Michael Phillips – Page 6

Screenwriter Brett Neveu in his office Monday, March 31, 2025, in Annie May Swift Hall on the Northwestern University campus. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Column: Years ago, Brett Neveu’s ‘Eric LaRue’ unnerved Chicago audiences. Now it’s a Michael Shannon movie.

April 3, 2025 at 6:08 p.m.

Hundreds of school shootings after Brett Neveu's "Eric LaRue" made its Chicago stage entrance, Michael Shannon takes the story to the screen.

Carey Mulligan and Tom Basden in "The Ballad of Wallis Island." (Alistair Heap/Focus Features)

Review: ‘The Ballad of Wallis Island,’ where the right concert can change your life

April 2, 2025 at 12:09 p.m.

A reclusive lottery winner hires his favorite folk duo for a reunion concert. Love, music and laughs proceed from there. It all feels a little contrived at times, but it...

Felix Kysyl and Jacques Develay in the French drama of sexual intrigue "Misericordia." (Sideshow and Janus Films)

‘Misericordia’ review: A funeral mourner sparks a tiny French village’s erotic roundelay

March 31, 2025 at 3:20 p.m.

Under wraps or busting out all over, inconvenient yearning is everywhere in the films of Alain Guiraudie. And like most of his characters, the French writer-director likes to keep his...

Jason Statham as Levon Cade in director David Ayer's "A Working Man." (Dan Wilson/Amazon MGM Studios)

‘A Working Man’ review: Jason Statham solves a Chicago sex trafficking problem

March 28, 2025 at 5:15 a.m.

Ridiculous, bloodthirsty and, because it's a Jason Statham movie, super-scowly, "A Working Man" has its vicious charms.

Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega star in "Death of a Unicorn." (A24/David Bornfriend)

‘Death of a Unicorn’ review: A dark comedy with more splatter than glitter

March 27, 2025 at 5:15 a.m.

Haven't the rich suffered enough in the movies? Nope! "Death of a Unicorn" stars Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega, but Tea Leoni's the standout.

Director Clint Eastwood and producer Steven Spielberg at the Paramount Pictures premiere of "Flags Of Our Fathers" on Oct. 9, 2006, in Beverly Hills, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty)

Column: Clint Eastwood made a movie about soldier Ira Hayes, and the propaganda machine

March 27, 2025 at 11:18 a.m.

In "Flags of Our Fathers" director Clint Eastwood and Iwo Jima flag-raiser Ira Hayes shared a disdain for phony patriotism.

An early 1980s image, photographed in Chicago's South Side neighborhood of Beverly, seen in the music documentary "Move Ya Body: The Birth of House Music." The faces from left include Jesse Saunders, Bernadette Rabaya, Demitrius Price, Vince Lawrence and (front) Fred Riley. (Vince Lawrence)

This year’s Doc10 film festival opens with the house music documentary ‘Move Ya Body’

March 25, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Doc10's 10th-anniversary edition includes a story of Chicago's house music explosion and a nerve-wracking Ukrainian rescue mission, most screened at Lincoln Square’s Davis Theater.

Australian director Gillian Armstrong is one of 19 filmmakers featured in the new book "Cinema Her Way." Armstrong's "Little Women" starred Winona Ryder, Trini Alvarado, Kirsten Dunst, Susan Sarandon and Claire Danes. (Joseph Lederer/Columbia Pictures)

Column: In ‘Cinema Her Way,’ female directors talk about struggle, survival and the industry

March 24, 2025 at 5:30 a.m.

Author Marya E. Gates spoke with 19 women filmmakers about their challenges in getting films made. And why those challenges haven't gone away.

James Earl Jones stars as Obediah Fish in director Charles Burnett's "The Annihilation of Fish." (Kino Lorber/Milestone Films)

‘The Annihilation of Fish’ review: A rare James Earl Jones film, restored, returns for a victory lap

March 21, 2025 at 5:15 a.m.

Director Charles Burnett's romantic comedy never found an audience in 1999. Co-starring Lynn Redgrave and Margot Kidder, it's well worth seeking out.

Cliff Blake, Tim Taylor, Jeff Saint Dic and Ethan Ward co-star in "Eephus." (Music Box Films)

Review: ‘Eephus’ is a fond farewell to a small-town baseball field in its last inning

March 20, 2025 at 11:01 a.m.

Named after a long, high pitch, the hangout comedy "Eephus" finds humor and pathos in a baseball diamond's final inning.

All Stories