Review

Minhal Baig’s “We Grown Now” is a film masterfully tied to the emotive potential of place. A period piece centered in Cabrini-Green in the early ’90s, the film is as Chicago born and bred as the characters it loves throughout its runtime. Malik (Blake Cameron James) and Eric (Gian Knight Ramirez) are two young boys, […]

Will there ever be a version of “Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver” that makes the movie and its franchise seem essential? Director and co-writer Zack Snyder has already tried to whip up his fanbase by teasing “R-rated” versions of the first two entries in his ongoing “Star Wars” ripoff cycle, a lifeless homage to

Set in 1992 in the northernmost United States, where criminals run drugs and guns over the border with Canada, “Blood for Dust” is a hard, nasty crime thriller about hard, nasty men. Directed by Rod Blackhurst from a script by David Ebeltoft, it tells you what kind of movie it is from its gruesome opening

“Dusk for a Hitman” is a husk of a great film. Director Raymond St-Jean has a sturdy central character though the crime drama is based on the real life of Montreal fixer Donald Lavoie, much of it is fictional made stronger through a deft ability to conjure a grim atmosphere around an actor capable of

Say what you will about “Stress Positions,” the new indie comedy that marks the feature debut of writer-director-costar Theda Hammel: it’s not overly consumed with coming across as likable to potential viewers. Not only does it take us back to the early days of COVID-19 (an era that many audiences may not feel particularly inclined

The fact-based “Hard Miles” begins with a failure. Social worker Greg Townsend (Matthew Modine) urges a judge to allow the resident of a facility for teenage boys who have been in trouble to allow him to stay there, even though he pushed another boy. Townsend explains that he was protecting someone else, not instigating violence.

Just when you think they’ve run out of real-life World War II stories to turn into blockbuster movies, some documents get declassified, inspiring or at least suggesting new sagas of heroism. “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” about a small mission of Allied fighters killing Nazis on a grand scale wherever they go, directed by Guy

Sophie Nélisse brings powerful subtlety to the title role in “Irena’s Vow,” accomplishing so much with her eyes, her presence, her ability to shift demeanor and tone quickly depending on the situation. Director Louise Archambault tells the inspiring true story of Irena Gut Opdyke, a Polish Catholic woman who dared to protect a dozen Jews

Written and directed by Ena Sendijarević, the film is set in 1900 on a small and obscure Indonesian island, where a sugar plantation baron named Jan (Hans Dagelet) has apparently died. “Apparently” meaning that, as far as most of the characters know, he’s almost certainly dead, but they don’t have a body. This complicates the