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This summer marks the 50th anniversary of Jaws and... man, does that make me feel old. Fifty. Freakin’. Years. Five decades of being terrified to swim in the ocean, of hearing that iconic duh-DUM duh-DUM in our heads whenever we dip our toes in a lake. Fifty years of one of the greatest, most impactful, most straight-up brilliant films ever made. And somehow, it still feels as fresh and electrifying today as it did when I first saw it on that big screen at the Gateway Theate

It's a holiday weekend (and, not to mention, MY BIRTHDAY weekend), so it's a fun time. I am wearing nice shorts. Nice Film Critic Shorts that is. They fit. They are on, and I'm ready to review four new movies in this week's capsule (short) movie reviews for Friday, July 4, 2025. 1) JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH I've never been a fan of the Jurassic Park  franchise. Yeah, yeah, I know. Heresy. Sacrilege. I'm supposed to bow at the altar of Spielberg's  1993 dino spectacle. But here's

My Film Critic pants are stylish and looking good, so I am ready to review four new movies in this week's capsule (short) movie reviews for Friday, May 9th, 2025. 1) SHADOW FORCE Joe Carnahan  has always been a bit of a wild card. The guy can swing between gritty excellence ( Narc , The Grey ) and ridiculous, testosterone-fueled cartoon chaos ( Smokin' Aces , Boss Level , The A-Team ). He's one of those directors where you never really know what you'll get, except that it wil

My next monthly Nick's Pix is Steven Spielberg 's "1941," the epic comedy with an all-star line up. This one-night-only screening is at 7pm, Wednesday, December 4th at Classic Cinemas Lake Theater in Oak Park with trivia, prizes, and fun. Get your tickets here! It's one of the craziest movies ever AND a personal favorite. "1941" is breathlessly entertaining, unapologetically loud, and completely go-for-broke in its manic depiction of the widespread hysteria that blankete

Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, you know, the guy who directed "The Godfather,"   "The Conversation,"   "Apocalypse Now,"  etc., released a movie called "Megalopolis"  this past weekend, and it has divided critics and audiences alike. Most people absolutely hate it, some people (like myself) absolutely love it, but everyone can agree that it is weird—very weird. Coppola is not the only filmmaker to get weird, so in honor of Coppola's weird movie and how much fun it i