Becca James, Chicago Reader

Becca James

Chicago Reader

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Recent:
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Past:
  • Chicago Reader

Past articles by Becca:

House of Gucci

It should be called House of Gaga. → Read More

Malignant

Malignant is the type of movie that requires viewers to strap in and shut up from the onset. → Read More

It Takes Three

It Takes Three is the latest teen-take on Cyrano de Bergerac. → Read More

No Man of God

While No Man of God isn't the one Ted Bundy movie to watch, it is one worth watching. → Read More

The Kissing Booth 3

Everyone remains obsessed with Elle to an absolutely absurd degree in The Kissing Booth 3. → Read More

CODA

CODA is a coming-of-age story meant to move. → Read More

Tove

Tove attempts to illustrate Swedish-speaking Finnish artist Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomins, a fantasy series that features eccentric and distinctly shaped characters, which inspired... → Read More

The Call

The Call is a middling homage-horror. Set in 1987, it's dripping with the same nostalgia that propelled Stranger Things into popularity, although the movie is... → Read More

Good on Paper

Good on Paper is a smart and sweet take on modern love and manipulative lies. The movie catches up with stand-up comedian Andrea Singer (Iliza... → Read More

Holler

Holler offers a considered coming-of-age story set in working-class Ohio. Writer-director Nicole Riegel’s film follows Ruth (Jessica Barden of Netflix’s The End of the F***ing... → Read More

Cruella

Cruella is a lot of things that struggle to coalesce. A prequel that sets out to illuminate the early years of “one of cinema’s most notorious—and notoriously fashionable—villains,” Cruella de Vil, it’s ostensibly a movie made for kids. But it’s more likely to hit with those adults who protested Disney World’s closure during the pandemic. Set in 1970s London, with about 500 music cues to match… → Read More

Monday

At the center of Monday is the evergreen question, can love and life coexist harmoniously? Following a whirlwind weekend, where Mickey (Sebastian Stan) and Chloe... → Read More

Honeydew

Honeydew tries to push some of horror’s most familiar tropes to their limits. This ambition doesn’t always pay off, but it’s an admirable attempt. Following... → Read More

The Courier

The Courier details a fascinating tale of deceit. A recap of real events, the film follows Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) as he’s recruited into one... → Read More

The Winter Lake

The Winter Lake offers a chilling character study. Depicting dreary day after dreary day, the film takes place in the Irish countryside, where Tom (Anson... → Read More

Pixie

Olivia Cooke is reason enough to watch Pixie. If you’ve yet to be mesmerized by her acting chops (see Me and Earl and the Dying... → Read More

Days of the Bagnold Summer

Days of the Bagnold Summer is a bittersweet bildungsroman that hits all the right notes. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, it... → Read More

Red Dot

Red Dot is a semi-contained, high-concept thriller with a strong reveal. Directed by Swedish filmmaker Alain Darborg, it follows Nadja (Nanna Blondell) and David (Anastasios... → Read More

Some Kind of Heaven

Some Kind of Heaven offers an unfiltered look at life’s final act. Following a small group of people living in Central Florida in The Villages,... → Read More

Promising Young Woman

Promising Young Woman is a candy-coated killer of a film. Following Cassandra (Carey Mulligan), who, like the movie itself, is sweet on the outside and... → Read More