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CHICAGO – Writer/Director Sarah Polley is back with her new film “Women Talking,” and attended a screening at the 58th Chicago International Film Festival ( CIFF ) on October 20th, 2022. After making her name as a in-demand actor, Polley has since directed films like “Away From Her” and “Stories We Tell.” </!—break—> Based on the best-selling novel by Miriam Toews – with the screenplay adapted and direction by Polley – “Women Talking” follows a group of women in an isolated religious colony as they struggle to reconcile their faith with a series of sexual assaults committed by the colony’s men. Featuring Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey and Frances McDormand. Director Sarah Polley of ‘Women Talking’ Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com Sarah Polley îs an actor, director, producer and political activist. Born in Toronto, Canada, and after a series of film and stage roles as a child/teen actor she was the lead actor in the 19...

CHICAGO – The Reverend Al Sharpton has been a “Loudmouth” … as the new documentary on his life and work is called … virtually all his life. His outspoken activism began a year after Dr. King was killed, when Sharpton became Youth Director of Operation Breadbasket at age 15, and continues to today, especially around the killing of George Floyd. Rev. Al Sharpton appeared on the Red Carpet at the 58th Chicago International Film Festival. Sharpton appeared at the 58th Chicago International Film Fest on behalf of “Loudmouth” – directed by Josh Alexander – which cuts through the clichés and assumptions surrounding the track-suit-wearing crusader to investigate the roots of his political engagement and his transformation into a media-savvy activist. Playing into the tabloid journalism of the Jerry Springers and Phil Donahues of his heyday, Sharpton effectively raised awareness about the systemic injustice, racism, and white supremacy that has persisted in America. As he once famously declar...

CHICAGO – The 58th Chicago International Film Festival ( CIFF ) announced its award winners on October 21st, 2022, and the recipient of The Gold Hugo in the International Feature Film Competition – the festival’s top honor – is Hiynu Pålmason’s ‘Godland”, a multi-layered critique of colonialist destruction. Picking up the Festival’s Silver Hugo in the International Feature Film competition is “Close” (directed by Lucas Dhant), which also receives the Gold Hugo-Q in the OutLook competition. In the New Directors Competition, Charlotte Le Bon’s “Falcon Lake” takes the Gold Hugo and Ann Oren’s “Piaffe” takes the Silver Hugo. The complete list of honorees is below. “The Chicago International Film Festival has a 58-year history of honoring the most exciting, most original talent, and this year’s winners reflect a diversity of storytelling and filmmaking in remarkable and timely ways,” said Chicago Internat...

CHICAGO – Once again Dwayne Johnson finds himself in a vehicle unworthy of his considerable charms and talents. Johnson stars as “Black Adam,” a demigod from a mythical middle eastern country who was given power from a counsel of wizards to protect his homeland from injustice. He’s woken from a 5000 year sleep to protect the country again from foreign interlopers... while a scholar and her son are trying to keep an ancient crown – with the powers of hell – out of the wrong hands.</!—break—> Rating: 2.5 /5.0 Black Adam is not so much a hero, but more of a villain in some of the comic stories. Here he’s been transformed into more of an anti-hero with a real problem with anger management. He keeps killing the bad guys that he’s just supposed to knock senseless. So the Justice Society steps in, composed of Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and are dispatched to put a lid on this loose cannon. A...

CHICAGO – When Sandra Abrevaya met her future husband Brian Wallach while on the staff of Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, their future seemed exceedingly bright. But then Brian was was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ( ALS , also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease), and his prognosis was dim. It was time for the couple to use their knowledge to make change. Their story is told in the new documentary ”No Ordinary Campaign” ( USA ) , which premiered at and has one more special screening at the 58th Chicago International Film Festival (click title for details). The films tells that Brian was given just six months to live, which inspired the couple’s expertise to create legislation to help other ALS patients to gain access to new experimental drugs and disability benefits. Brian decided to become a face of the disease, recruiting other patients to become a founder of “I Am ALS .” In the story of Brian and Sandra’s efforts to cut through the red tape of Washington, D.C., the highe...

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR - FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on October 13th, 2022, reviewing “Raymond & Ray,” a story of brothers written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia, currently in select theaters and streaming on Apple TV + beginning October 21st..</!—break—> Rating: 4.5 /5.0 Raymond (Ewan McGregor) and Ray (Ethan Hawke), who are half brothers with not only the same name, but the same father, whose toxic behavior while they grew up emotionally scarred them both. Dad requests that they dig his grave together, and while they do it old wounds both open up and have closure. In addition, they meet up with three other half brothers and their Dad’s former lover (Maribel Verdú). ”Raymond & Ray” is in select theaters (see local listings) and streaming on Apple TV + beginning October 21st. Featuring Ethan Hawke, Ewan McGregor, Maribel Verdú, Oscar Nuñez and Vondie Curtis-Hall. Written and direc...

CHICAGO – The film “Till” is the story of Emmett Till, a black Chicago boy who was murdered in 1955 while visiting relatives in the American South. Instead of hiding the killing, Till’s mother Mamie (Danielle Deadwyler) chose to show the world the result of her son’s hate crime murder. Chinonye Chukwu directed the film.</!—break—> Danielle Deadwyler of ‘Till’ Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com Emmett Till (Jalyn Hall) was a happy-go-lucky 1950s teen in the somewhat protected “black belt” of Chicago, who visited relatives in the Mississippi Delta. In an incident that has more points of view than Rashomon, Till allegedly harassed and wolf whistled at a white woman. He was then kidnapped from his relative’s home and murdered by white vigilantes, his body dumped in a nearby river. When his bloated corpse was sent back to his mother Mamie, she chose to show the world the result of his racist lynching, lighting a flame of truth that still resonates...

