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Mike White is one of the most fascinating, unique, and uncompromising voices working in film and television today. As a writer, director, and actor, he has carved out a space in the entertainment world that is deeply personal, often deeply uncomfortable, and always brimming with intelligence, insight, and humanity. I am an unapologetically huge Mike White fan. Always have been. Always will be. From the very first time I saw him in Chuck & Buck , that wild and deeply unsettli

The Best Villain Performances from John Lithgow. I think we can all agree that John Lithgow is one of the best actors on the planet. A guy with incredible amounts of talent who can do absolutely anything—comedy, drama, heroes, villains, you name it. He’s one of the most versatile actors working today, with a career that has spanned decades, covering everything from stage to film to television. Lithgow started out as a phenomenal stage actor, and his work on Broadway is legen

We had a very rainy week in Chicago, so I'm wearing my Film Critic pants and my Film Critic galoshes to review five new movies in this week's capsule (short) movie reviews for Friday, March 7th, 2025. 1) MICKEY 17 Simply put, Mickey 17  is one of the year's best movies. I know it's only March, but I doubt I'll see many movies this year as good as this one. It will almost certainly be on my top 10 list at the end of the year—it's that good. Director Bong Joon-ho  is in peak fo

[The 60th annual Chicago International Film Festival  is underway through October 27. Watch for my exclusive reviews of CIFF films on this website.] I'm putting on my Film Critic pants AND suspenders today, which means it's time for some capsule (short) reviews of four New Releases for the week of Friday, October 25, 2024. 1) MEMOIR OF A SNAIL This is Grace (voiced by Sarah Snook) the lead character in the lovely new film "Memoir of a Snail." The very talented Australian stop