“Silent Night” is a holiday movie gone rancid, a kind of “Melancholia” for the middle class that makes the latter seem like “The Sound of Music” of…… Read more “New from A Reel of One’s Own by Andrea Thompson: It’s middle class complicity for the holidays in ‘Silent Night’”

2021 was a mixed bag, to put it lightly, but it was a fantastic year for film. The theater experience may be changing, to again understate the…… Read more “New from A Reel of One’s Own by Andrea Thompson: My Top Films of 2021”

By Andrea ThompsonCan a film loom so large that it becomes self-referential, the pop culture equivalent of a snake eating its own tail? It seems so, because…… Read more “New from A Reel of One’s Own by Andrea Thompson: You need to watch the most intense zombie cult classic on HBOMax ASAP”

“House of Gucci” is certainly one of those big beautiful messes that can only be divisive. Much like the infamous Italian family it chronicles, it is divided…… Read more “New from A Reel of One’s Own by Andrea Thompson: Lady Gaga is the perfectly poised center of the fashionable excess of ‘House of Gucci’”

I had a feeling I was in trouble when Pablo Larraín’s latest film stated its aims: “A fable from a true tragedy.” Larraín was clearly dead set…… Read more “New from A Reel of One’s Own by Andrea Thompson: Princess Diana remains an elusive presence in Pablo Larraín’s ‘Spencer’”

Credit to director Denis Villeneuve and his fellow co-writers, they are serious about the latest adaptation of “Dune” and in doing justice to Frank Herbert’s novel. As…… Read more “New from A Reel of One’s Own by Andrea Thompson: Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ immerses audiences in a world of theatrical experiences”

The new Wes Anderson film “The French Dispatch” is a fascinating study of many things – about power, about elitism, and just how people react when others…… Read more “New from A Reel of One’s Own by Andrea Thompson: The New Yorker deserves better than Wes Anderson’s poisonous tribute in ‘The French Dispatch’”

Variations of the phrase “taking back the power” comes up a lot in Robert Greene’s “Procession.” None of the six midwestern men in the absolutely gut-wrenching documentary…… Read more “New from A Reel of One’s Own by Andrea Thompson: Chicago Critics Film Festival 2021: Procession”

“Red Rocket” is a bit of a departure for Sean Baker, who has long since proven his deep sympathy for the underdog and keen eye for the…… Read more “New from A Reel of One’s Own by Andrea Thompson: Chicago Critics Film Festival 2021: Red Rocket”

Don’t try to view The Souvenir Part II unless you’ve seen its predecessor, because you won’t come close to appreciating it. And I mean that in the…… Read more “New from A Reel of One’s Own by Andrea Thompson: Honor Swinton Byrne Takes Back the Narrative in The Souvenir Part II”