CHICAGO – The late playwright August Wilson left a gift to the world in the form of his “American Century Cycle,” a series of plays each individually set in a decade of the 20th Century, focusing on the black experience. Chicago’s Goodman Theatre presents Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” now through May 19th, 2024 (click here).
Movie Review
Ben Stiller in ‘Tower Heist’ is a Waste of Time, Talent
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 4, 2011 - 7:57pm Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The frustrating madness that is the typical Hollywood movie never ceases to amaze, in the sense where large sums of cash are outlaid to pair the right movie stars together, and not one wit is expended to create an interesting or cohesive story. “Tower Heist” is the latest example of this sad trend.
‘The Double’ Copies Lazy Performances, Silly Twists
Submitted by BrianTT on November 4, 2011 - 2:11pm Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It’s ironic that a film called “The Double,” starring Richard Gere & Topher Grace, would remind one of so many superior thrillers. It is in itself a double, a carbon copy of better films that focuses on all of the wrong elements, thinking that audiences are still dumb enough that just throwing twist after twist at them will keep their head spinning enough to not realize that what they just saw not only makes no sense at all but wasn’t even remotely entertaining.
Channing Tatum Stars in Inconsistent ‘The Son of No One’
Submitted by BrianTT on November 4, 2011 - 12:52pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Director Dito Montiel and star Channing Tatum were once tagged with the label of the hot new debut artistic partnership. 2006’s great “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” introduced both men to the world and it felt like it could be the calling card for a creative team to someday rival Scorsese and De Niro.
‘A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas’ Delivers Holiday Laughs
Submitted by BrianTT on November 4, 2011 - 12:33pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas” delivers exactly what fans should expect from it and even a bit more, as the actors who play the stoner icons have gotten noticeably better at their craft and the production team behind the film has gone all out in a quest to throw as many jokes as possible at the viewer in a barrage of attempts at hilarity.
‘Like Crazy’ Exposes Sweet Sorrow of Young Love
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 3, 2011 - 7:55pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The young love affair, that first one that breaks through the heart, mind and biological objectives, is the memory that never really goes away. Sometimes it works out for a lifetime, sometimes it ends. Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones play out this oft-remembered experience in “Like Crazy.”
‘Puss in Boots’ Coasts Through Familiar Animated Antics
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 28, 2011 - 5:10pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Animated family films have made a pact with their audience. For our participation – and extra 3D glasses fee – they deliver the latest in computer generated eye candy, familiar voice talent and heroes that always win while making pop culture references. Antonio Banderas is “Puss in Boots.”
‘Anonymous’ Such Stuff as Bad Movies Are Made On
Submitted by BrianTT on October 28, 2011 - 8:27amRating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Roland Emmerich has been commonly mocked for his larger-than-life blockbusters that include “Godzilla,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” and “2012.” I would rather sit through a marathon of all three of those works back-to-back-to-back than suffer through “Anonymous” one more time. While those movies have undeniable flaws, they do so on a grand scale common with the words guilty pleasure. There’s absolutely nothing pleasurable about this self-serious and remarkably stupid drama.
‘In Time’ With Justin Timberlake Fails to Build on Clever Idea
Submitted by BrianTT on October 28, 2011 - 8:17amRating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Andrew Niccol has delivered complex, daring science fiction before, most notably in his scripts for “The Truman Show” and “Gattaca.” Sadly, “In Time” will never be mentioned in the same breath with those films. This is a one-idea film and that one idea is poorly executed. With some of the cheesiest, surface-level dialogue of the year, a complete lack of chemistry between the leads, and some of the choppiest action editing of the year, “In Time” is a near disaster.
Johnny Depp is On, Story is Off in ‘The Rum Diary’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 27, 2011 - 5:55pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Johnny Depp has a Hunter S. Thompson obsession, that is career apparent. After playing the journalist’s alter-ego Raoul Duke in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” Depp gives a turn as Hunter’s younger self in a film based on Thompson’s 1998 novel, “The Rum Diary.”
Brilliant ‘Martha Marcy May Marlene’ Offers No Easy Answers
Submitted by BrianTT on October 27, 2011 - 8:37am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – With a striking lead performance and assured direction from a debut filmmaker, “Martha Marcy May Marlene” has been one of the most acclaimed films of 2011 since its debut at Sundance many months ago. It’s finally now being released around the country, including tomorrow in Chicago, and it’s a work that demands your attention, a film that lingers in the memory as much as any this year.
