submarine captain, and when he introduces himself to his crew he tells them that unlike most commanding officers, he is not a graduate of the Naval Academy who learned about their...
This creative essay was inspired by a real philosophy podcast and an illogical dream. What if James Dean lived into the ‘60s and worked primarily with French New Wave directors? Decades from now, international film critics will philosophize...
A few years ago producer Sandra Schulberg told me a mesmerizing story about a film made by the late artist, Horace Jenkins, who died before it's theatrical release, and whose film lay lost for three decades. The tale, to me, was the...
It is practically a law that any major film festival has to program a couple of titles that deal specifically with the history of cinema. That was definitely the case with this year’s Chicago International Film Festival, which included two...
All it takes is one great role for an actor to be rediscovered. Kiernan Shipka had already proven herself to be a formidable talent, growing up before our eyes on AMC’s “Mad Men” while displaying impressive range in a diverse array...
The 1976 Barbra Streisand-Kris Kristofferson production of "A Star is Born" is the third official version of the tale —the fourth if you count the 1932 drama "What Price Hollywood?", which preceded all of them, and provided the...
I saw "The Hate U Give" after a couple of weeks spent revisiting classic silent films made nearly 100 years ago. George Tillman, Jr.'s film, which is based on Angie Thomas' bestselling young adult novel, reminded me of them a little bit....
The idea of the villain as a dark reflection of the hero is not a new one. Frank Miller did it decades ago; so did Sophocles, Shakespeare, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Comic book adaptations have soared or sunk based on how effectively they’ve...
One glimpse of teenager Ian's bedroom in "Mid90s," Jonah Hill's first feature as a director, and you don't even need the title to place you in a specific time. Carefully organized CDs line the shelves. Source magazines sit on the bedside table....