This is part of film critic Connie Wilson’s exclusive coverage of the SXSW Film Festival for QuadCities.com. The mythic spirit of the western, our American archetype, is alive and well at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival. I’ve seen two westerns in two days at the Festival. “The Hero,” which showed at the Zach Theater on […]

‘Split’ Genre:  Horror, Thriller Running time: 157 minutes Stars:  James Mcavoy, Anya Taylor-Joy Night Shymalan burst onto the scene in 1999 with the blockbuster “The Sixth Sense” and followed that up with “Unbreakable” in 2000. Then some not-so-hot movies began. Recently, he was responsible for executive producing the television series “Wayward Pines,” but loser films […]

Genre:  Drama Run Time:  80 minutes Directors/Writers/Producers:  Lisa Robinson and Annie J. Howell Actors: Betsy Brandt, Zev Haworth, Sakina Jaffrey, Anna Margaret Hollyman You will recognize Betsy Brandt in the film “Claire in Motion” immediately if you ever were a fan of “Breaking Bad” or are now a fan of “Life in Pieces.” In “Breaking […]

The Golden Globes are over but the nominees for the Academy Awards are coming up soon. It is time for me to alphabetically list the movies of the past year that  are the best films of the year. I’m sure there are some films, especially foreign films, that I have not seen. Still, I have […]

“Hacksaw Ridge” Genre: War drama/biography Director:  Mel Gibson 132 minutes Stars:  Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Teresa Palmer, Vince Vaughn, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths Mel Gibson’s first directorial effort in 10 years (since 2006’s “Apocalypto”) is “Hacksaw Ridge,” the true story of conscientious objector Desmond T. Doss, a 7th Day Adventist who served as a medic […]

NOTE: Nationally known film critic Connie Corcoran Wilson is providing coverage of this year’s Chicago International Film Festival for QuadCities.com. The closing film of this year’s Chicago International Film Festival, “Arrival” is a great alien sci-fi film in the tradition of such classics as “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Contact,” and fans of […]

NOTE: Nationally known film critic Connie Corcoran Wilson is providing coverage of this year’s Chicago International Film Festival for QuadCities.com. “Olympic Pride, American Prejudice”: The Untold Story of the 1936 Olympics is a gripping film. This film from Director Deborah Riley Draper examined the 28 athletes who traveled to Berlin in 1936 for the Olympic […]

NOTE: Nationally known film critic Connie Corcoran Wilson is providing coverage of this year’s Chicago International Film Festival for QuadCities.com. When you tell me that Michael Fassbender is starring opposite veteran UK actor Brendan Gleeson in a film, I’m there. I’m expecting good things. These are two great actors and the plot, set across 3 […]

NOTE: Nationally known film critic Connie Corcoran Wilson is providing coverage of this year’s Chicago International Film Festival for QuadCities.com. The new Gael Garcia Bernal film, based on the Spanish novel “Deserted Cities” by Jose Agustin explores the changing nature of male-female relationships in Mexico and the world. This entire concept of the changing nature […]

NOTE: Nationally known film critic Connie Corcoran Wilson is providing coverage of this year’s Chicago International Film Festival for QuadCities.com. Kaleidoscope is a taut, psychological thriller that explores the inescapability of a destructive relationship between a middle-aged man and his mother. At the heart of this modern-day “Psycho” are some unsettling questions:  Can we ever […]