CIFF 2025 – It Was Just An Accident
“It Was Just an Accident” is the first film from Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi after the Iranian regime had apparently lifted the restrictions they had placed on his art. A longtime critic of the Iranian government, Panahi was arrested in 2022 after being given a six-year prison sentence in 2010 with a 20-year ban on working. While he was imprisoned for his supposed crimes against the regime, he spent most of his time in solitary confinement, blindfolded whenever he was taken out to be interrogated and relying on his other senses to determine his surroundings. While he was able to make film projects in Iran before then, often secretly and staring himself (2022’s “No Bears”) that were released abroad, the thriller “It Was Just An Accident” is his feature-length narrative film since 2003’s “Offside.” The film is a co-production between Iran, France, and Luxembourg, and won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival this past May. It will be France’s entry for Best International Feature for next year’s Oscars. Before it gets released here in the States by Neon, it stops at the 61st Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF), which runs from October 15-26, 2025 Read more…
28 YEARS LATER (2025) review
written by: Alex Garland
produced by: Bernard Bellew, Danny Boyle, Alex Garland, Andrew Macdonald, Peter Rice
directed by: Danny Boyle
rated: R (for strong bloody violence, grisly images, graphic nudity, language, and brief sexuality)
runtime: 115 min.
U.S. release date: June 22, 2025 (theatrical) , September 20, 2025 (Netflix), and September 23, 2025 (4K UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD)
“Remember, we must die”
Director Danny Boyle has this way of returning to his most iconic material in wholly unexpected ways. 2017’s “T2: Trainspotting“ rises to meet the middle-aged energy of its main characters, immediately doing a tonal 180 to indicate its intentions. Returning in 2025 to the universe he helped launch with 2002’s “28 Days Later” (released the following year here in the States), one would expect Boyle to similarly zig when everyone’s expecting him to zag. And when aided by writer Alex Garland, another guy who loves to throw a change-up when you’re thinking fastball all the way, “28 Years Later” was bound to disappoint, confound, and generally enrage a general public all too willing to allow movies to ruin their lives. Read more…
CIFF 2025: The Helsinki Effect
Now is as good a time as any to look at past geopolitical engagement to be reminded that some things never change or perhaps see a way out of our current political turmoil. In “The Helsinki Effect”, which will screen at the 61st annual Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF), Finnish documentarian Arthur Franck (“The Hypnotist”) takes a wry, matter-of-fact approach as he takes a look back at the 1973 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), a meeting of international leaders that took place in his native Helsinki before he was born. Why should we care? In a droll voiceover narration, Franck irreverently admits that the subject matter may be “very, very boring” for some and may put others to sleep. Read more…
CIFF 2025: A Brief History of Chasing Storms
Tornado Alley isn’t just in Kansas or Oklahoma anymore. It’s still in both of those Great Plains states, and moviegoers are familiar with this from films such as 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” and 1996’s “Twister.” The term, also known as Tornado Valley, was first used in 1952 as part of a severe weather research project in the United States. It traced tornado activity from Texas all the way up to Minnesota. Although there doesn’t appear to be any set boundaries, as the pattern has evolved over the years, survivors have passed on their stories from one generation to the next. Now local Chicago filmmaker Chris Miller takes viewers on a road trip through “Tornado Alley” in his documentary “A Brief History of Chasing Storms”, and you can catch it this weekend and next weekend at the 61st annual Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF). Read more…
CIFF 2025: This Island
The only film from Puerto Rico in the lineup at this year’s CIFF (Chicago International Film Festival) is “This Island” (“Esta Isla”), a beautifully shot and confidently made modern-day tale that marks the feature-length debut of directors Lorraine Jones Molina and Cristian Carretero. Both filmmakers are from Puerto Rico, and their film clearly demonstrates a love and appreciation for their homeland, showcasing its current life, rich culture, and lush locations. With a background in shorts and documentaries, they bring an observant and intuitive approach, paying homage to a diverse range of genres while artfully presenting an environment they are familiar with. Read more…
THE BLACK PHONE 2 (2025) review
written by: Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill
produced by: Jason Blum, Scott Derrickson, and C. Robert Cargill
directed by: Scott Derrickson
rated: R (for strong violent content, gore, teen drug use, and language)
runtime: 114 min.
