Cameron Crowe

CHICAGO – Cameron Crowe’s “We Bought a Zoo” should have made more money. Sure, it’s a cheesy slice of family entertainment but when the cheese is this well-crafted, performed, and delivered, one can’t complain too much about it. “We Bought a Zoo” is too long, not subtle enough, and pretty manipulative, but it the manipulation works. Matt Damon is stellar (as he always seems to be lately) and Crowe tells this old-fashioned tale with enough skill to make it entertaining. “We Bought a Zoo” is one of those rare cross-demographic films — from children to grandparents — that doesn’t insult the intelligence of any of them.

CHICAGO – Cameron Crowe’s “We Bought a Zoo” is an undeniably manipulative crowd-pleaser but there’s something about being manipulated in such an expert manner that makes the tugging on the heartstrings easier to take.

CHICAGO – In our latest family dramedy edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 admit-two movie passes up for grabs to the new film “We Bought a Zoo” starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson from the director of “Jerry Maguire”!

CHICAGO – Some of the best documentaries ever made happen to be about music and the creative expression behind it. Whether it be an acknowledged masterpiece like Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Waltz” or Jonathan Demme’s “Stop Making Sense” or the more-recent and smaller films like “Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man” or “Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten.” One of the best ever made recently played at the Siskel Film Center and was on PBS about ten days ago before a DVD release last week — Cameron Crowe’s “Pearl Jam Twenty.” See it.

CHICAGO – Very few music documentaries in the history of the form have more successfully conveyed the inner workings and outer artistic expression of a band than Cameron Crowe’s brilliant “Pearl Jam Twenty,” a joyful, inspirational examination of the importance of creative integrity and great rock ‘n’ roll.

CHICAGO – As the Oscars are almost upon us, several studios have been releasing Academy Award juggernauts of the past like “Raging Bull,” “Dances With Wolves,” and “The Color Purple.” Consider the re-release of “Almost Famous,” in its “Untitled” form exclusively at Best Buy, an ugly duckling cousin of these releases. Yes, it won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (well-deserved) but it missed out on nods it should have received in multiple other categories. Yes, I’m still angry. “Almost Famous” is one of the best films of the ’00s and has held up beautifully since its release just over a decade ago.

CHICAGO – Sometimes fans have the choice between holding on to the standard DVD version of their favorite films or upgrading to the latest format, anniversary, or ultimate collector’s unrated fantastic edition. With many Blu-Ray releases merely improving the technical specs but often leaving the special features alone, it can be a tough call. Such is not the case with the 20th anniversary edition of the great “Say Anything…,” a release packed with excellent bonus material that make it a must-own for fans of Cameron Crowe’s directorial debut.