August 2011

CHICAGO – The spectre of AIDS seems to have diminished, but the continent of Africa still has a huge problem fighting the disease. Director Oliver Schmitz (”Paris, Je T’Aime”) focuses his lens on this physical and cultural crisis in “Life, Above All.”

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Re-imagining, almost re-engaging the evil of the Holocaust has been thoroughly examined in film for years. “The Debt” looks at another angle, that of revenge and how much that revenge can wreak havoc on the truth.

CHICAGO – If a remake of the 2003 Korean film “Oldboy” didn’t look like it was going to happen, it sure does now. After Spike Lee had signed on to direct the Americanized remake a few weeks ago, just yesterday Empire reported that Josh Brolin has signed on to play the lead character.

CHICAGO – The official results are in. The cast for the thirteenth season of the ABC reality series “Dancing with the Stars” was announced tonight during the commercial breaks of the show “Bachelor Pad.”

CHICAGO – In our latest action/war drama edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two run-of-engagement movie passes up for grabs to the new film “5 Days of War” with Val Kilmer, Andy Garcia and Rupert Friend!

CHICAGO – A few beloved films from the ’90s are making their debut on Blu-ray…and “Hostage.” We can’t really find the tie between the Bruce Willis action flick and “Rounders,” “Swingers,” and “Good Will Hunting” but it actually is an underrated flick and it’s hitting HD this month from the same company (Lionsgate releasing Miramax titles) and we didn’t want to discriminate. The best of the bunch is probably the Gus Van Sant Oscar-winner but the movie that introduced the world to Vince Vaughn & Jon Favreau isn’t far behind. Pick up your favorite.

CHICAGO – The partnership between IFC and The Criterion Collection has led to a number of great releases (“A Christmas Tale,” “Che”) and a few questionable entries (“Life During Wartime”) but rarely has it completely unearthed a film as little-seen as Lee Chang-Dong’s brilliant “Secret Sunshine.” This award-winning dissection of faith amidst tragedy never even received a Chicago release as far as I can remember but it absolutely deserves a wider audience. This is a great film given a strong release by the DVD/Blu-ray series ever.

CHICAGO – If there was one film this year that I wished had found a wider audience more than any other it is definitely Jodie Foster’s “The Beaver,” a daring, challenging piece that would have had an uphill battle at the box office even if the personal life of its star, Mel Gibson, hadn’t made that climb even steeper.

CHICAGO – Advertised deceptively as a comedy, the new film “My Idiot Brother” has a Zen-like quality that is surprising, and oddly captivating, but cannot sustain itself and eventually runs out of steam. Paul Rudd plays the brother to three errant sisters, portrayed by Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer.

CHICAGO – Only the director of “The Transporter 3” could make a movie in which the gorgeous Zoe Saldana changes outfits as often as she speaks lines of dialogue as dull as the tedious, illogical, useless “Colombiana.” Sure, the final showdown has some damn cool action but it takes a hundred often-unbearable minutes to get there.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Rowan Joffe’s long-gestating remake of “Brighton Rock” (the 1947 noir classic was based on the beloved book by Graham Greene) raises the question least-desired in one of these situations – why bother? Sure, the story is a nifty little tale of a rising criminal undone by his own avarice and the love of a girl and the cast assembled for the remake is an undeniably talented ensemble.

CHICAGO – Echoing elements of masterful works by Producer Guillermo Del Toro (most notably “The Devil’s Backbone,” “Pan’s Labyrinth”), “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” is an incredibly frustrating remake, a film that reminds one of scary movies instead of actually producing scares itself.

CHICAGO – Rarely has an action game given me the same sense of accomplishment as “Deus Ex: Human Revolution.” While we’ve come a long way in the genre over the last few years, most shooters are still based on predetermined patterns. Enemies pop up in the same place. The same doors must be opened. Precise paths must be taken.

CHICAGO – “Something Borrowed” is just a stupid, stupid movie. It’s not painful nor as horrendous as many recent romantic comedies largely through the overall likeability of star Ginnifer Goodwin, but it’s just stupid. It features stupid people doing stupid things and serves as more of a cautionary tale about picking the right people to support you than it does as any sort of modern romance. With too-little chemistry as friends or lovers, “Something Borrowed” never clicks. It should disappear soon from Blu-ray and DVD shelves and all but the most diehard fans of the romantic genre or the stars involved should give it back.