CHRISTOPHER NOLAN’S OPPENHEIMER DOMINATES THE 2023 WINDIE AWARDS PRESENTED BY CHICAGO INDIE CRITICS WITH SEVEN WINS Finishing their eighth year as a recognized awards-voting body and haven for film critics of diverse backgrounds and talents, the Chicago Indie Critics have announced the 2023 winners of their Windie Awards. The voting film critic members completed their final 25-category ballots this past week. The Chicago Indie Critics presented their 2023 Windie Award winners on the evening of January 20, 2024 at a private invitation-only Awards Party at Chicago Filmmakers on Hollywood Avenue ..read more

Long-running fans and first-time visitors alike, welcome to the newly designed website– bolstered by a new logo– for Chicago Indie Critics, organized by Illinois Indie Critics NFP. Since 2016, we have established ourselves as a talented, diverse, and vigilant group of film and TV critics from the Chicagoland area. We are an industry-recognized awards voting body and represent critics from various mediums across print, radio, online, podcasting, and video. As of 2024, we are 38 members strong and growing every year. This website you’re browsing will be our home for member profiles, as well as ..read more

“BEAUTY AND THE BEAST” Overall I’d probably say that this live action version of Beauty and the Beast was more so nostalgic than it was magical. Maybe those who enjoy musicals will appreciate and like this movie more than I did. It simply just didn’t move me the same way that the animated film did ..read more

“PERSONAL SHOPPER” Maureen has ghosts. One of them she’s trying to make contact with, literally, and her quest is quietly entrancing. At a deliberate pace, Personal Shopper, an artful, introspective ghost story, poses existential questions about coping with grief in a straightforward, affecting way. It also gets weird. And achingly tense. “KONG: SKULL ISLAND” Kong ..read more

Road to the Well is an assured debut from writer/director Jon Cvack, boasting an uncommon level of technical polish for a true indie that was partially funded via Kickstarter. The dramatic thriller peppered with dark comedy is reminiscent of the Coens’ earlier works. There’s a measured neo-noir vibe that keeps the tale of murder, mystery ..read more

Jordan Peele, along with his collaborator Keegan-Michael Key, skillfully constructed short-form satire on the TV show Key & Peele. With his directorial debut, Get Out, Peele proves to be equally proficient in crafting a tight, smart, relevant genre feature. If there’s any knock it’s that the film is almost too efficient, telegraphing some twists, but ..read more

“TABLE 19” Table 19 is an uneasy mix of indie comedy and maudlin narrative. The new comedy Table 19 comes with a sterling cast of comedic actors (Anna Kendrick, Craig Robinson and Lisa Kudrow among them), an indie pedigree (the story is from the Duplass brothers), and an institution like weddings ripe for the takedown ..read more

The audacity of PERSONAL SHOPPER announces itself in the very first scene. Maureen (Kristen Stewart) enters an abandoned old house in the Parisian countryside and attempts to contact the ghost of her deceased twin. He used to be a medium, and she dabbles in such hobbies as well, plus her sibling promised her he’d give ..read more

There is no doubt that this is a well-thought out, beautifully and elaborately produced live action film that takes the 1991 animated “Beauty and the Beast” to a new level. But does this version about true love have the magic of the original? Director Condon has put together a beautiful film with all the elements ..read more

Connie Wilson has been all over Austin, Texas soaking up the scene of the 2017 SXSW Film Festival.  Here are links to some of her coverage pieces: World Premiere of “The Ballad of Lefty Brown” Screens at SXSW “Hot Summer Nights:” World Premiere at SXSW “Muppet Guys Talking” at the Paramount Theater at SXSW “The Hero ..read more