Four Stars: A Chicago Film Podcast

Jeremy and Paco discuss the event of the summer, the Chicago TV show everyone is talking about: Poochinski , the unsold 1990 NBC pilot starring Peter Boyle about a cop who becomes a dog. And also some show called “The Bear” just released its final season, so they talk about that too.  Art by ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lily Bacon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ newest_latest⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Suggestion...

Jeremy and Paco are joined by journalist Siri Chilukuri to discuss Dhoom 3 (2013), directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, as well as the rest of the Dhoom franchise. Check out Siri’s great reporting on data centers in the Chicago Reader . Siri previously joined us on our second episode ever to discuss My Best Friend’s Wedding . This is the seventh episode in our miniseries, One Last Score, where we&#3...

Jeremy and Paco are joined by Dane McDonald, host of Supporting Actresses (FKA Chasing Amy Adams), to discuss Stephen Milburn Anderson’s Ca$h (2010), a movie that’s definitely real. Check out Dane’s wonderful podcast , including Jeremy’s episode on Trouble With The Curve (2012).  This is the sixth episode in our miniseries, One Last Score, where we're going through different heist and bank rob...

Jeremy and Paco interview local director Michael Glover Smith about his new film, Hekla. You can catch Hekla, featuring a Q&A with Michael and star/co-writer Elizabeth Stam, at FACETS on June 4 at 7:00PM. Get your tickets here: https://facets.org/programs/hekla/ The NYC premiere will be on June 8 at Spectacle Theater . The West Coast premiere is on June 23 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Ang...

Jeremy and Paco are joined by Elizabeth Arnott, programmer of Sapphopalooza , to discuss the seminal Go Fish (1994), directed by Rose Troche. You can catch the 4k restoration of Go Fish at the Music Box on May 30, featuring a post-film Q&A with writer/actor Guinevere Turner. And buy tickets to all the other Sapphopalooza films! Art by ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lily Bacon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Jeremy and Paco are joined by film critic Isaac Feldberg to discuss Michael Mann’s Public Enemies (2009). Check out Isaac’s writing at Letterboxd Journal and RogerEbert.com . This is the fifth episode in our miniseries, One Last Score, where we're going through different heist and bank robbing movies set in Chicago. The next episode in our miniseries will be about Ca$h (2010).  Art by ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Jeremy and Paco get together a crew consisting of the Trivia Girls (Alex, Carmel, and Kimberly) and Ocean's expert Richa Parikh, to discuss Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven (2001), Ocean's Twelve (2004), and Ocean's Thirteen (2007). Then we head off on our own to talk about Scott Prestin's 8 of Diamonds (2006). Music Box Movie Trivia⁠ is one Sunday a month from 4pm to 6pm...

Jeremy and Paco interview Jared Isaac, director and writer of An Autumn Summer. An Autumn Summer is having its Chicago premiere on April 23rd at the Music Box, featuring a post-film Q&A with Jared moderated by Joe Swanberg. Buy your tickets here . It was also have a limited theatrical release starting May 1. Art by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lily Bacon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ newest_latest⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Suggestions, comm...

Jeremy and Paco are joined by film writer Daniel Gorman to discuss Normal Life (1996), directed by John McNaughton. Check out Daniel’s writing at In Review Online . This is the third episode in our miniseries, One Last Score, where we're going through different heist and bank robbing movies set in Chicago. Our next episode will be about a series of films with at least a scene or two in Chicago...

Jeremy and Paco are joined by culture writer and Hand Me The Mike host Daniella Mazzio to discuss Michael Mann’s Thief (1981). Check out Daniella’s website for her latest writing, and please listen to her excellent Michael Shannon podcast, Hand Me the Mike .  This is the second episode in our miniseries, One Last Score, where we're going through different heist and bank robbing movies set in C...

Jeremy and Paco talk about The Bride!, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. First Impressions is an episode format where we talk about recently released Chicago movies. Let us know if there are any that are coming up! You can catch The Bride! in theaters now, but we recommend you watch James Whale's Bride of Frankenstein (1935) instead. Suggestions, comments, complaints, hate mail, and all other cor...

Jeremy and Paco are joined by film writer Peter Raleigh to discuss the conman classic The Sting (1973), directed by George Roy Hill. Check out Peter's great newsletter Long Library . This is the first episode in our first miniseries, One Last Score, where we'll go through different heist and bank robbing movies set in Chicago. For those clamoring for more heists, you can get ahead on your...

Jeremy and Paco welcome back writer Cortlyn Kelly to discuss the 1997 romance drama Love Jones, directed by Theodore Witcher. Cortlyn previously joined us to discuss the City & State shorts during the Chicago International Film Festival. Check out Cortlyn's Substack ⁠The Art Idiot⁠ , as well as her podcast ⁠Kaveh and CK's Screening Room⁠ . Art by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lily Bacon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music by...

