Art is a powerful tool. It can make us laugh. It can make us cry. It can make us think. It can be used to fictionalize harsh real-life circumstances in order to enhance our acceptance and understanding of actual reality. That’s the power behind the Netflix short (and Oscar nominee and front runner) Two Distant Strangers. […]
“Judas and the Black Messiah,” the bio-pic about Fred Hampton, head of the Black Panthers in Illinois in the sixties, comes to us from a dynamic team. Director Shaka King (“Newlyweeds”) had met Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”) in 2013 at Sundance. Coogler (“Black Panther”) approached Warner Brothers with 50% of the film’s financing in hand […]
The 70-minute teen comedy/drama “Yes, God, Yes” is a sweet, slight and mostly satisfying film that deftly, gently tackles enormous, weighty subjects – sexuality, morality, religion, personal autonomy and responsibility, and the vast, disgusting hypocrisy of the Catholic Church. The 2019 film was written and directed by Karen Maine (who co-wrote the 2014 abortion-themed “Obvious Child”) […]
Director Christopher Nolan started tinkering around with the concept of time many years ago on a much smaller budget with 2000’s “Memento.” I liked it so much that, on a visit to the Twin Cities, I took a girlfriend and her husband to see it, my second time through it. It was unique, original, interesting, […]
This is part of film critic Connie Wilson’s exclusive coverage of the SXSW Film Festival for QuadCities.com. “Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press” from Director/Screenwriter Brian Knappenberger @ SXSW Genre: Documentary Feature Length: 95 minutes Writer/Director: Brian Knappenberger Principal Cast: Nick Denton, A.J. Daulario, John Cook, David Folkenflick, Floyd Abrams, Peter Sterne, David Houston, […]
Muppet Guys Talking: Secrets Behind the Show the Whole World Watched Genre: Documentary Length: 65 minutes Cast: Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Fran Brill, Bill Barretta, Frank Oz Reviewer: Connie Wilson In 1955, creative genius Jim Henson created a troop of puppets known as The Muppets. By 1978 The Muppets” was the most-watched television show in […]
This is part of film critic Connie Wilson’s exclusive coverage of the SXSW Film Festival for QuadCities.com. The mythic spirit of the western, our American archetype, is alive and well at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival. I’ve seen two westerns in two days at the Festival. “The Hero,” which showed at the Zach Theater on […]
You ever watch a performance and wonder, “why weren’t they nominated for that?” That’s how I felt after watching Michael Keaton’s explosive and dynamic performance as Ray Kroc in The Founder. This dude becomes Ray Kroc and within seconds you forget you are watching an actor, you are just watching a person. Keaton falls into […]
“American Anarchist”: A Q&A with Director Charles Siskel Documentary filmmaker Charlie Siskel (nephew of Gene) has a new documentary set to be released in March that should earn him an Academy Award nomination, just as his work on “Finding Vivian Maier” did. Speaking to viewers at the Chicago International Film Festival on Saturday, Oct. 15, […]
NOTE: Noted national film critic Connie Corcoran Wilson will be providing coverage of this year’s Chicago International Film Festival for QuadCities.com! Check out her reviews and features on what’s new and exciting in film debuting during the festival. The German film “24 Weeks” from Director Anne Zohra Berrached was screened in Chicago for 8 members […]
