Reviews – Page 3 – The Columbia Chronicle

‘Blockers’ trades in emotional storytelling for butt chugging

May 3, 2018

When Roger Ebert reviewed 1967's “The Graduate,” he wrote, “[The Graduate] is funny, not because of sight gags and punch lines and other tired rubbish, but because it has a point of view. That is...

‘Truth or Dare’ doesn’t dare to do anything

By Brock Stillmunks

May 3, 2018

Blumhouse Productions' “Truth or Dare” is bad. That’s it. There’s not one funny joke or witty quip that comes to mind while talking about what may be the most derivative, poorly acted, weak...

‘Is this your card?’ ‘Physician Magician’ heals, mystifies

April 28, 2018

“There’s something I have to tell you.” I said this to the turned back of Dr. Ricardo Rosenkranz, the self-titled “Physician Magician” on the evening of April 26. Even though I was seated behind him, retur...

‘You Were Never Really Here’ crumbles into a classic

April 16, 2018

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Andrei Tarkovsky directed "Taxi Driver?" The film must combine the brutality and nihilism of Scorsese’s masterpiece with the philosophical dreaminess of a Tarkovskian film to create an uni...

‘A Quiet Place’ deserves loud applause

April 11, 2018

dIf someone told me last year that John Krasinski of "The Office" would direct the best horror film of 2018, I’d have laughed in their face. However, “A Quiet Place,” Krasinski’s third director...

“Ready Player One,” fun but flawed

March 31, 2018

Add one part “Tron,” one part “Hunger Games” and one part “Wreck-It Ralph,” then subtract a few degrees of quality from each, and you have Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One,” which pre...

Superchunk’s What A Time To Be Alive points and riles up the troops

By Kevin Tiongsonn

February 23, 2018

Superchunk’s new album What A Time To Be Alive starts with healthy self-awareness right off the bat: “What a time to be alive/we can’t pretend to be surprised,” howls guitarist and lead vocalis...

Black Panther slashes through expectations

February 15, 2018

In “Black Panther,” director Ryan Coogler creates an Afro-centric world free of colonialism and visualizes one of the most important stories of the year.It won’t win an Oscar, but that's not why...

Poe musical explores control and circumstance

January 18, 2018

A musical about the life of Edgar Allan Poe has a lot to live up to: It must balance Poe's macabre, dramatic writing style with factual detail, while being careful not to lose one in favor of the other.Blac...

‘Darkest Hour’ shines bright

By Brock Stillmunks

December 4, 2017

A battlefield blazes with fire as bombs fly through the French countryside and destroy everything in their path. Cries of wounded soldiers fade as the camera lingers on a young man’s soot-covered che...

Galantis builds to dynamic performance

November 21, 2017

One musical theme moves through most—if not all—EDM music. It's the build-up: the way each song heightens tension and excitement and transforms a swaying crowd into a jumping, raucous one.Then, just as s...

Niall Horan has places to go, songs to sing

November 20, 2017

Niall Horan doesn’t want anyone to forget his roots.The 24-year-old paid homage to both his former One Direction days and his Irish heritage during his Nov. 15 performance at Rosemont Theater, 5400 N. ...