A masterfully powerful documentary, “A Doctor’s Sword,” chronicling the reflective and jarring tale of Irish World War II veteran Aidan MacCarthy, recently played as part of the second annual Irish American Movie Hooley at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. One half of this fine film is an astounding you-wouldn't-believe-it-if-I-told-you true story of World War II survival that would make "Unbroken" look like a nursery rhyme. Its calmer other half takes place in a present day where two proud families and two proud countries are forever bonded by shared history.

2016, 5 STARS, DOCUMENTARY REVIEW, Foreign Film, Independent Film, SPECIALDon ShanahanOctober 13, 2016Gene Siskel Film Center2015, 2016, Irish films, Irish American Movie Hooley, Irish American films, 2nd Annual Irish American Movie Hooley, Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago, Ireland, World War II, Battle of Dunkirk, Nagasaki bombing, A Doctor's Wars, A Doctor's Sword, Aidan MacCarthy, documentary review, Documentary filmmaking, documentary commentary, documentary, Best Documentary, Gary Lennon, Ronan Coyle, Unbroken, POW, Castletownbere, Beara Peninsula, County Cork, life lessons from film, Life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, life lessons from documentaries, life lessons, Life lessons, movie commentary, film commentary, film review, movie review, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

SHORT FILM REVIEW: Endless Waltz

People will speak with dueling dichotomy and similarity that nothing is more simple, and yet more complicated, than life and death. The plainness comes in the inevitability of the outcome no matter the the journey, while the complexity lies in the individual beauty of each life’s path. In a symphonic microcosm of eight minutes, the short film “Endless Waltz” paints its portrait of beauty giving way to finality with utter perfection.

2016, 5 STARS, MOVIE REVIEW, SHORT FILMS, Video on DemandDon ShanahanSeptember 21, 2016Crescent Beach2016, short film review, Short Film, short film commentary, Short films, Best Live Action Short, Best Live Action Short Film, Endless Waltz, Zac Richardson, Erika Forest, Looking Death in the Eye, Crescent Beach, British Columbia, Best Documentary Short Subject, Documentary Short, Kevin Lee Graham, Luis Miguesl Villarreal, Infinito non Finito, Vaughn Lowell Swenson, Victoria Raskin, YouTube, Zachary Richardson, Shelley Janze, Mona Hassamen, Sarah Bryn Malladaine, Zoe Law, Sahara Forest, Naomi Hughes-Hall, Ken Godmere, Nicole Norikowa, life les, life lessons, life lessons from films, life lessons from movies, life lesson, life lessons from film, life lessons from documentaries, movie commentary, film commentary, movie review, film review, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Light Between Oceans

One could say melodramas take preposterous human mistakes and play them for dramatic effect. They challenge the audience to interpret how you would act defiantly or morally differently in the same situation. These films do so while still compelling you watch in hope for any semblance of a happy ending. To understand “The Light Between Oceans” is to understand melodrama. The themes of melodramatic journeys are meant to be arduous. In the medium of film, the clinchers that aid in the ability to embrace and appreciate a melodrama are its tone and the acting performances. “The Light Between Oceans” flourishes to accomplish both benchmarks.

ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, 2016, MOVIE REVIEW, 5 STARSDon ShanahanAugust 31, 2016World War I, The Place Beyond the Pines, life lessons from films, Donald Shanahan, Epic, The Lobster, 2016 Fall Movies, Every Movie Has a Lesson, David Lean, movie review, The Danish Girl, Malborough, New Zealand, life lessons, 12 Years a Slave, The Light Between Oceans, Oscar contenders, Adam Arkapaw, Tim Dirks, Alexandre Desplat, Bryan Brown, Cinematography, Oscar hopefuls, Don Shanahan, Youth, Jack Thompson, AMC, Alicia Vikander, Macbeth, Ingrid Bergman, melodramas, life lessons from movies, 2016, Oscar race, life lessons from film, Blue Valentine, Shame, Awards bait, Oscar bait, movie commentary, Michael Fassbender, Filmsite.org, Derek Cianfrance, film commentary, movie melodramas, Rachel Weisz, film review, Cape Campbell Lighthouse, M.L. Steadman, Filmsite, Daniel Day-Lewis, Steve Jobs Comments

MOVIE REVIEW: Southside with You

"Southside with You" is a date movie. It just happens to be about impossibly famous people. One of this film's many strong accomplishments is its ability to enamor and enchant you often to forget that the two main characters are the future President and First Lady of the United States of America. That is no small feat and one accomplished through flourishing grace from the filmmakers and magnetic allure from its lead performers.

