Zachary Lee
@zacharylee.bsky.social
editor, critic, journalist | bylines in rogerebert.com, The Chicago Reader, Block Club Chicago, RNS, Dread Central, Sojourners, Think Christian | CFCA Member
THE END OF OAK STREET rules. It's about secrets in our homes, the bloodshed that’s latent in our paradises, about our pride meeting and subsequently being torn asunder by the apocalypse. It’s also the most thrilling dinosaur movie in ages. My review for @ebertvoices.bsky.social
The End of Oak Street review: The end of the world has never been more fun
The most thrilling dinosaur movie in ages.
rogerebert.com
“This is story about the secrets in our homes, the bloodshed that’s latent in our paradises; about our pride meeting and subsequently being torn asunder by the apocalypse. It’s also the most thrilling dinosaur movie in ages." @zacharylee.bsky.social reviews THE END OF OAK STREET:
The End of Oak Street review: The end of the world has never been more fun
The most thrilling dinosaur movie in ages.
rogerebert.com
"The maturity over the years has in many ways manifested in the storytelling and craft. Whereas the sense of humor, in the best possible way, hasn’t really matured." @zacharylee.bsky.social spoke with the Broken Lizard troupe about SUPER TROOPERS 3:
A Comedy Legacy: Broken Lizard on "Super Troopers 3"
The team behind "Super Troopers 3" on its production, and their legacy.
rogerebert.com
“Focusing on Iceland’s glaciers and the monumental consequence of their loss, this work makes space for both lament and celebration. It’s a homily, presented with the potency and style of performance poetry." @zacharylee.bsky.social reviews TIME AND WATER, streaming on Disney+ now:
Time and Water movie review & film summary
It’s a homily, presented with the potency and style of performance poetry.
rogerebert.com
"It’s a testament to Lane’s work and philosophy that she’s willing to let so much of the film’s runtime be dedicated to our wordless, fierce protagonist, who might offer some occasional hoots, but is otherwise fairly laconic." @zacharylee.bsky.social reviews WILD INSIDE:
Wild Inside review: Unusual documentary takes flight
Lane’s cry for people to pay more attention to the marvels around them poignantly rings true.
rogerebert.com
"Believing that something undeniably exists there, even if it is not visibly captured, is essential — not only for making a film but also for watching one." For @indiewire.com, an honor to talk to the master, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, about his jidaigeki whodunit, THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER.
How Kiyoshi Kurosawa Turned a Samurai Whodunit Into a Chilling Story About Belief with ‘The Samurai and the Prisoner’
Kiyoshi Kurosawa talks his latest film 'The Samurai and the Prisoner' in a new interview.
indiewire.com
I wrote a tribute to Kaylee Hottle, the deaf actress whose performance as Jia was the heart of two of the Legendary Pictures Kaiju films, Godzilla vs Kong and Godzilla x Kong. Killed at 18 in a car wreck. A staggering loss. www.rogerebert.com/tributes/wha...
What Could Have Been: Kaylee Hottle (2007-2026)
From Jean Harlow and James Dean through Simone Battle and Anton Yelchin, entertainment history is filled with instances of performers dying just as audiences
rogerebert.com
@zacharylee.bsky.social interviews director Michael Sarnoski, whose latest film "is a gentle inquiry into what happens when we seek the comfort of myth over the discomfort of reality." sojo.net/articles/cul...
Everyone in ‘The Death of Robin Hood’ Is Praying For Something Different
The new A24 film’s writer and director talks the brutality, spirituality, and grace of history’s most famous outlaw.
sojo.net
"I wanted to set out whether that way of connecting–through our imaginations–is something humanity is still able to do.” @zacharylee.bsky.social spoke with Hirokazu Kore-eda about his latest film, SHEEP IN THE BOX. In select theaters on 7/24: www.rogerebert.com/interviews/s...
