With the first season of ALIEN: EARTH having wrapped, @zacharylee.bsky.social speaks w/ stars Babou Ceesay & Sydney Chandler about the arc of their cyborg and hybrid characters. They discuss the importance of practical effects and their characters inverted journeys.

“It's a horrifying job to see humanity’s worst right before your very eyes and then go home at the end of the day." @zacharylee.bsky.social speaks with Lili Reinhart about AMERICAN SWEATSHOP, how to stop doomscrolling, & the film’s surprising connection to WALL-E. www.rogerebert.com/interviews/a...

In his latest dispatch from TIFF, @zacharylee.bsky.social reviews three films, ETERNAL RETURN, NUREMBERG, & CAROLINA CAROLINE, that all tackled how our pasts, if not properly reckoned with, can return to bedevil in pugnacious ways. www.rogerebert.com/festivals/ti...

In my convo w/ Timo Tjahjanto for Joy Sauce, he name drops NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VACATION, LE SAMOURAÏ, HANA-BI, & PARIS, TEXAS; man’s a cinephile! Was fun to talk to him abt how all those connected w/ NOBODY 2 (& y his TRAIN TO BUSAN remake will “definitely” be R-rated): joysauce.com/not-nobody-d...

“Everything, even geopolitically, is about power, proximity, alliances." Love, obsession, power, & attention collide in Alex Russell’s LURKER. @zacharylee.bsky.social speaks w/ him abt whether celebrity can be redeemed & how ignorance separates fans from friends: www.rogerebert.com/interviews/a...

That's a wrap for #CinemaInterruptus - THE PLAYER. Finished the movie with enough time to share final reflections as the credits rolled. Thanks to the Gene Siskel Film Center for hosting us, to @zacharylee.bsky.social for driving the DVD, and to everyone who played along.

wow it was so fun getting time with @abbyolcese.bsky.social @zacharylee.bsky.social @dodgyboffin.com and @larsenonfilm.bsky.social (and Robert whose @ IDK!) we all deeply agreed on which of the movies are good and also the ones that are bad. and which ones best represent the Christian message.

All these plus @scotttobias.bsky.social, @alissawilkinson.bsky.social, @larsenonfilm.bsky.social and @zacharylee.bsky.social (the latter two of whom I'm excited to hang with this afternoon). Also @thatwitchmia.bsky.social and @donatobomb.bsky.social duh.

Happy to have @zacharylee.bsky.social back behind the DVD for #CinemaInterruptus, Aug. 11-14. Tickets: www.siskelfilmcenter.org/interruptus

"There’s something about being in front of the camera where we want to just give everything we can to make it look as realistic as possible." @zacharylee.bsky.social interviews Alison Brie, Dave Franco, and Michael Shanks about their body horror film, TOGETHER: www.rogerebert.com/interviews/t...

"It’s a deeply human experience to long for someone who’s unavailable and to treasure a love that’s true but can’t last. OH, HI! ruminates on this to somber yet entertaining effect,” @zacharylee.bsky.social writes: www.rogerebert.com/reviews/oh-h...

"UNICORNS reminds that the ability to transform and cross borders, whether physical, mental, or spiritual, is always proximate, oppressive systems, antiquated thinking, and insecurity be damned." @zacharylee.bsky.social reviews: www.rogerebert.com/reviews/unic...

"I think any film that’s trying to achieve any sort of modern realism has to contend with our division and how those voids are only getting wider." EDDINGTON director Ari Aster talks to @zacharylee.bsky.social about doomscrolling & landing on that Katy Perry song: www.rogerebert.com/interviews/a...

Interruptus is on!! Come hang out and watch The Player with Josh, and also @dodgyboffin.com, @zacharylee.bsky.social and me!

"Creating this film was a journey of understanding how to shoot in a way that allows me to make the film I want to make." @zacharylee.bsky.social talks to writer-director Eva Victor about the messy process of making her @a24movies.bsky.social hit SORRY, BABY: www.rogerebert.com/interviews/e...

