Movies are about moments – big moments that erase our cynicism about cinema and remind us of its capacity to dazzle as well as touch us. This happens in a way only possible with a medium that seamlessly combines so many other art forms. There are instances that prompt us to consider things in a […]
Chuck Koplinski
Writing for Illinois Times since 1998, Chuck Koplinski is a member of the Critic's Choice Association, the Chicago Film Critics Association and a contributor to Rotten Tomatoes. He appears on WCIA-TV twice a week to review current releases and, no matter what anyone says, thinks Tom Cruise's version of The Mummy is a woefully underrated film.
Posted inArts & Culture
Rebirth, revenge propel Inarritu’s gorgeous Revenant
Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass in The Revenant. Among experts of the era of western exploration of the United States, the legend of scout Hugh Glass is well known. Having been attacked by a grizzly bear in 1823 while on an expedition in South Dakota for the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, he was left for […]
Posted inArts & Culture
“Daddy’s” a Funny Look at Bad Parenting
Obviously, director Sean Anders and his crew are well-aware they’re not on the road to creating something akin to Citizen Kane when they set out to make a movie like Daddy’s Home. I would imagine that, in addition to having a rip-roaring time when they show up to work each day, the intent is to make […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Tarantino flirts with greatness with Eight
PHOTO COURTESY THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Bruce Dern in The Hateful Eight. His most assured and satisfying film since Jackie Brown, Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight is unique in the director’s oeuvre in that it’s the only one he’s made he can truly call his own. Absent are the numerous […]
Posted inNews
Four new holiday films
Jennifer Lawrence as Joy in Joy. PHOTO COURTESY 20th Century Fox Joy a holiday also-ran There’s no question that David O. Russell’s Joy has a great deal going for it. It sports an incredible cast, including key members from previous efforts Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle (both of which topped my 10 Best Lists […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Sisters a ribald treat
Amy Poehler as Maura Ellis and Tina Fey as Kate Ellis in Sisters. PHOTO COURTESY Universal Pictures What with their comedy Sisters being released on the same day as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, you can’t help but wonder what its stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler did to doom their film to such a […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Force brings fun back to Star Wars
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens Faced with the daunting task of resurrecting Star Wars for the big screen, director J.J. Abrams takes the same approach he did when helming the Star Trek reboot – recycle the past, give fans exactly what they want and do so with a subtle wink […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Choppy Sea fails to engage
Chris Hemsworth as Owen Chase in In the Heart of the Sea. PHOTO COURTESY Warner Bros. Pictures On Aug. 12, 1819, the whaling ship Essex left Nantucket with a fresh lease on life. Wanting to keep it operational as long as possible, the company that owned the ship had given it a complete overhaul and […]
Posted inArts & Culture
“Creed” Finds New Life in Old Formula
As with any movie in the Rocky series, you pretty much know what you’re getting with Ryan Coogler’s Creed, a clever offshoot to the seemingly unstoppable boxing franchise that Sylvester Stallone started on a wing and a prayer. However, the actor, who wrote each of the previous six entries and directed four of them, has […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Victor Frankenstein a misguided monster mash
James McAvoy as Frankenstein and Daniel Radcliffe as Igor in Victor Frankenstein. Taking a cue from the literary reimagining that led to the big box office with Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes in 2009 and its sequel in 2011, director Paul McGuigan and screenwriter Max Landis attempt to breathe new life into another well-known […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Beautiful Brooklyn a love story for the ages
Domhnall Gleeson as Jim Farrell and Saoirse Ronan as Ellis Lacey in Brooklyn. PHOTO COURTESY Fox Searchlight Pictures What a beautiful movie John Crowley has made in Brooklyn, the adaptation of Colm Toibin’s 2009 novel. This loving look back to early 1950’s America and one young Irish girl’s immigrant experience is a gorgeously rendered slice […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Solid, compelling Spotlight is one of the year’s best
Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo in Spotlight. Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight is a movie that doesn’t have to raise its voice. Much like the reporters it focuses on, this is an assured work, firm in its convictions, telling its story in a factual, non-exploitive way, knowing full well that what it has to say, while necessary, […]
