THE LAST MAN ON THE MOON (2015) review
written by: Gene Cernan (story) and Mark Craig
produced by: Gareth Dodds and Patrick Mark
directed by: Mark Craig
rated: unrated
runtime: 95 min.
release date: February 26-March 4, 2016 (Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago, IL)
Watching “The Last Man on the Moon” will conjure feelings of nostalgia even if you weren’t alive during the historic Apollo space missions of 1969-1972. It’s nostalgia for a time in the world (not just America) when there was a sense of awe, wonder and possibilities – a time when humans could surprise themselves. Mark Craig’s documentary, focuses on Eugene “Gene” Cernan, the 81 year-old retired NASA astronaut who was the last man to leave a footprint on the moon. He’s one of the few living men who can look at the same moon that you and I look at and say, “I’ve been there”. Just think about that. The genial and humble Cernan calls the moment in history the ultimate quiet moment in his life, “pure silence”. Read more…
BROOKLYN (2015) review
written by: Nick Hornby
produced by: Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey
directed by: John Crowley
rated: PG-13 (for a scene of sexuality and brief strong language)
runtime: 112 min.
U.S. release date: November 4, 2015 (limited) and November 27, 2015 (wide)
DVD/Blu-ray release date: March 15, 2016
“Brooklyn” has a wonderfully told old-fashioned love story that reaffirms that such a movie can still be found amongst all the remakes, reboots and sequels. It is earnest and sweet, not cheesy and pretentious. It has a simple story, consisting of complex characters with relatable emotions, wonderfully directed by John Crowley (“Closed Circuit”) and written by a fantastic screenwriter Nick Hornby (“An Education” and “Wild”), both of whom appreciate the look and feel of classic cinema. Read more…
DIABLO (2015) review
written by: Lawrence Roeck and Carlos De Los Rios
produced by: Lawrence Roeck
directed by: Lawrence Roeck
rated: R (for violence and brief language)
runtime: 90 min.
U.S. release date: January 8, 2016 (limited)
DVD/Blu-ray release date: February 23, 2016
I love westerns, but by 2016, it can be genuinely hard to bring something new to the genre. To any genre really. It’s tough. So what do you say about 2015’s Diablo? It’s a western with some potential to be pretty decent…but it just ISN’T. It’s not very good, but there is a twist. A good twist. What’s your take though? Is that twist enough to save an otherwise mediocre-to-bad movie? Read more…
CLASSICS: Out of the Past (1947)
written by: Daniel Mainwaring (novel/screenplay)
produced by: Warren Duff
directed by: Jacques Tourneur
rated: unrated
runtime: 97 min.
U.S. release date: November 13, 1947
Robert Mitchum’s Jeff Markham sits alone at a table in the shadows of an Acapulco bar, while nursing a drink and dragging a smoke like its an extension of his hand. He’s patiently waiting for a certain dame to walk through the entrance. That’s why he’s there to being with, but there’s something about Mitchum’s laconic body language and his smooth sardonic narration that indicates there’s something else weighing him down to the floor. This is one of my favorite scenes in a movie I’ve finally caught up with for the first time. It’s from the lead character’s past, one that speaks volumes to his present, as we follow him in “Out of the Past”, which is considered by many to be one of the definitive examples of film noir. Read more…
RISEN (2016) review
written by: Kevin Reynolds and Paul Aiello
produced by: Patrick Aiello, Mickey Liddell and Pete Shilaimon
directed by: Kevin Reynolds
rated: PG-13 (for Biblical violence including some disturbing images)
runtime: 107 min.
U.S. release date: February 19, 2016
I was raised as a Catholic, going to church every weekend with my Dad and my sister. Over the years, I’ve mostly left organized religion behind. I struggle with my beliefs in religion, of a higher being, of faith in general. Through the ups and downs though, I’ve always been fascinated with the story of Jesus. Whether he was the Son of God or just a man (or both), it is a truly interesting, layered individual, one we’ll never fully know. Kevin Reynold’s “Risen” is the story of how Jesus’ supposed Resurrection from the dead sparked quite a tense situation in Jerusalem. Read more…
26th Annual Festival of Films from Iran: TIME TO LOVE (2015) review
written by: Alireza Raisian
produced by: Alireza Raisian
directed by: Alireza Raisian
rated: unrated
runtime: 90 min.
