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by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
The Chicago Critics Film Festival is currently underway, with multiple films scheduled each day through Thursday, May 9. There are plenty of intriguing films still to come, so check out the lineup. I wanted to share some short takes on what I have seen so far!
by Emily Maesar, Associate Editor, TVJawn
The Idea of You is a really fun and sweet film that should make any rom-com lover happy.
by Jo Rempel, Staff Writer
In Stress Positions, beauty is a way of questioning the world. The world in this particular case is the mid-pandemic reality, one of the ultra-mundane.
by Liz Locke, Cinemasips.com
If you enjoy exotic locales, beautiful costumes, strong female characters, and even stronger drinks, then pre-code films are sure to be right up your alley.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
For Ani-May 2024, let’s talk about queer (and queer adjacent) anime from the early 2000s. First up: Descendants of Darkness.
by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport & Editor in Chief
I want to see Gosling and Blunt team again because, even in a lackluster production, these two are a reminder that the idea of a Hollywood star is not dead.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
As the Last Standard exam ends and the Bad Kids go home, they prepare for a spring break that it seems likely they won’t forget.
by Emily Maesar, Associate Editor, TVJawn
That’s what college shows represent in the grand scheme of teen shows. It’s very “high school never ends” from that Bowling for Soup song.
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
This is my first year going, so here are some of the films I am excited to check out during the festival.
by Megan Bailey, Staff Writer
It’s hard to make it as a knight, especially a singing one!
by Alex Rudolph, Staff Writer
The main problem with Boy Kills World is that we no longer live in a world where studios crank out a half-dozen movies like it every month.
by Tina Kakadelis, Staff Writer
Humane marks the feature directorial debut of Caitlin Cronenberg who, like the rest of her family, weaves a tangled, chilling, family-drama thriller
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
Who are the Bad Kids if they aren’t extraordinary? We’ll never know because they freaking ACE the Last Standard exam.
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
In Luca Guadagnino’s latest film, Challengers, tennis becomes a malleable metaphor for the way we try to externalize our internal desires and the distance between ourselves and the people we feel closest to.
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
The filmmakers clearly have a lot of affection for the classic monster movies and understand what made them scary to audiences almost a century ago.
by Megan Robinson, Staff Writer
Chicken for Linda! is about mess. The messes we make and clean up, the messy people we all are deep down, and the messy emotions we face every single day.
by Alex Rudolph, Staff Writer
I felt like I had watched somebody use their loved one's death to sell supplements. It hurt. It'll hurt for a while.
by Ian Hrabe, Staff Writer
Sasquatch Sunset is the sort of a movie you see on Netflix, remember how you heard about it when it came out, throw it on for 10 minutes, and then say, "Welp, glad I didn't pay to see that one in the theater."
by Clayton Hayes, Staff Writer
Director’s Company x2 is Japan Society’s double-feature homage to the pioneering independent production company that operated in Japan for a decade, from 1982 to 1992,
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
There’s nothing scarier for a teenager than a standardized test!
by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer
Corin Nemec, who was Emmy nominated for I Know My First Name is Steven in 1989 and played the title character on TV’s Parker Lewis Can’t Lose in the 90’s, wrote the screenplay for Deadly Justice. The actor turned screenwriter spoke with MovieJawn about his new film, which marries true crime and the wrongly accused plot.
by Gena Radcliffe, Staff Writer
Beyond the whimsical practical effects, and the fact that not a single word of dialogue is spoken other than occasional grunts and shouts, the real miracle of Hundreds of Beavers is that this extremely simple plot successfully carries an entire feature-length film.
by Megan Robinson, Staff Writer
Arcadian tells and shows very little, in the end. Rather than reflecting this intentionally confusing apocalypse in the small family of father and sons, it feels instead insular and lacking in pathos.
by Clayton Hayes, Staff Writer
Omen is exploring the cultural legacy of Belgian colonialism in Central Africa, though its approach is far from conventional.
by Alex Rudolph, Staff Writer
Enter the Clones of Bruce is a hugely fun celebration of the genuinely strange movies that little studios slapped together in the years after Bruce Lee died and the kung fu throne was, sadly, vacant.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
What is the nature of a curse and how can the Bad Kids set things right in the world?
by Tori Potenza, Staff Writer
As a collector of physical media, when I decide what newer films I want to add to my collection much of my decision comes down to re-watchability
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
For Ani-May 2024, let’s talk about queer (and queer adjacent) anime from the early 2000s. First up: Descendants of Darkness.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
As the Last Standard exam ends and the Bad Kids go home, they prepare for a spring break that it seems likely they won’t forget.
by Emily Maesar, Associate Editor, TVJawn
That’s what college shows represent in the grand scheme of teen shows. It’s very “high school never ends” from that Bowling for Soup song.
by Megan Bailey, Staff Writer
It’s hard to make it as a knight, especially a singing one!
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
Who are the Bad Kids if they aren’t extraordinary? We’ll never know because they freaking ACE the Last Standard exam.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
There’s nothing scarier for a teenager than a standardized test!
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
What is the nature of a curse and how can the Bad Kids set things right in the world?
