Antonio Banderas

CHICAGO – Audiences really didn’t take to “Haywire” like critics as the film bombed at the box office, grossing only $19 million domestically and just over $30 million worldwide. It’s the kind of flick that I think polarized its two potential audiences. Action movie fans didn’t think it had enough action. Steven Soderbergh fans thought it had too much. Personally, I think everything Soderbergh does is interesting and this is no exception. Which makes the lackluster HD release disappointing.

CHICAGO – Almost as if he set out to defy critics who had started to think that the masterful Pedro Almodovar had lost a little bit of that psycho-sexual edge that made the first half of his career so unpredictable, the Oscar winner delivered “The Skin I Live In,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, and we all breathed a sigh of relief — Pedro hasn’t lost a damn thing. Highly underrated at the end of 2011, this was one of the best foreign films of 2011, featuring one of Antonio Banderas’ most spectacular performances in a film that goes from mystery to horror to something only Pedro could produce.

CHICAGO – The last two “Shrek” movies — “Shrek the Third” and “Shrek Forever After” — were such worthless affairs that I was somewhat dreading their spin-off adventure, “Puss in Boots.” It didn’t help that I never found Antonio Banderas’ wide-eyed kittie with a sword nearly as charming as the rest of the world apparently did. So it was much to my surprise that I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed “Puss in Boots,” a clever, fun romp for all ages.

CHICAGO – Steven Soderbergh is one of the few directors who can do whatever the hell he wants. Whatever genre, whomever he casts, whichever story he chooses to tell – he pulls it off.

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.”

CHICAGO – A media and admirer frenzy took place last week at the Kerasotes ICON theater in Chicago, where Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek walked the red carpet at the sneak preview for the upcoming film “Puss in Boots.” Both lent their voices to characters that are a spin-off from the “Shrek” series of animated films.

CHICAGO – Before you spend your hard-earned cash taking the entire family to see “Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World,” you might as well catch up with the original “trilogy,” the very-popular series of films that most of us assumed were the end of this mediocre franchise. Don’t get me wrong — the first “Spy Kids” is actually a very fun movie and totally worth owning for Blu-ray buyers with kids of the right age but the two sequels are mediocre and annoying, respectively. Still, kids like to have complete collections and all of the films are hitting Blu-ray this week extras-packed HD editions with digital copies. Now you can take these precocious mini-Bonds anywhere.

CHICAGO – “My relationship with death remains the same. I’m strongly against it,” mused Woody Allen at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, during the press conference for his latest London-set comedy. The quote was quintessential Allen, though it had a particular poignance in light of his disappointing yet diverting offering, “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.”

CHICAGO – Timed to coincide with Fox’s release of “Machete,” Sony has released three of director Robert Rodriguez’s earlier action extravaganzas on two releases — a double feature of “El Mariachi” and “Desperado” to sit next to your new copy of “Once Upon a Time in Mexico.” Both releases feature more special features and arguably better HD transfers than Rodriguez’s 2010 film and could be the better choice for your Blu-ray dollar than “Machete.”

CHICAGO – The laziest big budget film of the year, “Shrek Forever After” is the worst kind of family entertainment in that it relies solely on the goodwill engendered by the hit movies that came before to not only get audience members in seats this weekend but to sell them toys, video games, and tickets to amusement parks.