MOVIE REVIEW: Pete's Dragon

Blooming out of a cradle of artistic and narrative perseverance, it is clear a philosophy of great care and pleasant patience was given to “Pete’s Dragon” by Lowery and company. The film enhances the magical charm audiences remember from the original with newly gained maturity to operate as a loving family drama and touching adventure of friendship. It is a welcome and calming addition of heft painted by that superb idyllic tone. The wonderment never overplays its moments.

MOVIE REVIEW, 5 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, 2016Don ShanahanAugust 9, 2016Don Shanahan, 2016, Lindsey Stirling, Summer Movies, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Oona Laurence, Leonard Cohen, Bosque Brown, Pixar, film commentary, Robert Redford, Life lessons, St. Vincent, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, family films, The Lumineers, 2016 Summer Movies, Donald Shanahan, Life lessons from movies, Okkervil River, movie commentary, Beau, Karl Urban, Life lessons from film, summer blockbusters, Candle in the Water, Daniel Hart, Walt Disney Pictures, Disney, summer movie, David Lowery, Oakes Fegley, Life Lessons, life lessons from films, Bryce Dallas Howard, film review, Beauty and the Beast, Pete's Dragon, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, Wes Bentley, movie review, life lessonsComment

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: Life, Animated

This website has been moralizing for six years now its central message that "every movie has a lesson." As an educator, it is something that I firmly believe and stand by with every possible film, good or bad. I don't think, in all of my years of movie-going, I have ever seen a more real, living and breathing example of the power and magic of my website's theme than in the compelling and emotional new documentary "Life, Animated." A story like this is why I write. If that message speaks to you, go find "Life, Animated" immediately.

MOVIE REVIEW: Coming Through the Rye

2016 Phoenix Film Festival special presentation

With full disclosure, this very writer is an absolute sucker for a satisfying "coming-of-age" film. Their youthful themes keep us young and sway our sensibilities to reflect on our own lives, no matter our age. Admirable coming-of-age films are always welcome, but the exceptional ones deserve to get shouted from the mountaintops. James Sadwith's "Coming Through the Rye" recently won Best Film and Best Screenplay honors at the 2016 Phoenix Film Festival. This infatuating dramedy earns that special distinction of exceptionality and warrants all of the volume one can muster.

ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW: Deadpool

If you are not a die-hard geek or comic book fan, there's a chance you've never heard of "Deadpool." After this Presidents' Day/Valentine's Day holiday weekend, you will never forget him. Take all of the pathos, mythology, gravitas, nobility, and world-rescuing heroism have you come to expect from a superhero film, throw them out the window, and light them on fire. "Deadpool" is the most red-faced and side-splitting movie of the comic genre to date.

2016, 5 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanFebruary 6, 2016ShowPlace ICON X at Roosevelt Collections2016, 2016 Winter Movie Preview, 2016 Winter Movie Calendar, 2016 Winter Movie Checklist, 2016 Winter Movies, Deadpool, Marvel Comics, Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Films, Wade Wilson, Ryan Reynolds, Van Wilder, Weasel, T.J. Miller, Morena Baccarin, Ajax, Ed Skrein, Tim Miller, Leslie Uggams, Stefan Kapicic, Colossus, Angel Dust, Gina Carano, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Brianna Hildebrand, Stan Lee, Green Lantern, X-Men Or, Woman in Gold, Self/less, Francis Freeman, X-Men, Superhero movies, Superhero films, comic book movie, comic book films, film review, film commentary, Movie review, movie commentary, life lessons from movies, life lessons from films, life lessons from film, life lessons, Life lessons, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Big Short

Closing out 2015, you will find the most argumentative and ballsiest movie of the year hitting wide theatrical release over the Christmas holiday. The real film in question to bear those bold superlatives is "The Big Short." Headlined by a star-studded cast and directed by one of the most unlikely of sources, this legitimate must-see film tip-toes audaciously between biting satire and topical cautionary tale. You won't know whether to be pissed or be entertained and that's a powerful quality to pull off.

