Photo by Trevor Laster With this year’s 61st edition of the Chicago International Film Festival in the books, I’ve completed my screenings for 2025. In my first year as a member of Chicago Indie Critics and the press corps covering the event, my experience was significantly different from past festivals though certainly eminently enjoyable. I viewed 20 films in all, which is considerably more than in recent years, and my thoughts on those pictures appear below. They are ranked in descending order from what I liked best to what I liked least. Films with equal festival-based rating scores are listed in alphabetical order. It should also be noted that my festival-based scores may not identically match my scores on the movie ratings web sites to which I regularly post (Letterboxd, Imdb.com, TMDB.com), with some web site-based ratings being higher or lower than what I accorded the films in my festival ratings. In addition to the titles, ratings and countries of origin for the various films I watched, I have also included information (where available) on the pictures’ web sites, trailers, film clips, relevant festival competition categories and awards, festival premiere status, and related hashtags. Given the volume of films shown ...

Tune in for the latest Cinema Scribe segment on Bring Me 2 Life Radio, beginning Tuesday October 28, available by clicking here. You can also catch it later on demand on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Podchaser, Audible, Deezer, Podcast Addict and Jiosaavn ...

Reviews of “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” and “Peacock,” as well as a film festival wrap-up, are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Media Network, available by clicking here ...

“Peacock” (“Pfau – Bin ich echt?”) (2024 production/2025 release). Cast: Albrecht Schuch, Anton Noori, Julia Franz Richter, Salka Weber, Theresa Frostad Eggesbø, Maria Hofstätter, Branko Samarovski, Tilo Nest, Roland Silbernagl, Marlene Hauser, Doris Drechsel, Christopher Schärf. Director: Bernhard Wenger. Screenplay: Bernhard Wenger. Web site. Trailer. In this age of increasingly untrustworthy AI, rampant fake news and unabashedly self-serving social media, it’s becoming ever more difficult for many of us to distinguish what’s “real” and what isn’t these days, almost as if we’re stuck in a frightening new Orwellian paradigm. That’s significant, not only for how we perceive existence, but even in terms of how we experience and respond to it. In fact, these circumstances might even be looked upon as a metaphysical or existential nightmare. But how do we cope with such circumstances? That’s the quest set to a lost soul seeking to find himself and understand the nature of his existence, as seen in the masterfully insightful new Austrian comedy-drama-satire, “Peacock” (“Pfau – Bin ich echt?”). Given the increased sense of isolation that many of us are feeling these days, it’s easy to become lonely and lacking connection to our fellow human beings. This can be troubling under certain ...

Anyone in, near or visiting Chicago through October 26 should look for me at the 61st Chicago International Film Festival, taking place at various venues around the city, including the AMC New City 14 Theaters and the Music Box Theater, among other locations. I have an ambitious schedule of 22 screenings slated, so I’ll be spending a lot of time in the dark. But, when not doing that, look for me in the theaters’ common areas or the red carpet (I’ll be the guy with the press corps credentials, my first time having been accorded this honor, and likely wearing my Chicago Indie Critics t-shirt (see below)). Reviews of the pictures I’ve watched will appear on this site’s Quick Cuts Page, followed by a full wrap-up blog at the end of the festival. Speaking of the Chicago Indie Critics, please note that my posts from this web site are now being picked up via RSS feed on the CIC web site, along with the latest entries from a number of other CIC members. Check out what all of us have been writing, as well as a wide range of additional information about the organization. Enjoy the reads, and enjoy the ...

Tune in for the latest Cinema Scribe segment on Bring Me 2 Life Radio, beginning Tuesday October 14, available by clicking here. You can also catch it later on demand on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Podchaser, Audible, Deezer, Podcast Addict and Jiosaavn ...