CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.
August 2015
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 15 Pairs of Guaranteed ‘Unsullied’ Passes From NFL Star Simeon Rice
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 29, 2015 - 2:49pmCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 15 pairs of guaranteed anytime movie tickets up for grabs to the new horror/thriller “Unsullied” from NFL superstar, Super Bowl champion and future Hall of Famer Simeon Rice! Pick your own theatre and time throughout Chicago/land!
Film Review: Lily Tomlin Fuels the Journey Depicted in ‘Grandma’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 28, 2015 - 11:05amCHICAGO – There is a circumstantial and frank presentation of abortion in the new Paul Weitz film “Grandma,” and it probably could not have resulted the way it did if the story wasn’t anchored by the great Lily Tomlin. She portrays the title character, helping her granddaughter get to the procedure.
Lily Tomlin Fuels the Journey Depicted in ‘Grandma’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 28, 2015 - 11:01amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There is a circumstantial and frank presentation of abortion in the new Paul Weitz film “Grandma,” and it probably could not have resulted the way it did if the story wasn’t anchored by the great Lily Tomlin. She portrays the title character, helping her granddaughter get to the procedure.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 40 Pairs of Passes to ‘Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials’ With Dylan O’Brien
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 27, 2015 - 2:44pmCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated new film “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” starring Dylan O’Brien!
Film Review: Probable Events is the Situation in Tense ‘No Escape’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 26, 2015 - 5:15pmCHICAGO – In a very unstable world, and in a sense that these problems are international, we all can be stuck in war at any time – there is no way to get away from it. “No Escape” takes this notion to the extreme, with an American family – led by Owen Wilson – caught in a war zone.
Probable Events is the Situation in Tense ‘No Escape’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 26, 2015 - 5:11pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In a very unstable world, and in a sense that these problems are international, we all can be stuck in war at any time – there is no way to get away from it. “No Escape” takes this notion to the extreme, with an American family – led by Owen Wilson – caught in a war zone.
Film News: 48 Hour Film Project Chicago Screenings, Awards on Aug. 27, 2015
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 26, 2015 - 3:33pmCHICAGO – Imagine having only a two-day period to shoot, edit and score a short film. That’s the challenge behind the 48 Hour Film Project. This year’s Chicago edition of this competition concludes on Aug. 27, 2015 at the Logan Theatre when it will screen the best of the competition and present awards.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 15 Pairs of Weekend Festival Passes to 2015 CineFest Backlot Block Party
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 26, 2015 - 2:41pmCHICAGO – In this special HollywoodChicago.com Hookup, we’ve partnered with the first-annual CineFest Backlot Block Party from Cinespace Chicago Film Studios! The music and food festival features more than 30 bands (including Bret Michaels, Blue Oyster Cult and Quiet Riot) as well as Chicago’s most popular sweet and savory food trucks!
Interview: Actor Sam Elliott, Director Paul Weitz Visit ‘Grandma’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 26, 2015 - 12:38pmCHICAGO – Actor Sam Eliott will make you smile. The distinctive voice, his famous mustache and his character presence in a film or TV show increases any potential in the production. He recently was in Chicago with director Paul Weitz, as they teamed up in the film “Grandma,” starring the incomparable Lily Tomlin.
Film Review: ‘Mistress America’ Ultimately Wears Out Her Welcome
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 21, 2015 - 6:06pmCHICAGO – “Mistress America” is a movie that works best in small doses. The film is chock-full of special moments, lines, and fragments of scenes, but it never really comes together as a cohesive film. I could see it easily taking on a second life once it hits streaming and YouTube.
‘Mistress America’ Ultimately Wears Out Her Welcome
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 21, 2015 - 6:02pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Mistress America is a movie that works best in small doses. The film is chock full of special moments, lines, and fragments of scenes, but it never really comes together as a cohesive film. I could see it easily taking on a second life once it hits streaming and YouTube.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 40 Pairs of Passes to ‘No Escape’ With Owen Wilson, Pierce Brosnan
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 20, 2015 - 11:52pmCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new action/thriller “No Escape” starring Owen Wilson and Pierce Brosnan!
Exclusive Portraits: Zac Efron, Emily Ratajkowski on the ‘We Are Your Friends’ Red Carpet
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 20, 2015 - 6:50pmCHICAGO – Credited for the birthplace of house music, Chicago on Aug. 19, 2015 was one of the first cities to premiere the new film “We Are Your Friends” about a rising DJ (Zac Efron) seeking to find his sound. HollywoodChicago.com covered the red-carpet premiere and presents these exclusive portraits of stars Zac Efron and Emily Ratajkowski.
Red-Carpet Video Interviews: Zac Efron, Emily Ratajkowski for ‘We Are Your Friends’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 20, 2015 - 6:29pmCHICAGO – HollywoodChicago.com presents our red-carpet video coverage of the “We Are Your Friends” premiere in Chicago on Aug. 19, 2015. We interview stars Zac Efron and Emily Ratajkowski along with writer and director Max Joseph (“Catfish: The TV Show”).
Interview: Actor Jake Johnson on Evolving in ‘Digging for Fire’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 20, 2015 - 6:15pmCHICAGO – Actor Jake Johnson is expanding his presence in movies, and much of that has to do with his collaboration with director – and Chicago native – Joe Swanberg. Johnson and Swanberg have teamed up for their second film, after the success of 2013’s “Drinking Buddies, and are listed as co-writers in “Digging for Fire.”
Preview: 2015 Wizard World Comic Con Chicago Runs August 20 to 23
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 19, 2015 - 8:24pmCHICAGO – One of Chicago’s most popular pop culture gatherings is the Wizard World Comic Con, and the 2015 edition is building anticipation for the weekend of Thursday, August 20th through Sunday the 23rd. Besides the fan costumes, vendor booths and comic book legends, Wizard World has appearances from TV and movie celebrities, highlighted by Burt Reynolds (“Deliverance,” “Smokey and the Bandit”) and Jeremy Renner (The Avengers film series).
