HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News

CHICAGO – When creating a film about the origins of the vibrator, it’s best not to take yourself too seriously. The brassy, bubbly director Tanya Wexler helped convert a two page premise into a sly romantic comedy. The cast of Maggie Gyllehaal, Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce, and Felicity Jones take the journey with her.

CHICAGO – AMC’s watchable western series “Hell on Wheels” is just good enough to sustain audience interest despite its meandering plot. As soon as Gustavo Santaolalla’s catchy theme music kicks in over the brooding title sequence, it’s effortless to become absorbed within Joe and Tony Gayton’s handsomely photographed dramatization of the first transcontinental railroad’s epic construction in 1865.

CHICAGO – Exclusive! In this special HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Festival with our unique social giveaway technology, we bring you 50 admit-two festival passes plus free collectible appraisals for the Randolph Street Market Festival!

CHICAGO – Hulu, in addition to being a most enjoyable word to say while jumping out of a plane (Huluuuuuu!) is also one of the most popular websites on the internet for streaming video from television’s biggest channels. Featuring content from FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS and a litany of other networks, Hulu.com has essentially replaced the re-run in eyes of the American lexicon.

CHICAGO – “The Devil Inside” is the kind of film where a character says no two exorcisms are the same and that you never know what’s gonna happen and yet this movie feels EXACTLY the same as so much direct-to-DVD junk and you totally know what’s going to happen at every turn. In fact, the only way to avoid yet another predictable ending for this snooze of a film was for the producers not to provide one. Consider it a spoiler if you haven’t heard the rage already but the non-ending of “The Devil Inside” has been called one of the worst of all time and I can’t disagree. This movie is total dreck and that’s coming from somone who loves an over-the-top possession film more than your average critic.

CHICAGO – Fans have been asking me for months when Walter White and Jesse Pinkman would return for the fifth and final season of AMC’s amazing “Breaking Bad” and we can now reveal that the date to mark on your calendar is Sunday, July 15, 2012. Eight episodes of the fifth season will air in 2012 with the final eight not airing until 2013. Yes, one could say this is cheating and that we’re just getting a shortened season five and a shortened season six. However you want to slice it, eight this summer, eight next summer.

CHICAGO – Ken Burns is one of the most important, influential, and talented filmmakers alive. His long-form documentaries for PBS — “Baseball,” “The Civil War,” and “Jazz” — are all must-sees (and he’s working on pieces on “The Dust Bowl” and “Vietnam”). One of his most accomplished works, “The War,” has been released on Blu-ray just in time for Father’s Day and would make a perfect gift for anyone interested in World War II.

CHICAGO – The delicate sensibility in the documentary “First Position” would probably had not existed if first-time filmmaker Beth Kargman had not wanted to see the movie herself. As a former ballet dancer, she wanted to go behind the performance for portraits of young dancers as dedicated artists.

CHICAGO – I had some notable problems with ABC’s “The River,” saying in my review of the series premiere, “…while the show has effective moments of horror, they never quite build the way you want them to in a cohesive piece due to the creators feeling the need to get at least one major scare between every break.” Watching where the show went with the first season DVD, hitting stores this week, I stand by my criticisms (I have problems with every episode) but I kind of wish that the creators had been given time to iron out their kinks. The fact is that there simply isn’t enough programming on network TV that one could call daring and while I think “The River” was flawed it was undeniably unlike anything else in your DVR.

CHICAGO – Disney has cleverly timed this week’s release of Studio Ghibli’s “The Secret World of Arrietty” with the Blu-ray debut two other Ghibli films from one of the most influential studios in the history of film — “Whisper of the Heart” and “Castle in the Sky.”

CHICAGO – In general, one of the essential rites of passage for girls in childhood are ballet lessons and costumed recitals. What about those exceptional talents who stick with the art? Director Bess Kargman creates a documentary about the elite youth within the beauty and truth of the dance, “First Position.”

CHICAGO – “Marvel’s The Avengers” continued to completely dominate at the box office this weekend, grossing another $55.1 million domestically for a total of $457.1 million, good enough for 6th place all time after only 17 days in release. The massive hit has already grossed $1.2 BILLION worldwide, ranking 4th place all time.

CHICAGO – Society constantly needs a reminder about itself, especially in the arena of political and religious conflict. “Where Do We Go Now?,” written and directed with creative delicacy by Nadine Labaki, provides that reminder and fashions an adult fable of how women can do their part to stop war.