Closer to Trees: Hirokazu Kore-eda on "Sheep in the Box"
The filmmaker talks about The Little Prince, staying rooted in an increasingly digital world, and grappling with the ethics of AI.
rogerebert.com
come for the discussion on pro wrestling, Gaetano Pesce, and toeing the line in comedy; stay for the discussion of misogyny in CHH, the industry of Christian art, and aging with your audience (gift link)
Andy Mineo and Wordsplayed Are Having the Most Fun in Christian Hip-Hop
The rap duo known as “Magic & Bird” talk comedy, nostalgia, interior design, and misogyny in CHH.
sojo.net
With MUBI Fest returning for the 3rd year to Chicago, @zacharylee.bsky.social highlighted the varied and robust programming, from the Chicago premiere of TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA, a scratch ‘n sniff edition of THE SUBSTANCE, & a screening of THE MASTERMIND preformed w/ a live score:
MUBI Fest 2026: Better Together
A personal recounting of one of the coolest Chicago film events of the year.
rogerebert.com
"Casting actors of many nationalities and ethnicities sends the message that Homer, like Shakespeare, and so many great storytellers from so many countries, belongs to everyone." On The Odyssey and its "controversies." Loved it. A big show, intelligently told. www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-...
The Odyssey review: Christopher Nolan has done it again
A mighty epic with a view of human nature more sophisticated than most movies of its type.
rogerebert.com
Simon, like so much evangelical politics, reduces love to a feeling and a sentiment. An affirmation that Musk is "a human being made in the image of God and worthy of love." A worthy sentiment! But love in the Christian tradition also, always, means material actions of solidarity and care.
A Christian Plan to Help Billionaires
There is no logical reason for people to live like this. We should help them.
sojo.net
my report on R.L. Stollar's death and his life of tenacious advocacy for homeschool alumni, children, and abuse survivors. (gift link)
R.L. Stollar’s Death Leaves Complicated Legacy as a Child’s Rights Theologian
Stollar’s peers say he was a tenacious advocate but a prickly and unreliable ally to the movement he supported.
sojo.net
"This is a film that understands that the truest picture of society comes from the eyes of those it neglects, courtesy of the outcasts who plunder airtime from the State itself." @zacharylee.bsky.social reviews BARRIO TRISTE:
Barrio Triste review: Harmony Korine-produced chaos feels fascinatingly chaotic
There’s a gift in witnessing a crew that realizes the power of seeing themselves and their stories on-screen.
rogerebert.com
“How do you navigate being loyal to your friends when they’re all hiding things from each other?” For JoySauce, chatted w/ Megan Lawless abt her big OBSESSION moment, septum piercings, foam bricks, & navigating adult friendships:
Why Megan Lawless is our latest 'Obsession'
The actress on her latest film, her character's striking look, and the importance of being honest with your friends.
joysauce.com
“It may not reinvent the wheel, but by playing squarely to its middle-of-the-road strengths,” writes @zacharylee.bsky.social about DRIVER’S ED.
Driver's Ed review: Teen comedy stays in a charming 2000s road-movie gear
By playing squarely to its middle-of-the-road strengths, it’s still a trip worth taking.
rogerebert.com
“It earns its viewing time for trying its very best at putting a new spin on a familiar story,” writes @zacharylee.bsky.social about SWAPPED.
Swapped review: Clever Netflix animated original values empathy
What it lacks in narrative originality, it makes up for through a game voice cast, a wonderfully realized world, and a surprisingly dark spin
rogerebert.com
“We are taking these texts, these words on a page, & turning them into images that need to have sound and emotion to them that would never exist in textual form.” For @ebertvoices.bsky.social, I spoke w/ MOTHER MARY’s David Lowery abt transubstantiation, the feminine divine, & the T-1000:
An Act of Translation: David Lowery on "Mother Mary"
An interview with the director of A24's latest about friendship, location, and how the T-1000 influenced its strangest element.
rogerebert.com
"I’ve been trying to take a feeling and give it form." @zacharylee.bsky.social spoke w/ David Lowery about MOTHER MARY, making the film nearly man-free, creativity as an act of transubstantiation, & TERMINATOR 2’s influence:
An Act of Translation: David Lowery on "Mother Mary"
An interview with the director of A24's latest about friendship, location, and how the T-1000 influenced its strangest element.
rogerebert.com
A forever thank you to Roger Ebert for everything. @ebertvoices.bsky.social readjack.wordpress.com/2023/04/04/r...
