Michael Phillips

Michael Phillips is a former film critic for the Tribune.

A 1969 image of photographer and journalist Sheila Turner Seed, the subject of "A Photographic Memory." (Capariva Films/Zeitgeist Films/Kino Lorber)

‘A Photographic Memory’ review: A beautiful search for a long-lost parent, in words and pictures

June 19, 2025 at 1:39 p.m.

Photographer and filmmaker Rachel Elizabeth Seed's "A Photographic Memory" is a supple nonfiction triumph.

Dennis Christopher, from left, Jackie Earle Haley, Daniel Stern and Dennis Quaid in the 1979 film "Breaking Away." (20th Century Fox/ZUMA Press)

Column: How ‘Breaking Away’ helped a newbie cyclist conquer his inner critic

June 19, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Just when Tribune critic Michael Phillips thought his bike-packing weekend got the best of him, "Breaking Away" rode to the rescue.

Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal in Celine Song's "Materialists." (Atsushi Nishijima/A24)

‘Materialists’ review: A matchmaker is torn between Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans

June 12, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Following "Past Lives," filmmaker Celine Song returns with "Materialists," starring Dakota Johnson in a romantic comedy with a touch of seriousness.

Nico Parker and Mason Thames in the remake of "How to Train Your Dragon." (Universal Pictures)

‘How to Train Your Dragon’ review: The live-action remake meets our expectations. Is that enough?

June 11, 2025 at 5:15 a.m.

Writer and director Dean DeBlois, making his live-action debut, co-directed the original and returns to the fantasy world of the dragon-beset North Sea island of Berk.

Tom Hiddleston, right, with Annalise Basso, cut loose in "The Life of Chuck." (Neon)

‘Life of Chuck’ review: It’s a wonderful, apocalyptic life in Stephen King land

June 6, 2025 at 6:36 p.m.

Mike Flanagan's gooey, well-acted "The Life of Chuck" stars Tom Hiddleston as an everyman with earnest life lessons to impart.

Benicio Del Toro as Zsa-Zsa Korda and Mia Threapleton as Liesl in "The Phoenician Scheme." (TPS Productions/Focus Features)

‘The Phoenician Scheme’ review: Wes Anderson and Co. embark on an elaborate save-a-soul mission

June 5, 2025 at 7:47 a.m.

Benicio Del Toro is the star of Wes Anderson's 12th and latest outing. But the ringer is Michael Cera, reason enough to see this occasionally frustrating movie again.

Stunt crazy: Tom Cruise hangs from a biplane in "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning." (Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

Column: In a world of easily manipulated images, can movies retain their magic?

June 7, 2025 at 5:50 p.m.

The best cinematic trickery asks the question: Can you believe what you just saw? Problem is, the real world asks the same thing.

Checking herself after wrecking someone else, Eve (Ana de Armas) is the dancer-turned-assassin in "Ballerina." (Larry D. Horricks/Lionsgate)

‘Ballerina’ review: Ana de Armas leads a bloody ‘John Wick’ spinoff

June 4, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.

Of course, it's all fight scenes, which get tiresome. But Anjelica Huston plays a Russian mob boss in a moment worth waiting for.

Jack Nicholson in "Chinatown." (Paramount Pictures/ZUMA Press)

Going high or low? Film festivals ‘Summer Camp’ and ‘Bleak Week’ open on Sunday

May 30, 2025 at 5:30 a.m.

June is busting out all over, when Chicago's Music Box hits you with "Cinema of Despair" and the Siskel Film Center goes to camp.

Rolf Saxon returns as CIA flunky WIlliam Donloe in "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning."

Column: In the new ‘Mission: Impossible,’ Rolf Saxon is the secret weapon, a ‘coffee guy’ no more

May 27, 2025 at 3:05 p.m.

Three decades after his bit part got banished to the tundra, veteran actor Rolf Saxon returns to the "M:I" franchise, like a boss.

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