Directed by John Hughes Goddamn this film is just so sweet. It's an odd couple pairing, the pursed lipped Steve Martin and blabber-mouthed John Candy, and yet it avoids certain cliches perhaps because the subtext of their discord is brought into the open so early in the film. Before any of their travels get too crazy … Continue reading Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
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The Weather Man (2005)
Directed by Gore Verbinski The Weather Man is about Dave Spritz’s (Nicolas Cage) general disaffection with life, both personal and professional, and his plan to escape through a “very American accomplishment,” to become the national weatherman on “Hello America,” a program very much meant to resemble “Good Morning America” or “The Today Show.” Dave is … Continue reading The Weather Man (2005)
Widows (2018)
Directed by Steve McQueen Widows is a strange, good movie. It's a heist movie set in Chicago which tackles class divides, political corruption and the burden of the dead. At times it is quite funny, quite dark, and the cast of engaging characters are well-defined but a little scattered. They are well-constructed images, sounds and … Continue reading Widows (2018)
High Fidelity (2000)
Directed by Stephen Frears High Fidelity has a similar energy to another John Cusack classic, 1989's Say Anything... except that this time Cusack plays an absolute jerk, self-loathing, self-centered and, for some reason, self-assured. Rob Gordon (Cusack) owns his own record shop somewhere in a hip area of Chicago, and while to me that smells like … Continue reading High Fidelity (2000)
The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
Directed by Clay Kaytis The Christmas Chronicles has trouble getting going, but once it does it’s not far from the Christmas movies I remember so fondly from my childhood. It follows two siblings, ten year old Kate and teenaged Scott, on the night of Christmas eve, the first since the death of their Christmas-loving father. … Continue reading The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
Rampage (2018)
Directed by Brad Peyton San Andreas must've been a hit because director Brad Peyton and Dwayne Johnson are at it again, this time destroying a CGI-rendered Chicago. The antagonist this time isn't a natural disaster but unnaturally large predators in the style of Godzilla and King Kong. Along with the giant lizard creature and giant … Continue reading Rampage (2018)
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Directed by John Hughes When someone plays hookie from work, what they might have in mind is Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Ferris (Matthew Borderick) is a high school senior whom the adults would say is a slacker but who commands the respect of "the sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads - they all … Continue reading Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Primal Fear (1996)
Directed by Gregory Hoblit Primal Fear is a fun courtroom drama with a few twists and turns, notably in the final ten minutes, like those of Billy Wilder’s The Witness for the Prosecution. The nature of the story is dead serious, including possible mental illness and the murder of a priest caught up in real … Continue reading Primal Fear (1996)
Life Itself (2014)
Directed by Steve James Life Itself chronicles the career and life of famed film critic Roger Ebert. The documentary is directed by Steve James who made the four year odyssey of Hoop Dreams, another Chicago-set story and a film which Ebert himself was very fond of. The documentary begins by acknowledging Ebert's recent passing, but then … Continue reading Life Itself (2014)
Hoop Dreams (1994)
Directed by Steve James Hoop Dreams was meant to be a 30 minute PBS documentary on Chicago street culture through the eyes of kids playing playground basketball. It ended up as a near 3 hour feature documentary with over 300 hours of footage. When it was released, 8 years after shooting began, the film would … Continue reading Hoop Dreams (1994)
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