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
At the end of the day Dawson’s Creek is kind of the only show you need from this TV season, but it’s also deeply weird that almost none of it exists in a perceivable way.
by Megan Bailey, Staff Writer
Nashville shows (and perpetuates) the hardship of the music industry on artists.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
While it’s been said many times on the show, FANTASY HIGH: JUNIOR YEAR shows the ultimate power in a name.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
As the Bad Kids progress in their school year, things are looking even more mysterious and dangerous than ever.
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Masters of the Air is also an ambitious miniseries that is epic in scope, intimate in scale, and swings for the fences.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
The Vulture Dimension, the end of the battle with Grix, and the continuation of the murder mystery!
by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer
Netflix’s Supersex tells a coming-of-age story in the porn industry.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
It’s time for the Frostyfaire Folk Festival, which means it’s time for a big battle!
by Megan Bailey, Staff Writer
The first musical TV we’re covering in CURTAIN CALL is Smash, the two season show that might finally be getting a Broadway show of its own.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
Episode 7 of Fantasy High: Junior Year brings out the stressful nature of being a teenager. Grades, popularity, and life outside of both come to a head.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
For this month’s look at one television season (1996-1997), I wanted to bring five specific shows to the table. Smart Guy, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Clueless, 7th Heaven, and (of course) Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
Sometimes being a teenager is getting pushed out of a world-ending situation and back to a normal high school party.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
The first day of Junior Year comes to a close, but not before the Bad Kids get ready for the first party of the year… and the possible return of the Nightmare King!
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
School is finally back in session and there’s a new antagonist in town!
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
One of the great joys of Fantasy High is the entire group’s ability to really tap into the deep fears and issues of being a teenager.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
Dropout’s brilliant actual play Dungeons & Dragons show is back with the continuing story of the Bad Kids in Fantasy High: Junior Year.
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
The pitch for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters must have sounded too good to pass up for all parties involved.
by Emily Maesar, Associate TV Editor
Join us on a new monthly feature of TV all about teen shows!
by Marie-Claire Gould, Contributor
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a new adaptation of the original comics, with the entire cast of the film returning… but it’s reimagining shows the mythic potential of finding yourself.
by Megan Bailey, Staff Writer
What hath LOST wrought? Let’s discuss in the final installment of Dispatches from the Hatch!
by Tori Potenza, Staff Writer
As a collector of physical media, when I decide what newer films I want to add to my collection much of my decision comes down to re-watchability
by “Doc” Hunter Bush, contributor and Podcast Czar
“A traditional Kyoto inn is looping two minutes at a time!” That was all I had to go on when I was lucky enough to see this film at last year’s Fantasia Fest.
by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer
Peter Greenaway’s breakout arthouse hit, The Draughtsman’s Contract (1982) is bold film—an intriguing murder mystery, a cheeky satire on English class, and a naughty sex romp—rendered in such a rigorous way that it requires steadfast attention.
by “Doc” Hunter Bush, Staff Writer, Podcast Czar
For fans of genre oddities, this is the proverbial candy store for you to feel like a kid within.
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
I haven’t seen many yakuza movies before Violent Streets, and Hideo Gosha’s take is so glorious, it may have spoiled me for many other films in this subgenre.
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
Both of these movies are incredibly fun and exceptionally directed. I can’t recommend these enough for fans of sword fighting movies.
by Kirk Stevens, Contributor
While it may not be remembered as an 80’s teen movie classic with the likes of John Hughes, David Greenwalt’s Secret Admirer is a perfectly charming comedy of errors that serves as a breezy, entertaining watch.
by Kirk Stevens, Contributor
The performances in Counsellor At Law are universally strong, and Rice’s screenplay is full of rich dialogue and humor throughout.
by Kirk Stevens, Contributor
Screenwriter Silvia Richards was an outspoken progressive whose career was interrupted due to being blacklisted and being called as a witness for the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
The Belle Starr Story is, amazingly, the only spaghetti western ever directed by a woman. As such, it has a unique look at its characters, in a way films rarely did, or even do today, with an eye for commentary on sexuality and gender.
by Kirk Stevens, Contributor, Disc Devotee
n the past two years, the stunning new 4K restoration has been screening all over the world and has finally received the lovingly curated home video release it deserves from Severin Films.
by Nikk Nelson, Staff Writer, Cinematic Maniac
Someone is finally listening to people who care about the quality of the film itself when we present it in our homes for ourselves, our family, and our friends.
by Alex Rudolph, Staff Writer
We don't get many movies like Hudson Hawk. You have to continue to appreciate them as they get more and more rare.
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
Murina is that special kind of feature film debut that seems to emerge fully formed, in this case from the beautiful Adriatic Sea.
by Ashley Jane Davis, Staff Writer
I love this flick! It’s like Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II as an episode of Murder, She Wrote by way of Sir R.L. Stine with the perfect cast!
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
Is this a pro-cop movie? Or an anti-cop movie?
by Rosalie Kicks, Editor in Chief and Old Sport
I adore details like this and these little extras make owning a physical film release feel so much more special.
by Benjamin Leonard, Managing Zine Editor, Best Boy
Is this a pro-cop movie? Or an anti-cop movie?