Since outdoor activities seem to pose little threat, why not throw a picnic? I’ll bring the ants. Them! (1954) The opening scene packs a horrifying wallop not generally associated with monster movies from the ‘50s. …

To paraphrase critic Molly Haskell, Audrey Hepburn awakened love in all who watched her. Why it took this long for someone to make a feature-length documentary about one of the world’s most adored and influential …

I like it better when the special-effects wizards have to leave their chairs in order to make a movie. Seated before a bank of computer screens and presented with a budget of $200 million for …

Out with the new and in with the old with this trio of diverse films that all take place on or around New Year’s Day. La Bonne Annee (1973) The clip from director Claude Lelouch’s …

If you are worried and you can’t sleep, watch White Christmas instead of counting sheep. Works faster than a right hook with a bottle of Ambien clutched in its fist. — Scott Marks White Christmas …

The story behind The Christmas Chronicles is so simple, so glaringly obvious and filled with delight, that it’s a wonder no one thought of it until this day: a pair of siblings surreptitiously hop aboard …

Not yet in the holiday spirit? Here’s a trio of yuletide-themed cartoons from the 1930s certain to provide a much-needed Christmas goose. Santa’s Workshop (1932) In my teens, my friend Timothy Murphy asked me, “You …

The Hemlock Society's monthly “Right to Die Film Series'' isn't going to let a pandemic keep it down. The group’s next meeting will be held virtually on December 20 with SOD (Suicide on Demand) as …

Thespian rhymes with lesbian. Ain’t that a hoot? Seldom has confronting homophobia head on appeared more proudly patronizing or signaled less pleasure than here. It would be one thing were The Prom a satire warning …

This week we go West, Mae West, for a pair of saucy comedies: one’s pre-code, the other isn’t. She Done Him Wrong (1933) Across town at 20th Century Fox, it was child superstar Shirley Temple …

No matter how lofty one’s stature as an artist or how impeccable one’s list of accomplishments, there will always be someone out there sporting a pair of steel-toed loafers for the soul (and sole) purpose …

Jack Webb was many things — director, actor, writer, gun-lover, John Bircher, recording artist, ultra-right-wing Viet Cong-hating fascist, two-fisted drinker, producer, chain smoker — but first and foremost, he was an auteur. His could be …

How would we have survived this far into a pandemic without the ever-present Bella Thorne there to help take the edge off? In the third of four 2020 releases reviewed in these pages — the …

How about a hilarious helping of Cold Turkey for Thanksgiving? Cold Turkey (1971) Looking to combat bad publicity with good, Big Tobacco offers $25 million to the one American town that can collectively kick the …

John Belushi could milk more laughter with a slight shift of the eyebrow than most comedians can with a pratfall. He transformed slobbery into an art form, and sewed danger into the heart of each …

This week’s picks are meant to get us through this transitional period. Bartleby (1970) With all the movies in my mental Rolodex, surely there’s one tale of a lead character who refuses to budge even …

It became a staple of the early, funny Jackie Chan pictures: the cutaway to a Chief of Police looking on in disbelief — generally through a windshield or office glass partition — as our hero …

What do this week’s film have in common? A diverse trio of gay men with flavorful stories to tell. Capote (2005) There was something about the back page New York Times article detailing four grisly …

Unlike David Fincher’s satirically-muscular predecessor, director Paul Leyden and screenwriter Joseph Downey discourage use of the term “fight club,” choosing instead to liken their underground all-female boxing arena to a safehouse, a refuge where women …

Tsui Hark is one of world cinema’s exemplars of action. One can learn more about editing from five minutes of Hark than all the Bourne duds combined. Once in my care, it was just a …

The 14th annual German Currents Film Festival will this year be held virtually in your living room from November 9-15. Below are reviews of three pretty terrific offerings, all seen through the eyes of women, …

Keeping in the spirit of Borat’s return, here are a few words about his debut feature. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2005) Remember when enlightened comedy meant playing …

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, the sequel we prayed for but never dreamed possible, is now a reality. It’s been 14 years since Sacha Baron Cohen’s signature character made his big screen debut. In no time, the …

We may not recall the first time we laughed or cried at a movie, but who doesn’t remember the first time they got well and truly scared in a theatre? Here are a trio of …

Before going to work, Carlos Spector, one of the central figures in writer-director Marcela Arteaga’s The Guardian of Memory, feeds the gathering of birds that every morning congregates outside his door. He calls it his …

Havana watch a trio of musicals set in pre-revolutionary Cuba. Care to join me? Week-End in Havana (1941) Out of the 480 steamship passengers stranded on a reef, Nan Spencer (Alice Faye), a hosiery salesgirl …