Jeremy and Paco are joined by film critic Kyle Logan to discuss 2008's Wanted, directed by the great Timur Bekmambetov. You can read Kyle Logan's work at Screen Anarchy and the Chicago Reader . Art by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lily Bacon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ newest_latest⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Suggestions, comments, complaints, hate mail, and all other correspondence can be sent to chicagopodfilmcast@gmail.com So...

Jeremy and Paco flip on their TVs to talk about the first season of medical drama ER. Featuring some thoughts from ER superfans Meara Brady and Caitlyn Johnson about what makes the show so special. We also have a cameo from Dr. David Marder, who did part of his residency at a Chicago emergency room. Meara Brady (30:00 - 41:00) Caitlyn Johnson (1:01:00 - 1:07:00) Art by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lily Bacon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ M...

Ahead of this Sunday's NFL playoff game between the Chicago Bears and the LA Rams, Jeremy and Paco talk about the legendary song, " The Super Bowl Shuffle ," by the 1985 Chicago Bears, as well as The Shuffle (2025), a documentary about the making of the song and music video. Art by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lily Bacon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ newest_latest⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Suggestions, comments, complaints, ha...

Jeremy and Paco head to the suburbs to talk about two holiday classics, Home Alone directed by Chris Columbus, and Home Alone 3 directed by Raja Gosnell. Art by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lily Bacon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ newest_latest⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Suggestions, comments, complaints, hate mail, and all other correspondence can be sent to chicagopodfilmcast@gmail.com Further reading and sources Roger Ebert Home Alone Review...

Jeremy and Paco are joined by Music Box PR Manager Steve Prokopy (AKA Capone) to discuss Brian De Palma's The Untouchables (1987). They also discuss the original The Untouchables TV show, The Unmentionables, the 1993 reboot series, and the legendary The Untouchables of Eliott Mouse. Art by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lily Bacon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ newest_latest⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Suggestions, comments, complaints, hate mail, a...

Jeremy and Paco are joined by noir author Jake Hinkson to discuss City That Never Sleeps (1953), directed by John H. Auer. You can buy Jake's newest book, You Will Never See Me (set in Chicago!!), here . Art by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lily Bacon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ newest_latest⁠⁠⁠⁠ Suggestions, comments, complaints, hate mail, and all other correspondence can be sent to chicagopodfilmcast@gmail.com Further read...

Jeremy and Paco are joined by Cullen Atchley and Emilio Diaz of Cannes I Kick It to talk about the Chicago International Film Festival. We also announce the winners of the coveted Four Stars Golden Beef and Silver Bean prizes recognizing the best of the festival. Several writers, critics and film lovers from Chicago called-in and gave us their thoughts on some underrated movies from the festival:...

On our final dispatch out of the 61st Chicago International Film Festival, we talked about: Anything that Moves (dir. Alex Philips) Before the Call (dir. James Choi, World Premiere) Only Heaven Knows  (dir. Nurzhamal Karamoldoeva, World Premiere) New Group (dir. Yûta Shimotsu) Young Mothers (dir. Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardennes) Palestine 36 (dir. Annemarie Jacir – U.S. Premiere) Is This Thing On? (...

On the second dispatch out of the Chicago International Film Festival, Jeremy and Paco are joined by film writer Cortlyn Kelly to discuss the City & State Shorts program, as well as other films she's seen during the festival. Check out Cortlyn's Substack The Art Idiot , as well as her podcast Kaveh and CK's Screening Room . On this episode we talked about: - The City & State Sh...

Jeremy interviews Kevin Shaw, director of One Golden Summer , which had its world premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival and opened the festival. You can catch the movie on Sunday, October 26 at the Logan Center for the Arts. "In 2014, Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West Little League became the first all-Black team to win the Little League U.S. Baseball Championship. Along the way, 1...

Jeremy interviews Curtis Miller, the director of A Brief History of Chasing Storms, which is screening as a part of the Chicago International Film Festival. " A Brief History of Chasing Storms presents a history of the tornado as both a destructive weather event and an American icon. Local monuments to past tornadoes intertwine with mythologies of settlement and displacement. An amateur storm...

On our first dispatch out of the 61st Chicago International Film Festival, we talked about: - the world premiere of One Golden Summer (dir. Kevin Shaw) - A Useful Ghost (dir. Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke) - Arco (dir. Ugo Bienvenue) - Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc (dir. Tatsuya Yoshihara) - The Helsinki Effect (dir. Arthur Franck) (North American premiere) - Train Dreams (dir. Clint Bentley) -...