Common
Common Delivers Best Work to Date in Problematic ‘LUV’
Submitted by mattmovieman on January 18, 2013 - 10:04am.![]() Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Assigned the role of World’s Worst Father Figure, Common delivers a performance so compelling that it nearly makes Sheldon Candis’ blood-soaked odyssey worth the trip. Nearly, however, is the key word. For all of it merits, this picture derails into a ditch of heavy-handed implausibility at the precise moment when it should be soaring.
‘The Odd Life of Timothy Green’ Misses Emotional Connection
Submitted by BrianTT on August 15, 2012 - 10:04am.![]() Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Peter Hedges’ “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” has a warm, gooey center that’s admirable in a family movie way but what’s around it can’t hold together as the lack of focus in the narrative and the rather grating performance from the young man playing its title character causes it to annoy more than entertain.
Fate Doesn’t Fail Them Now in ‘Happy Feet Two’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 18, 2011 - 10:07am.![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Dancing animated penguins, a tradition dating back to Disney’s “Mary Poppins” and brought to further life in the first “Happy Feet” movie, finds more stepping pep in “Happy Feet Two.” Robin Williams and Elijah Wood return to lend their vocal talents in this enjoyable sequel.
Hip-Hop Gets Personal in ‘Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 15, 2011 - 11:45am.![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Fueling his passion for hip-hop, director Michael Rapaport premieres his new documentary, “Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest”. Proving that show biz never changes despite the category, this is a backstage look at the triumphs, misunderstandings, fall and rise again of the rap group “A Tribe Called Quest.”
Queen Latifah, Common, Paula Patton Are Just Short of ‘Just Wright’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 16, 2010 - 1:18pm.![]() Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Romantic comedies are a roving beast in the Movie Zone, one that can never be captured properly time after time, yet never dies either. Queen Latifah and the rapper Common put an interesting and necessary twist on the genre, but still cannot help but fall back on the recurring rom-com clichés that eventually undermines the new film “Just Wright.”
Christian Bale, Sam Worthington in McG’s Disappointing ‘Terminator: Salvation’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 21, 2009 - 10:02am.![]() Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – McG’s loud-and-annoying “Terminator: Salvation” with Christian Bale and Sam Worthington continues the summer of non-Trek disappointments, delivering nothing but a bloated exercise in CGI overload. With awful dialogue, a ridiculous plot, and mostly uninspired performances, the interesting human element has been drained from the franchise. The machines have won.
‘Wanted’ With Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy Concocts Curving Bullet in Gluttonously Entertaining Blockbuster
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 26, 2008 - 11:01pm.![]() Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – With curving, clinking and kissing bullets, “Wanted” indeed does Chicago proud. And Angelina Jolie sells it. And Morgan Freeman is ominous. And in his body of work, James McAvoy – the star of this orgasmic summer blockbuster – becomes a man.






