Ben Foster

CHICAGO – “Contraband” has some action movie elements that work but too much of it is overly familiar, especially the parts played by leads Mark Wahlberg and supporting actors J.K. Simmons, Ben Foster & Giovanni Ribisi, strong actors who resort to their basic tricks here and just don’t deliver. I like all four guys but this is lazy work in a relatively lazy film overall. All in all, “Contraband” is a mediocre movie that moves quickly enough to barely fit the bill on a rainy Saturday night but isn’t the best work by anyone involved.

CHICAGO – In our latest action/crime edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Blu-ray, we have 5 Blu-rays up for grabs for the highly anticipated home entertainment release of “Contraband” starring Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale!

CHICAGO – One way to craft an unforgettable, undeniably adept film is to make a new one. Hollywood views that as financially risky, though, and it often doesn’t happen without being based on a book with a built-in audience or a film that’s already an international box-office success.

CHICAGO – In our latest action/crime edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two movie passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated new film “Contraband” starring Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale!

CHICAGO – We have seen dozens of movies about hit men caught in dangerous situations. There is something that fascinates us about men who take the assignment to kill someone and just pack up and wait for the next job. Inevitably, the movies tell us that these men will pay the price, whether it be a job gone horribly wrong or an attempt to leave a profession that doesn’t come with a pension plan. The latest entry in the subgenre is the Jason Statham vehicle “The Mechanic,” a film that works reasonably well as a rental but falls a bit flat with a disappointing final act.

CHICAGO – It wouldn’t be a Jason Statham film if in it he was just fixing cars. In “The Mechanic,” his profession is fixing people. And by fixing, like “The Transporter” he’s again cracking skulls.

CHICAGO – Just before the Oscar nominations for 2009 were to be announced, a few pundits went out on a limb and predicted that not only would Oren Moverman’s “The Messenger” be nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Woody Harrelson) and Best Original Screenplay but that it would also find its way into several more categories, including even Best Picture.

CHICAGO – Christian Alvart’s “Pandorum” is the kind of efficient time-waster that sucks you in, spits you out, and leaves you two hours older. There’s nothing that can be said in its favor, apart from the fact that its not offensively awful (like the producers’ “Resident Evil” franchise). But it is thoroughly mediocre, and for some viewers, mediocrity is offensive enough.

CHICAGO – Ben Foster has stolen scenes in works as diverse as “Six Feet Under,” “Freaks and Geeks,” “3:10 to Yuma,” and “Alpha Dog,” but he truly shines in the spotlight of the lead role in “The Messenger,” giving the best performance of his career to date.

CHICAGO – We’ve been working our way through the schedule for the upcoming 45th Annual Chicago International Film Festival, kicking off tonight with the premiere of “Motherhood,” starring Uma Thurman, Anthony Edwards, and Minnie Driver.