Jeff York

Chicago

Film Critic and Blogger at Freelance

Associate Creative Director at Razorfish

Writer. Illustrator. Ad Man. Chicago Indie Critics. https://t.co/WlJ4CjANMI. https://t.co/zgWWJmhc9g. https://t.co/RbKzru5g8o. SAG-AFTRA. ISA.

Articles

Op-Ed: Illinois was once a leader in public defense - We can be again.

2 weeks ago | ibjonline.com | Keith Grant |Jeff York

By KEITH GRANT and JEFF YORK As public defenders, we fight every day to protect the constitutional rights of people who are caught up in our criminal, juvenile, and child welfare courts. Our clients are poor — we are appointed counsel when someone cannot afford to hire their own lawyer. But in Illinois, systemic barriers continue to undermine our ability to provide effective representation.
Op-Ed: Illinois was once a leader in public defense - We can be again

2 weeks ago | rivercountynews.com | Keith Grant |Jeff York

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above. Username Password Lost your password? Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link. Email ← Back By KEITH GRANT and JEFF YORK Illinois Public Defender Association As public defenders, we fight every day to protect the constitutional rights of people who are caught up in our criminal, juvenile, and child welfare courts.
DESPITE SOME VIVID SCARES, “BRING HER BACK” IS BALONEY

2 weeks ago | theestablishingshot.org | Jeff York

Critics and audiences may be taken by the hooey that is BRING HER BACK, but it’s a poseur of a film, one that ignores its own internal logic and the logic of the real world, for that matter. It’s a well-produced yarn that unfortunately relies on easy frights, egregious misdirection, and stupidity running rampant amongst its characters to achieve its goals of scaring an audience.
Why Grumpy is Great On Screen

3 weeks ago | pipelineartists.com | Jeffrey G. York |Jeff York

The great French composer, Claude Debussy, once famously said, “People don’t very much like things that are beautiful. They are so far from their nasty little minds.” He also wryly stated, “The trouble with the opera is that there’s always too much singing.” What Debussy was getting at with both quotes referred to an essence of grumpiness in the human condition.
“ON SWIFT HORSES” MEANDERS AND WASTES ITS CAST

1 month ago | theestablishingshot.org | Jeff York

Like many of the global audience for the miniseries NORMAL PEOPLE, I fell hard for Daisy Edgar-Jones in 2020. Her portrayal of Marianne was a revelation, a nuanced and complex portrayal of a young woman overcoming the Irish caste system, the pressures of dating, a rich family’s dysfunction, and an on-again/off-again relationship with a working class lad from her hometown.
“SINNERS” IS A STUNNER

1 month ago | theestablishingshot.org | Jeff York

This may very well be the shortest review I’ve ever written for a film that I think is going to be one of the most talked about and honored films of 2025. I don’t want to say too much, and I fear that you may have already seen the trailers or TV commercials for it, but it’s such a special cinematic achievement the less said about it, the better. All the more for you to discover on your own without too much being given away, even by those lauding it such as me.
CATHERINE DENEUVE CREATES DROLL COMEDY AS “THE PRESIDENT’S WIFE”

1 month ago | theestablishingshot.org | Jeff York

Catherine Deneuve has been an international treasure and one of cinema’s greatest actresses since worldwide acclaim in 1964’s THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG. Her latest film is THE PRESIDENT’S WIFE, a droll comedy about French politics that premiered in France last year and is finally getting a substantial release in the United States.
“SNOW WHITE” STRUGGLES TO ADAPT ITS LONG PAST TO THE PRESENT

2 months ago | theestablishingshot.org | Jeff York

Since Glenn Close’s star turn as Cruella DeVille made 101 DALMATIONS a live action hit in 1996, the Disney company has been obsessed with turning all their animated classics into similar successes. Some of those films have been truly accomplished, like director Kenneth Branagh’s take on CINDERELLA back in 2015 and Rob Marshall’s version of THE LITTLE MERMAID in 2023.
THE GORGEOUS “PARTHENOPE” BOTH BEGUILES AND CONFOUNDS

Feb 7, 2025 | theestablishingshot.org | Jeff York

The character of PARTHENOPE is much like the film that bears her name. Beautiful, sensual, and mysterious, also vexing and even aggravating. What does this young woman, named for a Greek siren, want out of life? Is she a sensualist or more practical? Is she philosophical, or merely a pseudo-intellectual? Is she voracious, consuming all the men who pass her way, or is Parthenope merely a tease?
“HEART EYES” IS A TENSE AND FUNNY VALENTINE

Feb 6, 2025 | theestablishingshot.org | Jeff York

It’s hard enough to find horror films that keep you on the edge of your seat, let alone one that can make you genuinely laugh along the way too. Indeed, truly worthwhile horror comedies are as rare as hen’s teeth, but the new frightener HEART EYES fits the bill. The movie opens Friday, February 7, and it’s as funny as it is frightening. While not quite as clever as SCREAM or M3GAN, this effort is still cheeky, good fun with some sharp scares, albeit none too gory.