BEST WISHES TO ALL is "a modern parable for our capitalistic society, where our only hope for achieving contentment is to exploit before we’re exploited." @zacharylee.bsky.social reviews @shudder.com's latest thriller: www.rogerebert.com/reviews/best...

Earlier this month, @chicagocritics.bsky.social welcomed a host of actors and filmmakers to hit the red carpet at @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social for their twelfth annual festival; @zacharylee.bsky.social was there with them to ask them questions. Read his dispatch: www.rogerebert.com/festivals/th...

In his first dispatch from @cannesfilmfestival.bsky.social, @zacharylee.bsky.social highlights Shia LaBeouf doc SLAUSON REC, Momoko Seto's animated epic DANDELION'S ODYSSEY, and the Chang Chen-starring LUCKY LU. www.rogerebert.com/festivals/ca...

"The fun was deducing how its live concert and seven programmed films explored different facets of being adrift, from being “lost in the sauce” to being “lost in the machine." @zacharylee.bsky.social recaps this year's #MubiFest Chicago

A familiar face offers some long answers to some easy questions as he toots his own horn with some Boricua flair. Thanks to @isaacfeldberg.bsky.social and Nathaniel Lee for the opportunity! @chicagocritics.bsky.social starts this Friday at the holiest of hollies, the @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social.

"As for poetry, especially with something like THE LEGEND OF OCHI, it’s about inviting yourself into that wonder you mentioned and moving away from a particular kind of practicality." @zacharylee.bsky.social speaks with Willem Dafoe:

"I always try to find something that I can personally relate to and then exaggerate it, making it more operatic and larger in theme, within the film itself." @zacharylee.bsky.social speaks with HAVOC director Gareth Evans

“When you say ‘wonder,’ I’m thinking abt challenging & inviting people into a different way of seeing.” For @ebertvoices.bsky.social, I had a quick chat w/ Willem Dafoe abt THE LEGEND OF OCHI, the limits of empathy, & the role of wonder in his creative process: www.rogerebert.com/interviews/w...

"There’s also this metaphor for artistic sacrifice, for how an oppressive system can dehumanize people and how people experiencing that dehumanization can rage against it through art." @zacharylee.bsky.social speaks with filmmaker Ryan Coolger about SINNERS

QUEENS OF DRAMA is "a dizzying, life-affirming anthem about how it’s never too late to find your way home in the arms of your lover, even if you may have lost your way." Read @zacharylee.bsky.social's review:

For @letterboxd.social , I wrote abt A NORMAL FAMILY, out in select US theaters on April 25. Dir. Hur Jin-ho imbues an acute cultural specificity around the film’s themes of family loyalty and hierarchy. Chilling, thought-provoking delusions abound: letterboxd.com/journal/watc...

Fascism & hatred should not be things we’re afraid to disavow.” Ji-young Yoo is booked & busy this month w/ FREAKY TALES & UNTIL DAWN. Spoke w/ her for Joy Sauce about how fighting is like dancing, Asians in punk, & Ryan Coogler’s influence on her Oakland accent: joysauce.com/ji-young-yoo...

This is an incredible opportunity that has amplified critics in the past few years to prominent roles, including membership in the CFCA. You should apply. And tell your friends. chicagofilmcritics.org/grant

"There’s something about trust that’s essential to making art." @zacharylee.bsky.social speaks with André Holland about THE ACTOR, DUTCHMAN, and his creative life goals

In this #SXSW dispatch @zacharylee.bsky.social writes about 42ND STREET, THE SPIES AMONG US, and MAKE IT LOOK REAL

In his latest dispatch from #SXSW @zacharylee.bsky.social writes about FORGE, SLANTED, and THE TRUE BEAUTY OF BEING BITTEN

"I make movies for the freaks and the movie nerds and the people that want to go for a cinematic experience and be challenged." @zacharylee.bsky.social speaks with OPUS writer-director Mark Anthony Green

ASH "may not reinvent the sci-fi horror genre, but Flying Lotus knows when to subvert tropes and when to lean into them." Read @zacharylee.bsky.social's #SXSW review:

🚨 Calling all aspiring film critics in the Chicagoland area! 🚨 Applications for the Chicago Critics Association & @rottentomatoes.com Emerging Critics Program are now open! Details and how to apply here: chicagofilmcritics.org/grant Deadline to apply is April 10, 2025!

