Author Archive: Matthew Fagerholm
Bruno
“It’s like Transformers…but not as gay,” —Bruno (describing his new film) on Letterman “Fearless” is the best way to describe the comedy of Sacha Baron Cohen. People who find his humor too vulgar and over-the-top have missed the point. Cohen’s goal is to be as vulgar and over-the-top as humanly possible. I’m reminded of Mel [...]
For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism
Attention all film critics and film bloggers, Paulettes and Sarrisites, artists and art connoisseurs of Chicagoland! For one week only (November 13 – 19), the Gene Siskel Film Center is running the first comprehensive documentary on the century-long history of an often neglected and misunderstood art form: film criticism. The movie is not exactly a [...]
Troy Duffy Celebrates ‘All Saints Day’
When LA bartender Troy Duffy witnessed the aftermath of a crime that hit all-too-close to home, he decided to vent his outrage and frustration into his first film script. The result was 1999’s The Boondock Saints, about two Irish brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus) on a mission from God to rid the world [...]
Pirate Radio
When faced with an unapologetic crowd pleaser such as this, viewers have two options: either resist its shamelessly manipulative fist-pumping, or dive into its pleasurably untroubled waters. The latter will certainly make for a better experience, though British filmmaker Richard Curtis certainly makes the former tempting at times. His films are aggressively upbeat, a fact [...]
Richard Curtis & Tom Sturridge Broadcast ‘Pirate Radio’
Six years after his directorial debut Love Actually, celebrated filmmaker Richard Curtis now brings another jubilant, music-filled ensemble piece to the big screen. Pirate Radio is based on the true 60s-era story of rouge DJs who broadcast rock ‘n roll from a boat perched in the North Sea to a enthused British audience. It’s a [...]
A Christmas Carol
Nothing gets me in the holiday spirit quite like Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol.” Ever since its first publication in December of 1843, it has proven to be the gift that keeps on giving. The simplicity and universality of its themes have made it not only a holiday perennial, but an ageless parable that stands [...]
By The People: The Election of Barack Obama
Viewers anticipating a candid look at the evolution of the most influential politician in modern American history should prepare for disappointment. A close inspection of the title reveals that the film is not about Obama per se, but the people who helped catapult him to the highest office in the land, a mere four years [...]
Capturing History: The People Behind ‘By The People’
Ever since Barack Obama stepped foot into the 2004 Democratic National Convention, the excitement generated by his presence has been inescapably palpable. Roughly a year after he was elected Senator of Illinois, and nearly a year before he announced his candidacy for President of the United States, filmmakers Amy Rice and Alicia Sams decided to [...]
Antichrist
“Words cannot express a person’s emotions.” –The Father (Oleg Yankovskiy) in Zerkalo (The Mirror ) During his Q&A after the Chicago International Film Festival screening of Antichrist, star Willem Dafoe said that one of the only things his formidable director, Lars von Trier, told him to do, in order to prepare for his role, was [...]
New York, I Love You
Two years ago, Paris, Je T’aime brought film lovers the feature-length equivalent of an international film festival. The concept was ingenious: eighteen celebrated filmmakers each make a short subject set in the City of Love, thus allowing audiences to view the same town from different cultural perspectives. Some shorts worked better than others, but the [...]
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