Great Movies
Festivals & Awards
2021 Chicago Critics Film Festival Preview
A preview of the 2021 Chicago Critics Film Festival, including the Chicago premieres of The Lost Daughter, Bernstein's Wall, Jockey, Belle, Zalava, and Red Rocket!
A preview of the 2021 Chicago Critics Film Festival, including the Chicago premieres of The Lost Daughter, Bernstein's Wall, Jockey, Belle, Zalava, and Red Rocket!
An interview with author Barry Gifford and actor Lili Taylor about their new film, Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago, directed by Rob Christopher.
A counterpoint on Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain from a hardcore Bourdain fan.
Chaz Ebert's fourth video dispatch from the 2018 Cannes Film Festival features reviews of "BlacKkKlansman," "Fahrenheit 451" and more.
A feature on how the brilliant Swallow gets OCD right.
A look back at the definitive performances from the most exciting American actor working today.
Our fourth video dispatch from the 2018 Cannes Film Festival features reviews of "BlacKkKlansman," "Fahrenheit 451" and more.
Reviews from the Cannes Film Festival of three world premieres, including the latest by Lars von Trier.
After being declared "persona non grata" by the festival in 2011, Lars von Trier returned to Cannes this year with "The House That Jack Built."
Part I of our round-up featuring filmmaker guests scheduled to attend Ebertfest 2018. We will include the film critics in a separate round-up.
Difficult is a gendered term fueled by the Hollywood machine and maintained by the belief that actresses aren’t responsible for the achievement of their films.
Matt writes: Garry Marshall, the comedy mastermind behind several iconic TV shows and hit films, died last Tuesday at age 81. He leaves behind a rich legacy that did not go unnoticed by Roger Ebert. The critic greatly admired Marshall's 1984 film, "The Flamingo Kid," hailing its star, Matt Dillon, as a revelation. Ebert also loved Marshall's phenomenally successful 1990 romantic comedy, "Pretty Women," which launched the career of Julia Roberts. "[Marshall's] films betray an instinctive good nature," wrote Ebert in his three-and-a-half-star review, "and [this film] is about as warmhearted as a movie about two cold realists can possibly be." For heartfelt eulogies, check out the obituary penned by Susan Wloszcyzyna at RogerEbert.com, as well as Hadley Freeman’s remembrance at The Guardian. For guaranteed laughs, check out the clip embedded below of Marshall in an unforgettable excerpt from Albert Brooks' 1985 classic, "Lost in America," a scene that Ebert claimed was the best in the movie. It's hard not to agree with him.
A tribute to the late comedy mastermind, Garry Marshall.
Marie writes: Widely regarded as THE quintessential Art House movie, "Last Year at Marienbad" has long since perplexed those who've seen it; resulting in countless Criterion-esque essays speculating as to its meaning whilst knowledge of the film itself, often a measure of one's rank and standing amongst coffee house cinephiles. But the universe has since moved on from artsy farsty French New Wave. It now prefers something braver, bolder, more daring...
Marie writes: the great Ray Harryhausen, the monster innovator and Visual Effects legend, passed away Tuesday May 7, 2013 in London at the age of 92. As accolades come pouring in from fans young and old, and obituaries honor his achievements, I thought club members would enjoy remembering what Harry did best.
Marie writes: Intrepid club member Sandy Kahn discovered the following Danish designers "Monstrum" who make extraordinary playgrounds for children. I think they're the stuff of dreams, whatever your age. Indeed; behold the Rahbek kindergarten in Frederiksberg, Denmark, and Monstrum's first playground...
The Rocket and The Princess Tower! "Just like a set design, a playground must have an inspiring front that attracts children, and a functional backside with climbing, sliding and relaxing options. The idea of the playground is to combine a girl's mind with a boy's approach into one big common playground. The princess tower consists of three floors, and the rocket has two floors. From the top floor of the Rocket, you can slide down the 6 m long double slide together with an astronaut friend." (click to enlarge.)
Marie writes: my art pal Siri Arnet sent me following - and holy cow! "Japanese artist Takanori Aiba has taken bonsai trees, food packaging, and even a tiny statue of the Michelin Man and constructed miniature metropolises around these objects, thus creating real-life Bottled Cities of Kandor. Explains Aiba of his artwork:"My source of creations are my early experience of bonsai making and maze illustration. These works make use of an aerial perspective, which like the diagram for a maze shows the whole from above (the macro view) while including minute details (the micro view). If you explore any small part of my works, you find amazing stories and some unique characters." ( click to enlarge.)