CHICAGO – A filmmaker’s feature debut is a special moment, made more special when the debut takes place in the filmmaker’s Chicagoland roots. Ms. Alex Heller screens “The Year Between” at the 58th Chicago International Film Festival ( CIFF ) on October 14th and 16th, 2022. For ticket and more info, CLICK THE YEAR BETWEEN . Alex Heller wrote and directed her feature film debut, and portrays Clemence, a college drop out who is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Although such mental conditions are hard to capture in storytelling, Heller as Clemence is a marvel, coming home to torture her parents (Steve Buscemi and J Smith-Cameron) and siblings (Emily Robinson and Wyatt Oleff) as she works through the affliction. Writer/Director/Lead Actor Alex Heller in ‘The Year Between’ Photo credit: ChicagoFilmFestival.com What is most remarkable about the film is the inherent humanity, and the moments of absurdity when working through an issue of the mind, along with the difficult sorrows, pha...

Previous | Image 1 of 7 | Next Steve James, director of ‘A Compassionate Spy.’ CHICAGO – Opening Night was a sensation for the 58th Chicago International Film Festival ( CIFF ). Besides the Opening Night Red Carpet for the film “A Compassionate Spy,” a Block Party took place on the streets in front of Chicago’s historic Music Box Theatre, in a memorable beginning to a Fest that runs through October 23rd. </!—break—> HollywoodChicago.com was there through intrepid photographer Joe Arce, and he captured these images of the Red Carpet. In addition, some Block Party pictures from the 58th CIFF Opening Night. Photos One-Four: © Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com. Photo Five: © Timothy M. Schmidt ChicagoFilmFestival.com. Photo Six: © Barry Brecheisen ChicagoFilmFestival.com. Photo Seven: Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com. CIFFOPEN1 : Steve James, director of ‘A Compassionate Spy.’ CIFFOPEN2 : Lucy Zukaitis portrayed Joan Hall in ‘A Compassionate...

CHICAGO – Experienced horror fans will recognize this, but anytime a long running franchise has to resort to Telekinesis, you know you’re in for trouble. It didn’t work for Jason, It didn’t work for Freddy, It didn’t work for Michael Myers the first time he tried it in “Halloween 5” … it most certainly does not work here in “Halloween Ends.” Rating: 1.0 /5.0 This film picks up four years after the events of Halloween Kills, with Laurie Stroud (Jamie Lee Curtis) now a kindly old grandma whose biggest shock is when she sets off the smoke alarm while trying to bake a pie. She’s decided to take a stab at normalcy after decades of paranoia, and plow her experiences and feelings into a book … until Michael Myers makes his inevitable return. “Halloween Ends” opens in theaters and streams on Peacock October 14th. Featuring Jamie Lee Curtis, Rohan Campbell, Andi Matichak, Kyle Richards and Will Patton. Written by David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Chris Bernier and Paul Brad Lynn. Dire...

CHICAGO – The 58th Chicago International Film Festival ( CIFF ) is here, and opens Wednesday, October 12th, 2022, at Chicago’s historic Music Box Theatre with “A Compassionate Spy,” from master documentary maker Steve James (“Hoop Dreams”). Besides the screening of “A Compassionate Spy,” Opening Night includes a Block Party, click CIFF OPENING for details. A tale of espionage, romance, and profound moral questions, “A Compassionate Spy” follows the remarkable story of Theodore Hall, a University of Chicago graduate who at age 19 was recruited to work on the Manhattan Project, the project that built the first atomic bomb in the 1940s. But soon after he joined the group, he passed crucial military secrets to Soviet intelligence. The story was reported in the 1997 book “Bombshell,” but has since been forgotten. Hall’s widow Joan is the main interview subject, and her memories are history, providing insight to love, intrigue, and the lengths to which some people will go to try to ...

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR - FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on October 6th, 2022, reviewing “To Leslie,” a story of redemption featuring Andrea Riseborough, currently in select theaters and through Video On Demand.</!—break—> Rating: 4.0 /5.0 Andrea Riseborough portrays Leslie, a based-on-truth woman who won a significant lottery, only to blow the largesse on nefarious activities. Broke and homeless, she tries to mend fences with her son James (Owen Teague) and return to her hometown to start over. After some drifting, she ends up at a hotel managed by Sweeney (Marc Maron) and the process of getting clean, cleaning hotel rooms and finding a purpose on her slow road to recovery. ”To Leslie” is in select theaters (see local listings), including Chicago’s Music Box Theater, click TO LESLIE for tickets and info … and through Video On Demand. Featuring Andrea Riseborough, Allison Janney, Marc Maron, ...

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on The Eddie Volkman Show with Hannah B on WSSR - FM (Star 96.7 Joliet, Illinois) on October 7th, reviewing the new all-star cast David O. Russell mystery comedy “Amsterdam,” Currently in theaters. Rating: 2.0 /5.0 Three people – Burt (Christian Bale), Harold (John David Washington) and Valerie (Margot Robbie) – meet during World War I, and find themselves thrown together once again 15 years after the war, when an autopsy has to be made on a prominent senator who was their commander. When Burt and Harold are to meet and share the autopsy results with the senator’s daughter (Taylor Swift), she is killed after a bystander pushes her under a truck. The mystery of death escalates and Valerie comes back into the picture to help solve it. “Amsterdam” is currently in theaters. Featuring Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, Mike Myers, Robert De Niro a...