Chicago Reader

Although the title is descriptive and even self-critical, a more accurate label for this might be "Blake Edwards's Greatest Hits From Malibu."

Posted Jun 18, 2021

Changing the Game (2019)

During this time...documentaries like Changing the Game are more important than ever.

Posted Jun 14, 2021

3.5/4

In the Heights (2021)

Taryn Allen

The vibrant film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical couldn't be more welcome

Posted Jun 11, 2021

Rear Window (1954)

The most densely allegorical of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpieces, moving from psychology to morality to formal concerns and finally to the theological. It is also Hitchcock's most innovative film in terms of narrative technique.

Posted Jun 8, 2021

2/4

Ghost Lab (2021)

Taryn Allen

As a whole, Ghost Lab is a pleasantly scary movie, made more captivating by being a foreign film. It's entertaining enough to take audiences on a ride...

Posted Jun 4, 2021

Target (1985)

It's astounding to see Arthur Penn's name attached to this piece of cheese.

Posted May 26, 2021

The Killing of Two Lovers (2021)

Max Maller

From such simple beginnings through to all the complexities life can throw at a family, then back to the primal struggles anew, director Robert Machoian's first solo feature achieves technically what it sets about to portray emotionally, a rare feat.

Posted May 21, 2021

The Dragon Painter (1919)

Andrea Gronvall

The film is compelling for its mythic underpinnings and Hayakawa's sensitive performance.

Posted May 18, 2021

The Power and the Glory (1933)

Spencer Tracy plays the tycoon with the power and glory, and fine as he is, this isn't one of his best pictures. Nor does it represent the full talent of its interesting director, William K. Howard.

Posted May 13, 2021

Fried Barry (2020)

Kruger's debut feature is not for those looking for a calm and cohesive experience, but if a manic and disgusting joyride is more what you're after, Fried Barry is for you.

Posted May 11, 2021

Testament (1983)

Focusing on one family in a small northern California town that seems to have survived an initial attack, Littman quickly loses interest in the logic of the concept and begins pushing the sentimental pornography of death.

Posted May 10, 2021

The Good Girl (2002)

Bill Stamets

...this is hardly Flaubert, but it is a fairly beguiling look at moral calculation...

Posted May 7, 2021

We Broke Up (2021)

We Broke Up is a breeze to watch thanks to its fully-committed leads, who go wherever the story takes them.

Posted Apr 29, 2021

Slaxx (2020)

Anyone who has worked in retail will surely relate to the film's beleaguered protagonists, paid too little and pushed to the brink in order to uphold the farce of capitalism.

Posted Apr 23, 2021

Monday (2021)

Becca James

That's the beauty of Argyris Papadimitropoulos's follow-up to Suntan; it's a movie that accurately reflects the highs and lows of relationships once the dust of a fling starts to settle and the work begins.

Posted Apr 20, 2021

Violation (2021)

The culmination of a film career built on interrogating rage, justice, and the intangible promise of catharsis.

Posted Apr 5, 2021

3/4

Shiva Baby (2021)

Don't be fooled by this film's quirky title and robust comedic cast-Emma Seligman's debut feature Shiva Baby is in the running for the most anxiety-inducing, claustrophobic film experience of the year.

Posted Apr 2, 2021

The Apple (1999)

A comic, lyrical, and "politically incorrect" poetic docudrama so acutely focused in its characters and ethics that it can afford to be relaxed about them, all the more remarkable coming from a director still in her teens.

Posted Mar 30, 2021

The Courier (2020)

Becca James

The heightened level of emotion [Rachel Brosnahan and Jessie Buckley] provide propels the story and Cumberbatch forward, keeping viewers engaged as they approach a climactic ending.

Posted Mar 25, 2021

Bhaji On the Beach (1995)

The overall style is realist, though there are a few fleeting fantasy interludes that don't work very well.

Posted Mar 18, 2021

The Jerk (1979)

The verbal and conceptual gags... belong wholly to Martin's own brand of goofiness, and some of them are pretty funny.

Posted Mar 14, 2021

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)

The various twists seem needlessly spun out and implausible, although Martin is allowed to show off his brand of very physical comedy to some advantage, and Miles Goodman contributes a pleasant score.

