Derek Luke
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ Just Misses Target
Submitted by BrianTT on November 1, 2011 - 1:42pm.CHICAGO – Even the name makes it sound like a prequel. There are definitely elements of Joe Johnston’s “Captain America: The First Avenger” that work and the film is certainly worth a rental and certainly better than “Green Lantern” (although nowhere near the entertainment value of “X-Men: First Class”) but I can’t shake the feeling that this blockbuster won’t stand the test of time on its own. It’s an introduction to next year’s “The Avengers,” a way to get the character into the modern Marvel vernacular, that gets less interesting as it goes along. It is very likely that both Joss Whedon’s film and the inevitable sequel to this one will be superior pieces of entertainment but this “First” chapter is a bit of a disappointment.
DVD Review: First Season of NBC Medical Dramas ‘Mercy,’ ‘Trauma’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 16, 2010 - 9:37am.CHICAGO – It must have been rough to be on the NBC drama team in the fall of 2010. The network brass made it crystal clear that they cared little about scripted drama when they handed over five nights a week to Jay Leno, but the producers of the network’s two new medical dramas “Mercy” and “Trauma” had to push forward with their programs despite the diminishing reputation of their home. Both series made it through the first year but neither graduated to a second season. See what you probably missed with “Mercy: The Complete Series” and “Trauma: Season 1.”
TV Review: NBC’s ‘Trauma’ on Ratings Life Support
Submitted by BrianTT on March 15, 2010 - 9:59am.CHICAGO – The head-on collision with “The Jay Leno Show” has decimated nearly everything on NBC and it’s going to be a long, uphill climb for it to return to ratings respectability. Even relatively acclaimed new shows like “Parenthood” are struggling as viewers left the peacock net and seem unwilling to return. The already ratings-challenged “Trauma” returns tonight, March 15th, 2010, in an effort to stop the bleeding.
TV Review: NBC Delivers Medical Action With Excellent ‘Trauma’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 28, 2009 - 2:07pm.CHICAGO – The wave of new fall shows is coming to an end this week with so many shows having debuted to date that we’ve already had our first cancellation of the season (The CW’s horrible “The Beautiful Life). But NBC has saved one of the best for last in “Trauma,” an expertly produced and acted series that stands as the most promising of the three new medical series this season and arguably the show with the most long-term potential, period.
Blu-Ray, DVD Round Up, July 3, 2009: ‘Madea Goes to Jail,’ ‘Spaceballs’
Submitted by BrianTT on July 3, 2009 - 6:00am.CHICAGO – The Round-Up is back to provide our loyal readers with synopsis and feature details on a few titles that may have slipped on to DVD or Blu-Ray under your radar but might make the right purchase choice this holiday weekend.
Blu-Ray Review: Legendary Rap Icon Given Standard Biopic Treatment in ‘Notorious’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 29, 2009 - 8:43pm.![]() Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Biggie Smalls deserves better than ‘Notorious’. It’s not that there’s anything drastically wrong with this reasonably well-made and very well-performed biopic but it’s a by-the-numbers, predictable film about an icon who was simply one of the best that ever lived. The ‘Big Poppa’ who could ‘Hypnotize’ with his rhymes should have more than an average biopic.
Blu-Ray Review: Spike Lee’s ‘Miracle at St. Anna’ Disappoints in Every Way
Submitted by BrianTT on February 11, 2009 - 2:23pm.![]() Blu-Ray Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There is a great film to be made about the African-American experience during World War II. Spike Lee’s “Miracle at St. Anna” is not that film and the below average Blu-Ray of it should make this once highly-anticipated epic one of the more easily forgettable releases of the month.
Blu-Ray Round Up, Jan. 28, 2009: ‘Hulk Vs.,’ ‘Antwone Fisher,’ ‘Repo,’ ‘Stargate’
Submitted by BrianTT on January 28, 2009 - 2:32pm.CHICAGO – We’re back with our recurring feature, the Blu-Ray Round Up, a collection of HD releases that might have slipped through the cracks but that could grab your attention. With dozens of catalog titles and straight-to-video releases hitting the next-gen format every week, it’s easy to miss a movie that you’d love to add to your collection. The Blu-Ray Round Up is here for you.
Slideshow: 11-Image Gallery For ‘Notorious’ With Jamal Woolard, Derek Luke
Submitted by BrianTT on January 8, 2009 - 10:41am.CHICAGO – This 11-image slideshow contains official press images for Fox Searchlight’s “Notorious,” which stars Jamal Woolard, Derek Luke, Anthony Mackie, Antonique Smith, Naturi Naughton, and Angela Bassett, from writers Reggie Rock Bythewood and Cheo Hodari Coker and director George Tillman Jr.. The film opens on Jan. 16, 2009.
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