Michael Phillips – Page 102

Cover your mouth when you cough: Emily Blunt and Noah Jupe in "A Quiet Place Part II,"originaly scheduled to open in U.S. theaters March 20. It is now postponed, release date unknown, due to coronavirus concerns.

Commentary: I went to the movies last week. I do it for a living. But it’s time to stay home.

March 15, 2020 at 6:07 p.m.

A week ago things weren't so different yet. Monday, March 9, before the kids were awake, I wrote about an excellent new Kelly Reichardt film "First Cow," which you should...

‘The Hunt’ review: Last year’s gun massacres put the kibosh on a movie about liberals hunting ‘deplorables.’ Six months later? No problem.

March 11, 2020 at 8:20 a.m.

The satiric thriller "The Hunt" sure as hell didn't look like a satiric thriller in its original trailer seven months ago. Right-wing commentators, including our president, couldn't believe Universal backed...

Zoe Kazan, right, and Morgan Spector star in the six-part HBO series "The Plot Against America."

‘The Plot Against America’ review: HBO’s gripping historical fantasy rebukes the notion that it can’t happen here

March 9, 2020 at 5:12 p.m.

Working quiet emotional miracles, Zoe Kazan is the simmering kettle in the middle of an inferno in "The Plot Against America," and she deserves every available award for her portrayal...

‘Panic in the Streets’ and ‘Contagion’: How two viral thrillers speak to the coronavirus moment

February 24, 2022 at 9:14 a.m.

Some pandemics can't cut a break. Everything's going their way, and then a clear-thinking American hero comes along to mess things up by saving the human race. In Elia Kazan's...

Coronavirus fallout: Film directors from Japan, Italy and France cancel March appearances in Chicago

March 6, 2020 at 8:32 a.m.

With the global spread of the coronavirus sending many of the world's arts and cultural gatherings into a tailspin of uncertainty, Chicago is having its own COVID-19-related setbacks. On Thursday...

In "The Way Back," Ben Affleck stars as a basketball coach struggling with addiction.

‘The Way Back’ review: Ben Affleck is the whole show here — and he’s good

March 5, 2020 at 1:00 p.m.

With "The Way Back," Ben Affleck didn't have to deliver his biggest or most attention-getting performance, simply — and simplicity is hard — his truest. As a one-time Torrance, California,...

Rita Moreno, Puerto Rican actress, singer and dancer, wearing a short-sleeved lilac dress, dancing in a publicity image issued for the film adaptation of 'West Side Story', USA, 1961.

Your guide to Chicago’s latest film festivals, from must-see documentaries to 70 MM classics

March 5, 2020 at 2:13 p.m.

On Chicago's film calendar, the swing from late winter into early spring encompasses an adventurous array of festivals, each with its own focus on the world of cinema and the...

In this image released by Disney/Pixar, Ian Lightfoot, voiced by Tom Holland, left, and Barley Lightfoot, voiced by Chris Pratt, appear in a scene from "Onward." (Disney/Pixar via AP)

‘Onward’ review: When a Pixar family reunion with Chris Pratt, Tom Holland goes half-right

March 5, 2020 at 1:39 p.m.

A manic, moderately diverting babysitter of a Pixar movie, "Onward" does gets there by the end — "there" being the place where the freneticism recedes, the main characters' emotional setbacks...

Controversy erupted after 86-year-old Roman Polanski — convicted decades ago on charges of statutory rape of a 13-year-old in the United States and still a fugitive from justice — won the César Awards best director prize for his latest film, "An Officer and a Spy."

Commentary: When Roman Polanski wins a directing award, does an entire #MeToo movement lose?

March 2, 2020 at 3:01 p.m.

Toxic as it sounds, imagine the inside of convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein's head. Imagine what he's thinking, now that his rampant sexual predation has come to a presumptive close, and...

‘Beanpole’ review: An antidote to ‘1917,’ this gripping Russian drama brings the war home

February 27, 2020 at 12:20 p.m.

Those who found "1917" the wrong kind of "harrowing" — the fun kind — will surely experience the Russian drama "Beanpole" a different way. Making its Chicago premiere Friday at...

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