Posted Mar 13, 2021

Pixie (2021)

Becca James

Olivia Cooke is reason enough to watch Pixie. If you've yet to be mesmerized by her acting chops, here's your chance...

Posted Mar 9, 2021

The Warriors (1979)

The Warriors admits to failures of conception (occasional) and dialogue (frequent), but there is much of value in Hill's visual elaboration of the material.

Posted Mar 7, 2021

Insomnia (1998)

It's nice to see a genre film from abroad for a change, but I would have preferred one with an interesting character or two, not to mention a livelier plot.

Posted Feb 28, 2021

The Father (2021)

Florian Zeller's drama is a brilliant exploration of dementia, pain, and vulnerability.

Posted Feb 26, 2021

Writing with Fire (2021)

With steely tenacity and persistence, these women place themselves into terrifying situations to interrogate corrupt police officers and potentially violent Hindu Nationalists, with a deft and skill not seen by many top network reporters.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Try Harder! (2021)

An interesting film about how kids pursue things without knowing why, at its best when occasionally digging deeper into issues of race, stereotypes, and privilege.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)

Questlove revives this electric, never-before-seen, deftly edited footage of Black joy and community, along with interviews of participants.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021)

A nostalgic yet informative look at the most successful children's television show in history.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Sabaya (2021)

Sweden had a strong showing at Sundance in 2021 and Sabaya might be their best offering. Director Hogir Hirori has made an emotionally haunting film about real-life super heroes in Mahmud, Ziyad and their group...

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It (2021)

Riera mercifully doesn't wallow in West Side Story, and instead shares Moreno's power as an activist and an EGOT-winning performer who continues to break barriers as an 87-year-old...

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Rebel Hearts (2021)

An eye-opening look at an oft-overlooked group of women who have changed what it means to selflessly serve others while also fighting for yourself.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Pleasure (2021)

Writer-director Ninja Thyberg explores questions of complicity and consent in the face of fierce coercion.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Passing (2021)

If you don't expect the film to do any heavy lifting on race analysis, Passing is a solid directorial debut by Rebecca Hall, who recently made a discovery about her own heritage.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Night of the Kings (La Nuit des Rois) (2020)

Director Phillipe Lacôte balances despair and levity, humanizing the forgotten through a potent blend of African fables, improvisation, and hope-however fleeting.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

My Name Is Pauli Murray (2021)

Possibly the most unsung and influential thought maker in legal Civil Rights history...

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Mayday (2021)

A curious magical realism metaphor for feminist despair...

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Marvelous and the Black Hole (2020)

Funny without being forced, and sincere without being schlocky, Marvelous is guaranteed to warm the hearts of wannabe baby goths everywhere.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Mass (2021)

Taking two pairs of seasoned stage and film actors and putting them in a room for two hours to hash out a shared trauma sounds like the making of a great Tennessee Williams play, but it is instead a riveting and unforgettable feature by Fran Kranz.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

John and the Hole (2021)

Director Pascual Sisto's gaze drifts languidly across the scenery, building the slow, quiet terror of the dreaded certainty of an awful situation.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

In the Same Breath (2021)

Outstanding director Nanfu Wang was prescient enough to send a covert team of cameras into hospitals, homes, and morgues to capture the truth and anguish, then follow the virus-and the bungling cover-up-across the sea to America.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Homeroom (2021)

The role of social media for students, like the world at large, moves from a distraction to a means of revolution, uniting youth in the fight for equality and autonomy.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Flee (2020)

Beautifully animated to protect the identity of the main subject, Rasmussen's film examines the lengths we will go to in order to survive and protect those we love.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Faya Dayi (2021)

Director Jessica Beshir's melancholy documentary gently cradles the ambiguity that defines the essence of the lives of Ethiopian Khat traders, especially the young men who face the painful choice of traveling abroad alone...

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Eight for Silver (2021)

Eight for Silver deliciously revives and enhances the werewolf genre...

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Captains of Za'atari (2021)

Director Ali El Arabi crafts a film of deep humanity, providing an exposé of the struggles and tragedies of refugee life.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

At the Ready (2021)

This disquieting film illustrates that the path to upward mobility comes at a heart-wrenching cost: placing a career on a direct collision course with far more liberal identities.

Posted Feb 19, 2021

Ailey (2021)