Her super powers extend far beyond those of the mild-mannered gatekeeper whose job it is to flag cabs or sign for packages. Look! Up in the vestibule! It’s a guard! It’s a greeter! It’s Doorman! …

Hitchcock-tober returns to the Angelika Film Center this month with five of the Master’s finest. Rear Window (1954) The rights to Cornell Woolrich’s short story “Murder from a Fixed Viewpoint,” were purchased by Hitch and …

It’s been a good summer at the movies for biopics of second-wave feminists. Helen Reddy passed away late last month, but not before I Am Woman introduced her to a new generation. We end the …

This week’s selections represent the best 2008 had to offer, starting with an invitation to the wedding of the decade. Rachel Getting Married (2008) Many were quick to complain about Jonathan Demme casting a feature …

The copyright that trails Robert De Niro’s first theatrical release since The Irishman reads 2017. But it wasn’t until earlier this year that the picture swept cinemas in Eastern Europe and the Baltic States before …

Church on Sunday? If not, did you ever wonder why people do? One man's search for Christianity's core. By Matthew Lickona, April 8, 2009 | Read the full article Joy to the Screen Isn’t the …

This week, I struck gold with Henry Silva. Johnny Cool is the swingingest Rat Pack neo-noir ever filmed without the active participation of Frank and Dean. Peter Lawford co-produced, Joey Bishop begged the question, “Would …

It would be impossible to discuss Antebellum without giving away the film’s startling secret. If you have yet to see the movie, please bookmark the page for future reference. It takes five minutes for the …

It’s over, Johnny. Rambo: Last Blood was the final nail in the Rambo coffin. This week, we look back on the first and fourth installments of Sylvester Stallone’s fivefold franchise. First Blood (1982) Abandoned, betrayed, …

Remember when Cuties were orange and tasty and sold by the box? They still are, just don’t expect any promotional tie-ins with Maïmouna Doucouré’s controversial debut feature, the straight-arrow coming-of-age dramedy Cuties. Why the recently …

Third Spud from the Sun: Cameron Crowe Then and Now “A couple things about Cameron set him down a peg from even the rank and file of ’zine greenhorn dust-suckers. He for all intents & …

Three things I know about Dracula. Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) It was not the famous bloodsucker’s first screen appearance: that distinction goes to the long lost Hungarian film Dracula’s Death, made a year …

DTF: Down to Fornicate. It’s impossible to imagine the eponymous initialism was there from the outset. Doting filmmaker Al Bailey (he played matchmaker for the film’s subject “Christian” and his late wife Charlotte) initially intended …

It’s a slow week at the movies, and what with my 65th birthday looming large, I decided to spend Labor Day weekend sweating through a sea of nostalgia. What lies ahead are answers to the …

Tom Palazzolo is one of Chicago’s foremost documentarians, but you don’t have to be a local to appreciate his films. Anyone who’s ever had the occasion to visit a bustling deli will find something to …

This has been the longest dry spell of my moviegoing life. Even the most blizzardy Chicago winter could not keep me away for more than a few weeks let alone the almost six months it’s …

There was a point in America’s history when you couldn’t enter a supermarket or flip the radio dial without hearing I Am Woman’s titular tune. I clicked on the screening link expecting to find another …

This week brings a pair of comedy duos: one legendary, the other with plenty of Hope (and Crosby) in their soul. Where the Truth Lies (2005) A fictionalized account of a murder that may or …

What is it that will ultimately draw the following four characters together: the misfortunate maintenance man at a men’s sauna, a crooked customs officer, the resilient boss of a glittery nightspot, and the battered B-girl …

This week’s homework assignment finds Fred Astaire and company in peak form. Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940) If Orson Welles is credited with introducing the ceiling to cinema (he didn’t), then the “Begin the Beguine” …

The way Guest of Honour is being vaunted in some circles, one would think that it had been decades since its writer-director had turned in anything of quality. The truth is that Atom Egoyan has …

This year, the Oceanside Film Festival goes virtual, with over 120 shorts and features. The festival runs August 15 and 16. Visit online for more information and reviews. The Devil’s Road: A Baja Adventure (2019) …

We open as the curtain rises on the #MeToo movement. When our return to cinemas is finally ensured, there will be a new closing credit aberration to reckon with, a job described simply as “Intimacy …

It’s game, set, and match with these three tennis-related films. Tennis, Anyone...? (2005) Things you learn at the movies: next time you’re at a strip club, walk up to the first exotic dancer you see …