Brett Ratner

CHICAGO – Brett Ratner’s “Tower Heist” features a LOT of actors who have proven talents but haven’t made the best career decisions of late. The number of disappointing films that star Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, and Tea Leoni could fill a film festival in Hell. And Ratner has committed his own crimes against celluloid. So, I was dreading “Tower Heist.” There’s nothing to dread here.

CHICAGO – In our latest comedy caper edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Blu-ray, we have 5 Blu-rays up for grabs for the home entertainment release of “Tower Heist” starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy!

CHICAGO – A day after Eddie Murphy dropped out as the host of the next Academy Awards Ceremony, Billy Crystal announced on his twitter that he would take over the hosting duties. Crystal will host the Oscars for the ninth time on February 26, 2012.

CHICAGO – A day after producer/director Brett Ratner was ousted from being the 2012 Academy Award show producer, 2012 host Eddie Murphy has decided he will no longer host the upcoming Oscar ceremony. The announcement came Wednesday afternoon as Murphy – who worked with Ratner on the recent feature release “Tower Heist” – decided he didn’t want to stay on as host without his friend and creative partner working with him.

CHICAGO – In a remarkable idea for a film, director Morgan Spurlock (”Supersize Me”) funds his new documentary, “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold,” by selling sponsorships for financing. However, the process is redundantly explored, and no new ground is broken.

CHICAGO – Morgan Spurlock walked into the interview room with his special suit. The black business suit is festooned with product logos, representing the companies that financed his latest documentary, “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.”

CHICAGO – The main problem with reviewing television is that we’re often sent only the premiere and asked to judge a show overall. And yet we’d all agree that programs regularly improve or slide in quality after week one.

CHICAGO – The more Bollywood pictures I see, the more I understand the odd appeal of a film like Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge,” which remains near the top of my Greatest Guilty Pleasures list. Why guilty? Because even I can understand why many people hate it. The picture is loud, chaotic, stupendously over the top, and staggeringly drunk on the sheer movieness of movies. That may be why I love it.

CHICAGO – One of the most provocative and unusual films this year, or any year, is an amazing production from India entitled “Kites.” American director Brett Ratner (”Rush Hour”) was so taken by this film, that he agreed to edit the original (or remix) for the U.S. presentation.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – With ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ opening this Friday, fans can catch up on where Hugh Jackman’s legendary character earned a following big enough to warrant a summer tentpole release date in the Blu-Ray release of the “X-Men Trilogy” including the two films by Bryan Singer (“X-Men” and “X2: X-Men United”) and the three-quel by Brett Ratner (“X-Men: The Last Stand”).