2015, 5 STARS, MOVIE REVIEW, Best FilmsDon ShanahanDecember 29, 2015Classic Cinemas Lake TheatreThe Big Short, Adam McKay, Charles Randolph, Michael Lewis, Moneyball, Anchorman, Step Brothers, The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, Ryan Gosling, Jared Vennett, Greg Lippmann, Michael Burry, Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Mark Baum, Steve Eisman, Hamish Linklater, Rafe Spall, Jeremy Strong, FrontPoint LLC, Morgan Stanley, Charlie Gellar, John Magaro, Charlie Ledley, James Mai, Jamie Shipley, Finn Wittrock, Ben Rickert, Ben Hockett, Brad Pitt, Cornwall Capital, Scion Capital, Financial crisis, Housing market bubble, housing market collapse, life lessons, life lessons from movies, life lessons from film, life lessons from films, movie review, movie commentary, 2015, 2015 Holiday Movie Preview, 2015 Holiday Movies, film review, film commentary, satires, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Donald Shanahan, Don ShanahanComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

No matter where today's "Star Wars" fans come from, all of them want the same thing out of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Everyone wants an inspired, entertaining, and compelling fantasy adventure. They want a return of the emotions, wonder, and heartstrings that stirred and inspired their souls when they first encountered these science fiction fantasies. With great pleasure and a nearly pitch perfect blend of innovation and reminiscence, J.J. Abrams promised, and now has delivered, all that anyone could hope for with "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

2015, 5 STARS, Best Films, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanDecember 18, 2015Marcus Addison CinemaStar Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars, Star Wars trilogy, Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams, Star Trek, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleason, Adam Driver, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Leia, R2-D2, C-3PO, Darth Vader, Finn, Snoke, Poe Dameron, Chewbacca, BB-8, Bill Hader, Rey, John Williams, Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt, George Lucas, Gwendoline Christie, Captain Phasma, Kylo Ren, General Hux, The First Order, Movie trilogies, Simon Pegg, Lupita Nyong'o, Warwick Davis, Daniel Mindel, Rick Carter, Michael Kaplan, The Force, The Force Awakens, 2015, 2015 Holiday Movies, 2015 Holiday Movie Preview, Rogue One, Disney, Lucasfilm, Industrial Light and Magic, ILM, movie review, movie commentary, film review, film commentary, Science fiction, Fantasy films, life lessons, life lessons from film, life lessons from films, life lessons from movies, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Don Shanahan, Donald ShanahanComment

ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW: The Revenant

Following his three-trophy Oscar haul for "Birdman" last year, filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu returns with an even more expansive cinematic challenge. Inspired by a wild true story, "The Revenant" is an unrelenting survival drama that makes "Cast Away" look like a cute day at the beach. Powered by raw natural beauty and a constant nerve of savage peril, Inarritu's film succeeds with striking artistry and superior craftsmanship in polishing a harsh and rough-hewn legend. Four-time Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio pushes himself and you over edge after edge in the most challenging performance of his career.

MOVIE REVIEW: Creed

Take away every rooted piece of cheesy disconnect and disdain you have calcified in your hearts and minds for whatever bloated quality you remember or assigned to the six-film "Rocky" series and shelf it immediately. The spin-off film "Creed" is a new tangent that gracefully and respectfully builds from the nostalgic anchor that comes with the "Rocky" territory, but grows to never be bound by that history for a second. Ryan Coogler's film successfully strives to be its own bold and rousing saga fitting of the shared connection.

EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON

by Don Shanahan

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