The Chicago Film Critics Association’s 6th annual film festival (May 4-10) features some of the year’s best films that might otherwise fly under your radar. This piece originally posted at Alcohollywood For the past six years, the Chicago Critics Film Festival has been a brilliant showcase for some of the year’s most intriguing, bewildering and ... A Preview of the 2018 Chicago Critics Film Festival
Sebastian Lelio’s sensitive, multifaceted adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s novel is a beautiful exploration of the restrictive nature of traditional communities, anchored by a trio of heart-stopping performances. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Chilean director Sebastián Lelio is a master of arthouse empathy – his Oscar-winning film A Fantastic Woman, about the struggles of a ... Disobedience Review: A Mesmerizing Tale of Religion and Forbidden Love
Netflix’s latest coming-of-age indie comedy mixes a charming cast with an impassioned debate over adolescent ambitions and how to learn from failure. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood We all know where the Netflix movie Candy Jar is going right from the start, as the teenage Lona (Sami Gayle) gazes at her fellow high ... Candy Jar Review: Human Connection Is The Forbidden Fruit
The latest from Japanese horror schlockmeister Ryuhei Kitamura (Midnight Meat Train) makes a tedious mess out of its stripped-down, gory premise. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood On a lonely stretch of road in the middle of nowhere, a tire blows out, stranding six twentysomethings by the roadside in an isolated stretch of California ... Downrange Review: Shudder’s Roadside Sniper Thriller Misses the Mark
Marvel’s culmination of their decade-long cinematic experiment stays afloat by sheer virtue of goodwill and charisma, and provides more than enough surprises to keep the bloated narrative from falling apart. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood The Marvel Cinematic Universe has spent the last decade building up a sprawling, interconnected world of comic book ... Avengers: Infinity War Review: Marvel’s Ambitious, Risky Magnum Opus
Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson’s otherworldly microbudget thriller combines cult dynamics and Lovecraftian horror to deliver something remarkably new. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood (Editor’s note: For more of our coverage of The Endless, we also interviewed writer/director/stars Justin Benson and Aaron Morehead, which you can find here.) Keeping the audience at a distance requires ... The Endless Review: Chilling, Thought-Provoking Cult Horror On a Budget
Amy Schumer’s comedy about the power of confidence mixes its messages about body image, but provides some laughs nonetheless. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood How would your life change if you felt undeniably beautiful? What if you woke up one day and all the flaws that you see in yourself have disappeared? Would ... I Feel Pretty Review: Well-Intentioned, But Feels Pretty Underwhelming
Koki Shigeno’s documentary tries hard to be the next Jiro Dreams of Sushi; however, unlike a good bowl of ramen, the documentary is not as good as the sum of its parts. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood While most major US cities enjoy a thriving food culture filled with authentic Japanese noodle joints, ... Ramen Heads Review: An Unbalanced Dish of a Documentary
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead discuss the high-concept suspense of their microbudget indie thriller The Endless, its connections to previous films, and the freedom of working on both sides of the camera. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Since the modest release of their mind-bending 2012 debut Resolution, indie horror filmmakers Justin Benson and ... The Endless: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead on Lovecraft, Worldbuilding and the Thrills of Indie Filmmaking
Andrew Haigh’s heartbreaking, poignant drama is a testament to our deeply human desire to belong, told through a nuanced performance by Charlie Plummer. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood If you were to be told that one of the most heartfelt, poignant films of the year was – at its core – a story ... Lean on Pete Review: A Boy and His Horse Search for Home, Find Each Other
The latest microbudget spook-em-up from Blumhouse Productions is long on dares and short on scares. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Hoping to cash in on the success of the Ouija film series, Blumhouse Productions (Get Out, The Purge, The Shallows) has given us Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare, the latest in a trend of ... Truth or Dare Review: Blumhouse’s Latest Delivers Modest Sleepover Scares
Lynne Ramsay follows We Need to Talk About Kevin with another masterwork on the cyclical traumas of violence, sporting a poetically grotesque performance from a haggard Joaquin Phoenix at its center. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Between Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar and We Need to Talk About Kevin, Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay has cemented ... You Were Never Really Here Review: A Masterwork of Brutal Grindhouse Poetry
John Curran’s ill-timed retelling of Ted Kennedy’s infamous car accident in the Chappaquiddick is dour and more than a little politically murky. This piece was originally published on Alcohollywood For a film about lies and secrecy, Chappaquiddick is bizarrely preoccupied with getting its story straight. Director John Curran and screenwriters Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan seem ... Chappaquiddick Review: Tragedy Plus Time, Minus Insight
Watch the latest trailer for A24 and Film 4’s boy-meets-alien punk romance, directed by John Cameron Mitchell and adapted from the Neil Gaiman short story. This piece was originally published on Alcohollywood Romance can be hard, especially when you’re a punk and she’s an alien. Adapted from the Hugo-nominated short story of the same name ... HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES Trailer: John Cameron Mitchell’s Boy-Meets-Alien-Girl Story
Wes Anderson’s latest stop-motion confection is as meticulously constructed and dryly sweet as his previous filmography, even with the extremely complicated questions it raises about appropriation and race. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood By now, the Wes Anderson brand is firmly established to the point where even parodying him is old hat. Everyone ... REVIEW: Isle of Dogs
Sam Claflin, Asa Butterfield, and Paul Bettany deliver terrific performances in a thought-provoking, theatrical World War I drama. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Journey’s End doesn’t match the description of a typical war movie. In fact, scenes of actual warfare make up, I reckon, fewer than five minutes of the film’s runtime. We only ... REVIEW: Journey’s End
Veep creator Armando Iannucci brings his acid tongue and razor-sharp wit to this Soviet-era political farce, aided by an impeccable ensemble cast. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood The Death of Stalin succeeds wonderfully as a calamitous farce, wherein every character falls victim to their own overly meticulous plotting. Every minor detail is chewed on, ... REVIEW: The Death of Stalin
Kyle Henry, director of the compelling, hyperlocal Chicago drama Rogers Park discusses the appeal of his home neighborhood and the need to tell stories that reflect his experiences. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood For Chicagoans, films that actually take place in Chicago can be a bit of a mixed bag. You can usually ... Rogers Park: Director Kyle Henry on Capturing His Neighborhood and the Pressures of Mid-Life
Ryan Coogler’s Afrofuturist take on the Marvel Universe is a refreshingly unique, stylish and thematically rich superhero flick, breathing fresh air into the Marvel mythos. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood What can I say that hasn’t been said a million times over already by critics more numerous and qualified than I? More than ... REVIEW: Black Panther
A pioneering work of trans-centric filmmaking, Sebastián Lelio’s airy, dreamlike direction anchors a fearless central performance from Daniela Vega. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood With trans issues being at the forefront of the cultural moment, it’s no surprise that cries for representation in film extend to trans and non-binary actresses as well. Sure, ... REVIEW: A Fantastic Woman
To no one’s surprise, the third and final adaptation of E.L. James’ bodice-rippers promises steam, but delivers vapor. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood The Fifty Shades of Grey franchise is at once one of the most baffling smash hits in pop culture, and also the most understandable. E.L. James, adapting her AU Twilight ... REVIEW: Fifty Shades Freed