U.S. release date: October 17, 2025
Back in 2022, Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions had a surprise sleeper summer hit on their hands with “The Black Phone”. The horror story was written by screenwriters C. Robert Cargill and Scott Derrickson (who also directed), who stretched out an eponymously titled short story by Joe Hill into a feature. Despite a definitive ending, studio conversations inevitably led to sequel talk, and here we are with “The Black Phone 2”. While it’s great to see some of the actors returning and Cargill and Derrickson’s involvement might make one hopeful, it’s unfortunate that it feels unoriginal and as unnecessary as so many other sequels. Read more…
Interview with ROOFMAN writer/director Derek Cianfrance
Did you hear the one about the guy who escaped prison and wound up living in a Toys ‘R Us store for 6 months? It sounds like either a setup for a joke or the kind of question you’d overhear at a coffee shop, but writer/director Derek Cianfrance not only heard about such a story, he made it into a movie. Read more…
ROOFMAN (2025) review
written by: Derek Cianfrance and Kirt Gunn
produced by: Jamie Patricof, Lynette Howell Taylor, Alex Orlovsky, Duncan Montgomery & Dylan Sellers
directed by: Derek Cianfrance
rated: R (for language, nudity, and brief sexuality)
runtime: 126 min.
U.S. release date: October 10, 2025
First impressions from the trailer for “Roofman” suggest that the movie is a wacky comedy. It’s not. It’s being described as a crime comedy. After watching the latest from director Derek Cianfrance, which has a surprising amount of earnest emotion and thoughtfulness, I was left wishing there were no need for such descriptors or categories for films. The tagline, “Based on True Events and Terrible Decisions”, is enough of a draw. It conveys what it is, incorporates the wink-wink tone from the movie, while also maintaining the reality of the subject matter. Some may see “Roofman” as a departure from the unfairly labeled “misery movies” Cianfrance has made in the past, such as “Blue Valentine”, “The Place Beyond the Pines”, and “The Light Between the Oceans”, but I’ve considered those to be fascinating studies of the complexities of human nature. Read more…
JOHN CANDY: I LIKE ME (2025) review
produced by: Colin Hanks, Johnny Pariseau, George Dewey, Shane Reid, Ryan Reynolds, Sean Stuart & Glen Zipper
directed by: Colin Hanks
rated: PG-13 (for smoking, some strong language, drug material and suggestive material)
runtime: 113 min.
U.S. release date: October 10, 2025 (Prime)
During the cold open of the documentary “John Candy: I Like Me”, Bill Murray fondly reflects on his dear friend and frequent costar, stating with a dry chuckle, “I wish I had some bad things to say about him.” That would indeed be a surprise to viewers, as well as the friends and family of the late Canadian actor/comedian, but what director Colin Hanks does is reinforce something that many of us already know: the gregarious talent was as kind and generous as he was sensitive and gentle. Sure, some people may have already had that idea, and those are the ones who grew up watching him in movies and on television. However, considering he died 31 years ago, it’s safe to say that there are generations out there who have missed out on his special, charismatic screen presence. Hanks has created an engaging and emotional tribute to Candy, inviting those who loved him a chance to share their memories of him and the impact he had on them. Read more…
LOVE, BROOKLYN (2025) review
written by: Paul Zimmerman
produced by: André Holland, Kate Sharp, Patrick Wengler, Maurice Anderson & Liza Zusman
directed by: Rachael Abigail Holder
rated: not rated
runtime: 97 min.
U.S. release date: September 5, 2025 (theatrical) & October 10, 2025 (digital)
Sometimes you watch a film with a solid cast and you wonder why you can’t get invested in the characters or their story. That’s what I experienced while watching “Love, Brooklyn”, which stars actors I’ve enjoyed before in a setting (it’s in the title) that should be more interesting than what is presented here. For the record, the actors are all good here, but the issue is the material they’re given. The problem isn’t in the directing either, considering Rachael Abigail Holder makes a solid feature-length debut here. Like every film, it all comes down to the writing. Read more…
