If you're like us, you're already getting pumped up for the Oscars! Not. Jeez, let's get past New Year's first, O.K.? Oops. Too late. The Chicago Film Critics Association has already jumped the gun and handed out their awards. To the surprise of no one the big winner was No Country for Old Men, the new Coen brothers movie that both impressed and disturbed us when we saw it last month. It won four awards in all (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem). We're very pleased that Bardem won; there wouldn't be much of a movie without his chilling character study, and he damned well better win the Oscar. more ›

The Chicago Film Critics Association announced its awards for best films and performances of the year with The Departed picking up three awards for best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay. You can view the full slate of winners here. While we enjoyed The Departed, it felt too much like a mix tape of Scorcsese’s previous films with the themes of corruption and redemption set against urban grit with yet another use of “Gimme... more ›

This week, the Chicago Film Critics announced its nominations for the best films and cinematic performances of the past year. Babel picked up nine nominations, while The Departed and The Queen followed with six. As usual, the CFCA made some unconventional choices: Maggie Gyllenhaal picked up a nod for her work in the largely ignored Sherrybaby, and an adapted screenplay nomination went to A Prairie Home Companion. The CFCA also fueled the comebacks of Ben... more ›

The Secret Service does not screw around when it comes to threats on the President. Remember last year when the Secret Service paid a visit to Columbia College when they featured some artwork with an image of President Bush with a gun to his head? So it’s a safe bet that British TV director Gabriel Range will be getting a call soon about his new pseudo-documentary Death of a President. The film was shot here... more ›

This weekend’s cineplex offerings seem a little TOO domestic so why not take in the cinematic sights of a foreign land? more ›

There were a few surprises this morning when the Chicago Film Critics announced the winners of their annual awards. Past award slates from the CFC have been known for the occasional maverick choices and this year was no exception. Joan Allen, the pride of Rochelle, IL earned a Best Actress win for her performance in The Upside of Anger while Mickey Rourke was named Best Supporting Actor for Sin City, makeup be damned! Maria Bello’s... more ›

The Chicago Film Critics Association and Roger Ebert are engaged in a conspiracy. You heard it here…well, not first. Maybe fourth. Michael Miner addresses it in this week’s Chicago Reader, Zorn talked about it last week, and Ebert spent several column inches on it in Sunday’s Sun-Times. But wait! Don’t click on those links just yet or you’ll hate us forever. more ›

Several years ago, Chicagoist was reading an interview with a Big Famous Movie Critic who was asked why critics sometimes fall all over themselves to single out a particular film for near unanimous praise. BFMC replied that as critics, they are required to see almost every movie that’s released and most of them are crap. So when a film (or a filmmaker) comes along with an original, intelligent work that is also entertaining, he and... more ›

Until yesterday, this year’s Oscar buzz resembled nothing more than a low, indistinguishable hum; the conventional wisdom was that no film--and few actors--had emerged as front-runners. But as Chicago starts to feel its first few bites of winter, one of its own is getting some long-overdue recognition. more ›