My Favorite Films of Summer 2017

With an end to the 2017 summer movie season, it’s time to round up my favorite films of this summer.  While I was credentialed for both the Chicago Critics Film Festival, the Fantasia International Film Festival, and remotely covered a few films selected for the Flyover Film Festival, I am not including any of those films unless they’ve been released in theaters, video on demand, or Digital HD. I’ll start with the documentaries.  I’ve seen…

"My Favorite Films of Summer 2017"

Despicable Me 3 is alright, but laughs are rare

Despicable Me 3 isn’t the best outing for the franchise but if you’re looking for laughs from a studio comedy in 2017, the best offerings this year are from animated films. Directed by Pierre Coffin & Kyle Balda, co-directed by Eric Guillon, and based on a screenplay written by Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio, the animated comedy stars Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Nev Scharrel, Steve Coogan, Jenny Slate and…

"Despicable Me 3 is alright, but laughs are rare"