release date: February 20-21, 2015 (Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago, IL)
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve learned a lot about Iranian culture in the past couple of weeks, thanks to the 26th Annual Festival of Films from Iran at the Gene Siskel Film Center here in Chicago. Of course, my knowledge was limited, which was the impetus for my partaking in this festival. One aspect of the country’s culture that I was introduced is the practice of “temporary marriage”, sigheh (or Nikah mut’ah), as it’s called, which plays a role in two of the festival’s films, ne of which is Alireza Raissian’s “Time to Love”, which has received a wide audience in Iran, becoming Iran’s second-biggest box office hit of 2015. Granted, it’s a concept that’s hard for Westerners to comprehend, so I felt compelled to research it after I saw this film and before I wrote this review. Read more…
EISENSTEIN IN GUANAJUATO (2015) review
written by: Peter Greenaway
produced by: Bruno Felix, San Fu Maltha, Christina Velasco & Femke Wolting
directed by: Peter Greenaway
rated: unrated
runtime: 105 min.
U.S. release date: February 5, 2016 (limited) and February 12-18, 2016 (Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago, IL)
Fifteen minutes into watching Peter Greenaway’s “Eisenstein in Guanajuato”, I found myself grateful it wasn’t in 3D. In the majority of that short time, the lead actor Elmer Bäck is completely naked, had already taken two showers and wound up drunk, vomiting and defecating in a Guanajuato, Mexico alley. Greenaway is just getting started – later on, we’ll see Eisenstein talk to his penis. If you’re coming to this film with no prior knowledge of Russian auteur Sergei Eisenstein, just know that writer/director has a specific portrayal in mind – one that reminded me of Tom Hulce’s delirious antics in “Amadeus”. The difference is Hulce was acting in an excellent, far superior film. Read more…
TUMBLEDOWN (2015) review
written by: Desiree Van Til
produced by: Aaron L. Gilbert, Kristin Hahn and Margot Hand
directed by: Sean Mewshaw
rated: R (for a sex scene)
runtime: 106 min.
U.S. release date: February 05, 2016 (NY/LA) & February 12, 2016 (iTunes, Amazon and VOD)
I usually cruise past rom-coms, but curiosity drew me to the charming “Tumbledown”, a new movie that’s being labeled one, but isn’t as saccharine or painfully superficial as the yearly Nicholas Spark adaptation. Yes, the screenplay has some familiar conventions of the genre, but at least the characters feel like real people and not young and beautiful or pouty and pining. What drew me here were the two leads, Rebecca Hall and Jason Sudeikis, both of whom I enjoy – the former I’m always hoping for a good role and the latter I often find he has more to offer than the man-child comedies he usually settles for. In this movie, both actors are good enough that they make us forget that the storyline is transparent – one in which we can predict the ending as soon as the two meet – and just enjoy finding out what they’re do with what they’re given. What they’re given is a screenplay written by Desiree Van Til, whose husband, Sean Mewshaw, makes his feature-length directorial debut, that touches on grief, a universal theme that should be handled delicately and is. Read more…
26th Annual Festival of Films from Iran: THE SALE (2014) review
written by: Hossein Shahabi
produced by: Hossein Shahabi
directed by: Hossein Shahabi
rated: unrated
runtime: 86 min.
release date: February 20-21, 2015 (Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago, IL) – North America premiere
None of the Iranian films playing at the festival that I’ve seen so far have been upbeat and “The Sale” continues that tone. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging a connective melodrama that ties these films together. The films have delivered an impressive handful of performances that convey grief, fear, confusion and frustration, that resonates and is relatable. While it would be quite a surprise to view a laugh-out-loud Iranian comedy, seeing one powerful drama after another has provided a deeper knowledge and understanding for the culture and the struggles of the people of modern-day Iran – especially the women. That’s what we find in writer/producer/director Hossein Shahabi’s social drama “The Sale”, which showcases three strong female performances affected by the complexities of polygamy. Read more…
CLASSICS: Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
written by: Dziga Vertov
directed by: Dziga Vertov
rated: unrated
runtime: 68 min.
release date: January 8, 1929
Many say that the groundbreaking, experimental silent film by Dziga Vertov “Man with a Movie Camera” from 1929 has no story and no actors. This is not a correct or incorrect assessment of the film, for while there is no screenplay or assigned cast, there is still a story to be told and that story is inhabited by people. We cannot project our expectations for what a film is on an eighty-seven year-old film that is beyond definition. If we had to assign characters to “Man with a Movie Camera”, they would be the director, the cinematographer and the editor – like a conductor who guides and directs an orchestra; it is these three who tell the story here. Read more…
