MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on "Culture Junkies Live!" talking Film Critics vs. Film Fans

Facebook is the main place that I’ve come to know and commiserate with Kenan Cross, part of the Culture Junkies network of genre-loving content creation. Their YouTube channel and Twitch presence are outstanding. In their brand’s Facebook group, I play “the ringer” as the vetted and RT-approved film critic surfing in the discussion thread. Kenan invited me on recently to talk with his squad all about that work landscape during a time when the “critics vs. fans” debate couldn’t be higher

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on "E-Man's Movie Reviews" podcast for "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"

Minutes after stepping out of an advance press screening of the most-anticipated movie of the year, Emmanuel Noisette of E-Man's Movie Reviews summoned his recording equipment and a brake-pumping exhale session for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The SPOILER ALERT neon light is on for the two of us breaking down our impressions, reservations, likes, dislikes, hopes, and dreams for this middle chapter of a new trilogy.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on "E-Man's Movie Reviews" podcast for "Justice League"

Emmanuel Noisette of the newly updated E-Man's Movie Reviews called for a wingman on a team-up movie. He was kind enough to invite me to represent Every Movie Has a Lesson on a recorded SPOILER-FILLED podcast of our immediate reactions after watching the Zack Snyder/Joss Whedon concoction of Justice League. We sit down and discuss what we saw, what we liked, and didn't like.

MOVIE REVIEW: Thor: Ragnarok

Paired perfectly as a double-feature follow-up to this summer’s spacefaring Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok is a raucously rad roller coaster that shoots rainbows out of every digitally-rendered pore. Blasting with energetic pace in the complete opposite direction from the dreary and grayish Game of Thrones Lite tone of Thor: The Dark World, this new chapter is a cinematic box of Crayola crayons laced with dynamite.

GUEST CRITIC #25: It

Emmanuel Noisette of Eman's Movie Reviews is an emerging film critic tackling both written and video reviews. His YouTube channel is must-watch and automatic-subscribe material. Emmanuel is one of the co-directors with me of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle. Between us two busy Chicago critics and working fathers, Emmanuel and I are orchestrating a trade of "guest reviews" for each other's sites. Horror is not my cup of tea and he was all over It.

MOVIE CLASSROOM: A Ghost Story

If you remember from my recent appearance on an minisode of the Feelin' Film podcast, I cannot be the only person who needed a therapy session after this film. David Lowery's film has been a transcendental experience for some audiences and something oddly impatient that sends others that will walk out scratching their heads. See where I fall with the "Movie Classroom" version of my review

MOVIE CLASSROOM: The Big Sick

Excellent romantic comedies have been a rare thing for the entire 17 years so far of this century. For one to arrive and stand above the crowd as one of the best romantic comedies in years and one of the best films of the year, period, is special. If you haven't already, meet The Big Sick starring Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, and Ray Romano. Through the ShowMe app on the Every Movie Has a Lesson YouTube channel, hear and see what my review has to say about the film and why it's my #2 film of 2017 so far.

MOVIE CLASSROOM: Detroit

I cannot beat the drum for the word "timely" enough when it comes to Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit. Her follow-up to Zero Dark Thirty is a jarring yet important film that speaks volumes and draws numerous parallels from 1967 to 2017. As hard as it is to watch, it is equally essentially viewing that poses the challenges for progress, increased empathy, and improved dialogue on a multitude of racial, ethical, and societal issues that have not gone away in a half-century and beyond.

MOVIE CLASSROOM: Atomic Blonde

There are not enough loud writing colors on the ShowMe app to give the splashy neon of Atomic Blonde the rub it deserves, but, hopefully, my words do the trick. Come and bow at the altar of Charlize Theron, as I did for this review. The film may not be anything special in the spy department, but the Monster Oscar winner deserves the fist-pumps for the toughness and guile she put on display.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on Eman's Movie Reviews audio podcast for "Dunkirk"

If you're like me and friend-of-the-page Emmanuel Noisette of Eman's Movie Reviews, you might be feeling masterpiece-labeling pressure and Dunkirk review fatigue. For Emmanuel, guest extraordinaire Harry Egbo, and I, the film didn't resonate with us emotionally, but we had plenty of superlatives to talk about mingling with the challenges and questions. This is a SPOILER-FILLED audio discussion and the ethnic music in the background is all bonus gravy!

MOVIE CLASSROOM: War for the Planet of the Apes

It's time to call the prequel trilogy of Planet of the Apes one of the best movie trilogies of all-time. It's time to give serious Oscar consideration to Andy Serkis as Caeser. It's time to see what is, so far, the best film of 2017. Hear those thoughts and more in my "Movie Classroom" interactive whiteboard video review for War for the Planet of the Apes as it appears published on the Every Movie Has a Lesson YouTube channel. See this film immediately.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on Eman's Movie Reviews audio podcast for "Spider-Man: Homecoming"

Friend-of-the-page Emmanuel Noisette of Eman's Movie Reviews invited me to record the beginnings of a new podcast for his brand. Because his YouTube reviews tend to be spoiler-free, these new chats will be spoiler-filled reactions and discussions. As always, we have a fun back-and-forth as two guys free of "fanlexia" to praise Spider-Man: Homecoming. Enjoy!

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by Don Shanahan

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