“As it was with so many things on the show, the genesis was an email from a listener.” @zacharylee.bsky.social speaks to Adam Kempenaar, Sam van Hallgren, and @larsenonfilm.bsky.social about Filmspotting Fest, a three-day in-person film festival celebrating twenty years of the iconic podcast.

"I think that THE GORGE is a drive-in movie. It’s zany and outrageous. . . I think it’s really fun. I do think the film has its soul, purpose, and themes, and I hope also that it’s just a good time." @zacharylee.bsky.social speaks with filmmaker @scottderrickson.bsky.social

From the director of GHOSTLIGHT, the new thriller ROUNDING opens this weekend at the Music Box! chicagoreader.com/film-tv/movi... via @zacharylee.bsky.social & @chicagoreader.com

“Cinema has never been an adequate simulacrum. We’ve always been worming around the artifices.” Haven’t been moved or laughed as much than when speaking with dir. Matthew Rankin abt his absurdist gem UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE for @thespool.bsky.social, out Feb. 14th: thespool.net/interviews/m...

“It’s not that the system is broken but that it works best the more it’s hurting people." A joy to chat w/ Alex Thompson abt his psychological thriller ROUNDING for @chicagoreader.com. Our convo abt Toni Morrison, puppeteering monsters, & familial collabs: chicagoreader.com/film-tv/movi...

"Despite our efforts through time, cinema has never been an adequate simulacrum. We’ve always been worming around the artifices and trying to avoid them." UNIVERAL LANGUAGE director Matthew Rankin talks to @zacharylee.bsky.social about his latest Winnipeg absurdity: thespool.net/interviews/m...

TOGETHER, which premiered at Sundance & was picked up by @neon-rated.bsky.social, is a delightfully gruesome take on co-dependency, thanks to Alison Brie & James Franco. Let’s just say “pulling out” has never been so terrifying. Review @dreadcentral.bsky.social: www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/5215...

Extremely excited to make my @fangoria.bsky.social debut writing abt 2 Sundance 2025 films, OPUS & LURKER. Loved putting them in conversation as they explore the lengths we'll go to gain proximity, how we'll hollow ourselves out for a taste of the spotlight: www.fangoria.com/a24-opus-lur...

In his second #Sundance2025 dispatch, @zacharylee.bsky.social writes about the documentaries LIFE AFTER, SUGAR BABIES, and SEEDS

In his first #Sundance2025 dispatch, @zacharylee.bsky.social writes about three films in the U.S. Doc competition: THE LIBRARIANS, MIDDLETOWN, and SPEAK.

Grateful I could contribute blurbs to this piece. Wrote about some of my most anticipated playing at the festival: LAST DAYS, MIDDLETOWN, & SPEAK for Journal over at @letterboxd.social!

From sinister popstars to a marriage frayed by cabbages, the Letterboxd crew shares fifteen titles to watchlist from this year’s Sundance Film Festival boxd.it/2o8

Taking myself out of the equation, the Reader has been on such an editorial roll the last couple of years. There's no work quite like it in Chicago. I just want these writers and editors to have stability and an editorial home.

Grateful that @ebertvoices.bsky.social asked me to contribute to their Meet the Writers series; a joy & pleasure to write for the site. Link in 1st comment if you want to hear abt my fave movie snacks, 1st R rated film experience, “The Magnificent 7 incident” & my ongoing beef w/ claymation:

Our Meet the Writers interview series is back! First up, get to know @zacharylee.bsky.social:

DIANE WARREN: RELENTLESS is "disarmingly straightforward and bursting with a candor befitting of someone toiling away in a merciless industry purely for the love of the game." Read @zacharylee.bsky.social's review: