From Bloomington To Cannes, Things Looking 'up' For Docter

The face-off between furry mammals rages on at the holiday box office, with Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” continuing to lead domestic charts. The video game inspired threequel earned another $12.6 million on Friday to boost its North American tally to $112 million. After an underwhelming opening behind “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” last weekend, “Mufasa” […]

Charles Shyer, who was Oscar-nominated for co-writing “Private Benjamin” with Nancy Meyers and went on to direct a string of hit comedies including “Father of the Bride” and “Baby Boom,” died Friday. He was 83. His family said in a statement to Deadline, “It’s with an indescribably heavy heart that we share the news of […]

Rachel Morrison — the first woman to earn an Oscar nomination for cinematography — often picked up a camera and entered the ring to do handheld shots while making “The Fire Inside.” But this wasn’t a typical production for Morrison — she was the director on the inspirational drama about boxer Claressa Shields.

The city of Brussels already has a more vivid big-screen legacy than some (it’s the home of one Jeanne Dielman, after all) but it may have found its closest, most devoted and most expansive cinematic chronicler in director Bas Devos. Following the superb 2019 one-two of “Hellhole” and “Ghost Tropic” — respectively, a solemn reflection […]

Before we send 2024 packing, it’d be good karma to acknowledge some offbeat screen experiences don’t fit a typical best-of-the-year list. And we’ll also get to the worst movies of the year, guaranteed to undo that karma in a flash. So. Goodbye, year. And hats off to Chicago’s cinema workers, archivists, educators, theater managers, projectionists — and to all venues offering real butter on popcorn that didn’t come out of a bag and doesn’t taste like something that fell out of an Amazon packing envelope. Favorite never-again screening experience of 2024: “The Art of the Benshi” at Gene Siskel Film Center, April 16-17.

Forty years ago, it was a big deal when Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton became the first female athlete to be featured on the front of a Wheaties cereal box, a consumer-culture laurel reserved for the highest achievers in sports. The Wheaties placement of today is to be part of a recurring national advertising campaign […]