‘Baby’ Review: Marcelo Caetano’s Underdeveloped Queer Coming of Age Story Never Fully Blooms | Chicago International Film Festival
The queer coming-of-age story has seemingly taken over the LGBT film landscape. Nearly every film festival presents a small handful of movies that focus on... Read More
Cody Dericks
Cody Dericks has been obsessed with movies and awards ever since he first grabbed a giant coffee table book about the Oscars at the Scholastic Book Fair. He’s been consuming every type of film ever since. In addition, he’s an avid theatre lover and always has thoughts and opinions on all things to do with Broadway and the Tony Awards.
He currently resides in Chicago and is a proud member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. He also writes and podcasts for Next Best Picture and co-hosts his own podcast “Halloweeners: A Horror Movie Podcast.” You can follow him on Twitter, Letterboxd, and Bluesky @codymonster91
‘Memoir of a Snail’ Review: Adam Elliot’s Quirky and Beautiful Animated Tale is Profoundly Human | Chicago International Film Festival
There’s something magical about stop motion animation. Hollywood’s era of ever-escalating CGI tricks is over, replaced by substandard digital slop, or worse, AI-generated horrors. But... Read More
‘Eephus’ Review: A Deceptively Simple, Nearly Pitch Perfect Non-Sports Sports Story | Chicago International Film Festival
Sports movies have a well-earned reputation for being inspiring. The thrill of victory, the exhilarating triumph of an underdog team, the joy of watching a... Read More
The Film We Don’t Speak Of – Revisiting M. Night Shyamalan’s Masterpiece ‘The Village’ 20 Years Later [Retrospective]
The trailer for the upcoming film Trap proudly declares it to be “a new experience in the world of M. Night Shyamalan.” This represents a... Read More
Interview: Chris Perfetti on Pairing Up with Lisa Ann Walter, Shakespeare and What Inspires Jacob on ‘Abbott Elementary’
Chris Perfetti was a familiar face to TV fans long before landing his biggest role yet in 2021 with Abbott Elementary. Throughout the past decade,... Read More
‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ Review: Vicky Krieps Rides High in Viggo Mortensen’s Slow, Sparse Western
The Western is a tricky genre to fully define. Whereas horror movies have to have scares and musicals have to have songs, it’s not always... Read More
‘Ghostlight’ Review: Two Households Both Aim for Dignity in Cathartic Shakespearean Dramedy | Chicago Critics Film Festival
One of the best moments of Ghostlight actually occurs during the end credits. Looking at the cast list, one thing immediately jumps out – the... Read More
‘Good One’ Review: India Donaldson’s Feature Debut is a Profound and Big-Hearted Triumph | Chicago Critics Film Festival
It’s a risky prospect to give a movie a title that could also be used to critically assess it. Some titles are basically asking to... Read More
‘Dandelion’ Review: KiKi Layne is Electric in Wilted Story of a Musician’s Journey | Chicago Critics Film Festival
Most actors count themselves lucky to land a leading role. In the case of Dandelion, the new film from writer-director Nicole Riegel, the movie is... Read More
‘Oddity’ Review: Damian Mc Carthy’s Mannequin Horror is Anything But Wooden | Chicago Critics Film Festival
Films that rely on jump scares are a controversial topic amongst horror fans. Some prefer them over the kinds of mood-based, slow paced “elevated” horror... Read More
Olivia Wilde Takes San Francisco by Storm with ‘The Invite’ [Q&A] 
Isa Briones Reminisces on Her Two Seasons of ‘The Pitt’ and What She Sees for Santos in the Future [VIDEO INTERVIEW] 
2027 Oscar Predictions: The Awards Alchemist’s First Look at the 99th Academy Awards 
‘The Pitt,’ ‘Heated Rivalry,’ ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’ Lead 86th Peabody Awards Winners