Interview: Greta Gerwig, Lola Kirke Discover ‘Mistress America’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 17, 2015 - 8:19amCHICAGO – Greta Gerwig’s persona as a character actress has blossomed in the last three years, as she has taken on three women in their twenties at the crossroads of life, in that life decade of consequence. In addition to her title roles in “Lola Versus” and “Francis Ha,” her latest is “Mistress America,” which she also co-wrote.
Video Game Review: ‘Q.U.B.E. Director’s Cut’ Puzzles & Pleases
Submitted by Crush on August 15, 2015 - 5:24pmCHICAGO – “Q.U.B.E.” Director’s Cut is the definitive extension of 2011’s “Q.U.B.E.” (Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion), and it is an utterly compelling game with an elegant mix of gameplay, storytelling, and aesthetic. Those elements, for the most part, combine to make an extraordinarily intriguing and mind-bending puzzle adventure.
Film Review: Adolescence Boldly Drawn in ‘Diary of a Teenage Girl’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 14, 2015 - 3:48pmCHICAGO – Real boldness, real truth, is hard to fine in teenage stories. The confusing and hormonal time is often trivialized, or used as a prop for unlikely situations. “Diary of a Teenage Girl” pulls no such punches, in a tale of a 15 year old girl having her first love affair – with a 35 year old man.
Adolescence Boldly Drawn in ‘Diary of a Teenage Girl’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 14, 2015 - 3:42pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Real boldness, real truth, is hard to fine in teenage stories. The confusing and hormonal time is often trivialized, or used as a prop for unlikely situations. “Diary of a Teenage Girl” pulls no such punches, in a tale of a 15 year old girl having her first love affair – with a 35 year old man.
Film Review: N.W.A. Influences an Era in ‘Straight Outta Compton’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 13, 2015 - 7:31pmCHICAGO – Gangsta rap, like all the revolutionary and society bending genres before it, was formulated from dire frustration and a need to shake up the surroundings that encased their creators. The prime movers of gangsta was the group N.W.A., and their story is told in ‘Straight Outta Compton.’
N.W.A. Influences an Era in ‘Straight Outta Compton’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 13, 2015 - 7:28pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Gangsta rap, like all the revolutionary and society bending genres before it, was formulated from dire frustration and a need to shake up the surroundings that encased their creators. The prime movers of gangsta was the group N.W.A., and their story is told in “Straight Outta Compton.”
Film Review: ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’ Just a Big Screen Bore
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 12, 2015 - 2:08pmCHICAGO – Director Guy Ritchie’s big screen version of the 1960’s spy show “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” is a colossal waste of time for all involved. The original show was never all that good to begin with, but this film is never able to clear that admittedly low bar, or even replicate any of the TV show’s small pleasures.
‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’ Just a Big Screen Bore
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 12, 2015 - 2:04pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Director Guy Ritchie’s big screen version of the 1960’s spy show “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” is a colossal waste of time for all involved. The original show was never all that good to begin with, but this film is never able to clear that admittedly low bar, or even replicate any of the TV show’s small pleasures.
Film Review: Joel Edgerton’s Directorial Debut ‘The Gift’ Shows Psychological Thriller Promise
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 10, 2015 - 11:35pmCHICAGO – Of the various genres of films, the psychological thriller is one of my holy grails. A story that highlights the psychology of its characters and their wobbly emotional states, few modern filmmakers dare to compete with the masterminds – Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch and more recently David Fincher and Darren Aronofsky – or fail when trying to.
Joel Edgerton’s Directorial Debut ‘The Gift’ Shows Psychological Thriller Promise
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 10, 2015 - 10:45pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Of the various genres of films, the psychological thriller is one of my holy grails. A story that highlights the psychology of its characters and their wobbly emotional states, few modern filmmakers dare to compete with the masterminds – Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch and more recently David Fincher and Darren Aronofsky – or fail when trying to.
Interviews: Filmmakers Lonnie Edwards, Robert Carnilius at the 2015 Chicago Black Harvest Film Festival
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 7, 2015 - 5:36pmCHICAGO – The 21st edition of the Black Harvest Film Festival will open on August 8th, 2015, at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. Through film and video, the festival explores the stories, images, heritage and history of the black experience in the United States and around the world. Two passionate short film examples of the festival mission are found in a couple of Chicago filmmakers, Lonnie Edwards (“A Ferguson Story”) and Robert Carnilius (“How to Catch a Criminal”).
Film Review: Uninspired Musical Story Isn’t Worth Telling in the Inspired-By ‘Ricki and the Flash’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 7, 2015 - 12:41pmCHICAGO – When I screened “Inside Llewyn Davis” from the Coen Bros. before it was nominated for two Oscars and praised by critics everywhere, I beefed to myself: Who is this musician? Why does his story matter as compared to so many other real musicians who you never hear about but deserve that kind of spotlight?
Uninspired Musical Story Isn’t Worth Telling in the Inspired-By ‘Ricki and the Flash’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 7, 2015 - 12:09pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When I screened “Inside Llewyn Davis” from the Coen Bros. before it was nominated for two Oscars and praised by critics everywhere, I beefed to myself: Who is this musician? Why does his story matter as compared to so many other real musicians who you never hear about but deserve that kind of spotlight?
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 50 Pairs of Passes to ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’ With Henry Cavill
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 6, 2015 - 2:19pmCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new action/adventure/comedy “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (the adaptation of the hit 1960s TV series) starring Henry Cavill from Guy Ritchie (“Sherlock Holmes,” “Snatch”)!