Aftersun is practically the definition of a small unassuming indie movie that you’d find on a festival circuit, but the emotional impact sneaks up on you at the end. Especially when you think of the final moment as being “final” for the young girl and the director. It’s a way of saying goodbye to the past, realizing that it’s always present still due to how we’ve retained certain memories. This tiny, intimately well-observed drama tackles some challenging questions without providing answers through a beautiful and simple lens of a father-daughter relationship that is full of beauty and ambiguity.

Drunk On Too Much Life is a delicate, thoughtful documentary in which I walked away with an even deeper insight of understanding the complexities of mental health and the way it can impact the individual as well as the family unit. It’s one of the best documentaries I’ve seen all year. Everyone, especially Corrina and her parents, deserve a lot of praise for putting this love letter together so gracefully and with sensitivity all the way through.

Due to my day job, it’s hard to cover film festivals at length but I make exceptions for true passion projects like the Chicago Critics Film Festival and now, Sharon Gissy’s Mental Filmness Film Festival. There’s still time to catch a number of her selections virtually and I do my best to review a number of the short films I’ve seen here. Everybody support this wonderful non-for-profit and let everyone know its value and mission to break the stigma of mental health.

This is one of the most thoughtful and insightful films not just about facing mental health within a family, but the power of a familial bond between a father and daughter that learn to understand one another without judgment. Just In Case should be seen by everyone looking for a truly special short film; you can do so for free via Mental Filmness Film Festival right now!

Resilience is at the forefront here with yet another striking and very memorable performance from Essie Davis at the center. Not every narrative decision works (especially in the third act) but you still feel for Bunny that it packs an emotional punch in the end.

A good horror film that could’ve been great. The acting is strong and there are many creepy, cringe-inducing moments but it’s also a bit muddled and confused in what it’s trying to say and opts for tired horror tropes especially near the end. That all being said, it still made me think a lot about mental health and trauma and Sosie Bacon is someone whose career I’m looking forward to following.

Oh hello there! I can still ramble on about some new releases once in a while and provide them here for you - monologue-style. This time I'm providing some reviews for late September including the latest from directors Kevin Smith, Andrew Dominik as well as one of the year’s best films. Which could it be?! Stay tuned to the feed for more official director-centric episodes coming soon, thank you for supporting this edition of new movie review monologues!

This is my way of reviewing new releases once in a while and provide them here for you - monologue-style. This time I'm providing some reviews for early September including something very special: a bonus interview with the writer/director of one of the new films I’m reviewing. Neil LaBute has been making interesting features for well over 20 years and his latest is a creepy little Gothic horror film called House Of Darkness (opening on September 9th). Listen to him talk about it, then give a listen to my review along with three other recent titles as well.

This time I'm providing some reviews for late July. One of which I’m hosting a Q&A for in a week that I hope gets a wider release sooner than later. Not to mention the latest from Jordan Peele which you may have already heard about and/or seen! Also as a bonus fifth review, I briefly touch upon a film from 2019 that made a very strong impression on me. Thank you for the support & for listening to this edition of new movie review monologues!

Usually the new movie review monologues cover the new releases I catch up with in bulk but I wanted to give this one its own separate audio + accompanying interview with the director of this terrific documentary following life on the road with one of my favorite songwriters Courtney Barnett. Give a listen to my review and my conversation with Danny Cohen, responsible for this excellent film.

This time I'm providing some reviews for mid-July. We start with one I liked the least (but still liked) and each title gets better as we go along. Stay tuned for an exclusive bonus review / interview later this week if all goes according to plan too. Thank you so much for the support and for listening to a new edition of new movie review monologues!

Oh hello there! I can still ramble on about some new releases once in a while and provide them here for you. This time I'm providing some reviews for late June: a new Gasper Noe experiment along with one of my favorites of the year with POSER. There's also a ho-hum Netflix film, a ho-hum haunted house tale and a really energetic story about the ups and downs of being in the porn industry. Lots to say about all of them!

Oh hello there! I can still ramble on about some new releases once in a while and provide them here for you. This time I'm providing some reviews for early June: the latest from Alex Garland & David Cronenberg as well as a strange found footage horror film and a cool new music doc but the best of the bunch is a striking Sundance hit that is a lot more than just another SUPERBAD. Lots to say about all of them and may have to say more in the future!

The Chicago Critics Film Festival took place at The Music Box Theatre from May 13-19. This was the only film festival I can attend and cover at length. Sorry for the delay in getting this out! Here are reviews of titles such as GOOD LUCK TO YOU LEO GRANDE, I LOVE MY DAD, RESURRECTION & FLUX GOURMET.

The Chicago Critics Film Festival is taking place at The Music Box Theatre from May 13-19. This is the only film festival I can attend and cover at length so let’s commence. Here are reviews of titles such as STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT, BENEDICTION and BOTH SIDES OF THE BLADE. Includes an interview with director Stefan Forbes of HOLD YOUR FIRE.

Welcome to another edition of new movie review monologues in which I sit in front of my microphone and share thoughts on some recent titles I’ve seen. The Chicago Critics Film Festival is taking place at The Music Box Theatre from May 13-19. Here are reviews of titles such as AFTER (A LOVE STORY), A LOVE SONG,, EMILY THE CRIMINAL, MY DUDUS, TO LESLIE and WATCHER. I also briefly mention MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON (not a full review).

Oh hello there! I can still ramble on about some new releases once in a while and provide them here for you. This time I'm doing something different for early May: reviewing a couple of docuseries as well as an Amazon genre mashup that I hope gets renewed for a second season. Most importantly, I provide a quick preview to the upcoming Chicago Critics Film Festival taking place at The Music Box Theatre from May 13-19. Get your tickets through the links below and stream Jay Cheel’s show!

I saw the first Spider-Man on May 3rd, 2002, the day before my birthday. 20 years ago, I even said, well I’m not the biggest comic book movie fan in the world but let’s see what my favorite director can do with this franchise. Little did I know that two decades later, we would be inundated with Marvel content, for better or worse. Suffice to say, I was thoroughly entertained by the first installment and its sequel might be my favorite comic book film of all time. It’s a little surreal to be writing something about another Raimi Marvel film pretty much 20 years to the day.

Oh hello there! I can still ramble on about some new releases once in a while and provide them here for you. This time I'm catching up with four very recent releases for late April which includes my favorite film from 2021 now getting a proper release! In addition: a meta-action comedy about Nic(k) Cage, the latest from Robert Eggers and I even decided to see what The Batman was all about! Wanna know my thoughts? Listen to me review four different recent titles that hopefully you'll enjoy me talking about here for another edition of new movie review monologues.

Oh hello there! I can still ramble on about some new releases once in a while and provide them here for you. This time I'm catching up with four very recent releases for mid-April with the latest from writer/director Riley Stearns, a Netflix horror film, a French romantic dramedy and something very special (with a rather long title) that I’m still wrestling with! Wanna know my thoughts? Listen to me review four different recent titles that hopefully you'll enjoy me talking about here for another edition of new movie review monologues.