Rating: 2/4 Barring a few cameos, the last four years have been relatively quiet ones for Looper-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt. However, he returns in Patrick Vollrath’s directorial feature…… Read more “New from Robert Daniels on 812 Film Reviews: 7500 is Captain Phillips Light, At Best”

Rating: 4/4 A small black and white, gold-colored, television displays a fictional serial called “Paradox Theater.” The camera slowly zooms into the action on-screen, displaying a young…… Read more “New from Robert Daniels on 812 Film Reviews: ‘The Vast of Night:’ A Transfixing Debut for Andrew Patterson”

Rating: 1.5/4 Nothing grinds my ears like a pitchy singer. That’s because the root of such auditory tragedies functions from a singer just missing the mark, often…… Read more “New from Robert Daniels on 812 Film Reviews: ‘The High Note’ Is Off-Key”

Rating: 2.5/4 Over the last week, Josh Trank’s multi-year journey: from self-proclaimed next Spielberg to persona non grata—has become well-known. The director’s once-meteoric rise due to the…… Read more “New from Robert Daniels on 812 Film Reviews: ‘Capone:’ Is Bat-Shit…”

Rating: 3/4 They’re everywhere. On Chicago’s west, south, and even northside. Even more so in downstate Illinois and on the northern Wisconsin border. Abandoned steel-brick buildings covered…… Read more “New from Robert Daniels on 812 Film Reviews: ‘Working Man:’ Confidently Explores Pain and Loss”

Right now, most viewers want to escape. While fantasy, horror, and comedy often allow for such absconding, documentaries bring reality to bear. They highlight the inequities of…… Read more “New from Robert Daniels on 812 Film Reviews: Tribeca 2020: P.S. Burn This Letter Please, The State of Texas vs. Melissa, Through the Night”

Rating: 3/4 My life can be judged on one scale: pre-Butt Boy and post-Butt Boy. Tyler Cornack’s absurdist comedy-thriller Butt Boy operates under the simple concept of…… Read more “New from Robert Daniels on 812 Film Reviews: ‘Butt Boy:’ Is a Welcomed Absurdist Thriller”

Back in 1996, my parents owned an auto-parts store; and because they worked long hours, with limited time to devote to my older brother and younger sister,…… Read more “New from Robert Daniels on 812 Film Reviews: On the 35th Anniversary of the ‘Care Bears Movie:’ A Reminder that It’s Nightmare Fuel”

Rating: 1.5/4 A group of anti-woke conservatives from across the country are dropped in an open grassy field. They’re given guns. And looking upon them, hidden in…… Read more “New from Robert Daniels on 812 Film Reviews: ‘The Hunt:’ Comes Home Empty-Handed”

Rating: 3.5/4 Autumn (Sidney Flanigan, in an incredible debut) is a girl who’s changing rapidly. Living in a small rural Pennsylvania town, she’s a moody 17-year old…… Read more “New from Robert Daniels on 812 Film Reviews: Sundance 2020: Never Rarely Sometimes Always”