Wide Awake, M. Night Shyamalan slowly rises

miramax Archives - The Spool

Peter Sobczynski is a Chicago-based filmcritic whose work can be seen at RogerEbert.com, EFilmcritic.com and, well, here. He is also on the board for the Chicago Critics Film Festival and the Chicago Film Critics Association. Yes, he once gave four stars to “Valerian” and he would do it again.

Features

Wide Awake, M. Night Shyamalan slowly rises

Shyamalan's first theatrical release is far removed from his most famous work—but does contain seeds of the filmmaker he'd become.

Columns

P.S.H. I Love You: Avoid the trip to “Cold Mountain”

Philip Seymour Hoffman does his level best to elevate Anthony Minghella's Oscar-friendly Miramax Western, but even he can't save it.

Filmmaker of the Month

“Good Will Hunting” was Gus Van Sant’s big swing for the normies

Gus Van Sant's Oscar-winning character drama is a safe, middlebrow nuts-and-bolts picture as formative as it is uncreative for the filmmaker.

Unraveling pop-culture one thread at a time

The Spool is an irreverent, informative source for film and television coverage, focused on diverse, thoughtful opinions that seek out a greater understanding of the media we love.

Features

With “Pulp Fiction,” Tarantino Resisted the Mundane

Quentin Tarantino's classic 1994 new-cool drama set the stage for a new era of independent film, and saw the end of his own sense of mercy.

Features

July’s Filmmaker of the Month: Quentin Tarantino

With his ninth film coming out this month, we look back on the indie titan and his deeply metatextual approach to cinema.

Features

25 Years Later, “The Crow” Remains an Undeniable Result & Reflection of 1994

Remembering the cult hit that combined timeless themes of love and vengeance with grungy goth style.

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