Michael Phillips

Some loved, some hated the violent first "Joker" movie. Tribune critic Michael Phillips was one of the haters, but he had a much different first impression of this one.

Here’s a tale of two standing ovations, plus five other titles, as they played out during the 81st Venice International Film Festival.

Compared to the 1988 model, Tim Burton's revisit to the "Beetlejuice" realm is bigger, more bombastic and nearly laughless. What gives?

Returning to the Gene Siskel Film Center Aug. 30 to Sept. 5, the new movie "Mountains" played last year's edition of the Black Harvest Film Festival at the Film Center....

Writer-director India Donaldson's movie, now at Chicago's Gene Siskel Film Center, is simple on the surface, complex underneath.

It's only one story among countless stories, but this documentary focus on a single Catholic-run Canadian boarding school speaks volumes.