‘Emily the Criminal’ review: In a tough, lean LA crime story, Aubrey Plaza charges it all the way By Michael Phillips August 11, 2022 at 5:30 a.m. There is no less specific, more generic phrase in film criticism than "documentary realism." It...
‘Let the Little Light Shine’ opens Friday: How filmmaker Kevin Shaw shaped Chicago schools controversy into a rousing documentary By Michael Phillips August 8, 2022 at 5:00 a.m. We'll get to the high point — the explosive reception so far for filmmaker Kevin...
‘Easter Sunday’ review: Jo Koy’s Filipino family sets the table for a comedy with feuds, gags, hits and misses By Michael Phillips August 4, 2022 at 12:28 p.m. Years from now nobody's going to watch "Easter Sunday" for lessons in how to frame...
‘My Worst Moment’: Your favorite celebs tell us their most cringe-worthy moments By Nina Metz November 22, 2022 at 8:46 a.m. Actors and actresses recall their worst moments to the Tribune's Nina Metz — and how...
‘Bullet Train’ review: Murder on the disorient express stars Brad Pitt in a pack of assassins on a train out of Tokyo By Michael Phillips August 2, 2022 at 10:02 a.m. In "Bullet Train," Brad Pitt plays a lovable-loser assassin (code name: Ladybug) bent on self-improvement....
‘Hoop Dreams’ filmmaker Steve James to premiere new project at the Venice Film Festival on atomic spy Theodore Hall By Michael Phillips July 29, 2022 at 11:18 a.m. The new Steve James documentary "A Compassionate Spy," about the Manhattan Project physicist, Soviet spy...
Rebecca Hall is one of the fiercest actors of our time. But “Resurrection” comes up short of her talent By Michael Phillips July 28, 2022 at 12:41 p.m. In the movies, the interior trauma so many women endure years or decades after the...
29 years underground and counting: The Chicago Underground Film Festival keeps on digging By Michael Phillips July 26, 2022 at 11:19 a.m. "Underground cinema" means different things to different film programmers and their audiences. For 29 years,...
Review: ‘Anything’s Possible’ on Amazon Prime, a teen romcom for our times and a promising directorial debut from Billy Porter By Michael Phillips July 21, 2022 at 3:17 p.m. Now streaming on Amazon Prime, Billy Porter's classy , heartfelt directorial debut "Anything's Possible" doesn't...
‘The Last Movie Stars’ review: HBO’s portrait of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward plays out as some of the most irresistible hours of TV this year By Michael Phillips July 21, 2022 at 11:03 a.m. Long before the line "Who are those guys?" became a running gag in "Butch Cassidy...