Roger Ebert: The Life & Death of a Chicago Journalist
Jack note: I originally published this piece on my ChicagoNow media blog “Eye on Chi” on April 4, 2013, the day that one of my heroes, Roger Ebert, passed away at age 70. In honor of th…
readjack.wordpress.com
The Columbine massacre was on this date in 1999. Instead of energizing our country to get gun violence under control, it kicked off a new normal. One of the best explanations ever of journalism's destructive impact on mass shootings came from Roger Ebert in his review of Gus Van Sant’s “Elephant.”
“I can just go to the material I’m interested in & then determine what kind of filmmaker I want to be to present it.” For @ebertvoices.bsky.social, I spoke w/ THE CHRISTOPHERS director Steven Soderbergh abt being a creative chameleon, artistic legacy, & stress testing new technologies:
The Best Version of the Thing: Steven Soderbergh on "The Christophers"
An interview with the legendary director about his newest film.
rogerebert.com
"On a narrative, emotional, and philosophical level, it's a very active film; it just happens to be contained.” @zacharylee.bsky.social spoke with Steven Soderbergh about THE CHRISTOPHERS, artistic legacy, & stress testing new technologies:
The Best Version of the Thing: Steven Soderbergh on "The Christophers"
An interview with the legendary director about his newest film.
rogerebert.com
Last but not least, I hold a soft spot for POWER BALLAD, a movie that constantly surprises you by plucking chords of hope from a heartbreaking narrative. Playing Saturday, 5/2 for @@chicagocritics.bsky.social 🎟️:
Power Ballad
When Rick (Paul Rudd), a past-his-prime wedding singer, meets fading boy-band star Danny (Nick Jonas) during a gig, the two bond over music and a late-night jam session. But when Danny turns one of…
musicboxtheatre.com
You won't see a better movie about Greek mythology this year than IF I GO WILL THEY MISS ME. A @chicagocritics.bsky.social selection that explores what happens when protection gets in the way of presence. Walter Thompson-Hernández's film is worth seeing in all of its intimate glory. 🎟️:
If I Go Will They Miss Me
Twelve-year-old Lil Ant transforms his working-class neighborhood beneath the LAX flight path into a living mythology, where family members become gods and the sky is crowded with endless departures.…
musicboxtheatre.com
I've been enamored with LATE FAME since I saw it & am delighted it's playing @@chicagocritics.bsky.social. Kent Jones gem starring Willem Dafoe & Greta Lee is about the need for someone to hear us thoroughly just once & the joy of having our story receive the grace of being beheld. 🎟️:
Late Fame
Legendary New York poet Ed Saxberger's forgotten works captivate an eccentric group of young creatives, reigniting his artistic passion. Their intrigue intertwines with the bewitching presence of…
musicboxtheatre.com
Now on digital VOD, I loved chatting with UNDERTONE director Ian Tuason & star Nina Kiri on the film’s spiritual wavelength and how they created a horror film that explores the reality that we’ll always care for our loved ones imperfectly. For @ebertvoices.bsky.social:
We Broke the Loop: Ian Tuason and Nina Kiri on "undertone"
The director and star of A24's atmospheric horror film talk fear, faith, and turning the filmmaker's family home into a haunted house.
rogerebert.com
Also worth checking out from @chicagocritics.bsky.social is MADDIE'S SECRET. John Early's film soars on the fuel of its open-hearted sincerity & reminds us that we don’t have to follow the world’s recipe for success; we’re beloved enough that we can freestyle on our own and still be whole. 🎟️:
Maddie's Secret
MADDIE’S SECRET is comedian, writer, and actor John Early’s critically acclaimed directorial debut starring himself as Maddie, a plucky dishwasher who leaps to viral superstardom at a trendy food…
musicboxtheatre.com
