Theater, TV, DVD & Blu-Ray

Blu-Ray Review: True Story, Good Performance Give Speed to ‘The Express’

The_Express_1.jpg
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – There’s nothing surprising about “The Express”. It’s a true story that hits all of the beats that you would expect it to for an inspirational sports movie. A big game, a bad injury, and the will to overcome extreme adversity - these are the staples of the genre.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona,’ First Woody Allen Movie on Blu-Ray

VCB
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – I love “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”. It’s a wonderful slice of whimsy and sexuality that perfectly captures something about Spain that’s impossible to put into words.

DVD Review: Social Realism of ‘El Norte’ Resonates With Criterion Release

El Norte
HollywoodChicago.com DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0
DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Gregory Bava’s “El Norte” is a riveting commentary on the impact of the American dream on the rest of the world. It’s easily one of the best films produced about the complex struggle of immigration and a great way to kick off 2009 for The Criterion Collection.

‘Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic’ Coming to Blu-Ray in March 2009

Watchmen Thumb

CHICAGO – Warner Brothers made an announcement today and released the cover art for an exciting new tie-in with the upcoming March 6th release of the highly anticipated “Watchmen”. The studio will release “Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic” on Blu-Ray on March 3rd, 2009.

HBO’s ‘Big Love’ Locks Viewers in For Season-Three Family Drama

Bill Paxton in season three of Big Love on HBO
HollywoodChicago.com Television Rating: 4.5/5.0
Television Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – How does Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) do it on HBO’s “Big Love”? He has three beautiful wives, a sea of children, parents at war with each other, politics with a polygamist prophet and big business to control. And that’s just the beginning.

Kyra Sedgwick, Ensemble Cast Continue to Bring it Home on ‘The Closer’

The Closer
HollywoodChicago.com Television Rating: 3.5/5.0
Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGOTNT’s “The Closer” has an easy-going charm that rarely gets the critical praise it deserves but has turned the show into one of the most highly rated scripted program on basic cable. “The Closer” beats most network programs and is, cable or not, one of the bigger hits on TV. The mid-season premiere, “Good Faith,” airing Monday, January 26th, 2009, makes it easy to see why.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Saw V’ Delivers Exactly What Fans Expect

Saw V
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 2.0/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – The latest entry in the neverending Saw franchise, “Saw V” hit Blu-Ray this week and, well, it’s a little difficult to review. The video and audio are better-than-average, but the features are sub-par at best and, the movie, well, it’s basically exactly what you’d expect it to be. There’s a reason they hold these movies back from critics. Reviews of the actual film barely seem to matter.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Bourne Trilogy’ Sets Bar For Blu-Ray Box Sets

Bourne
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Your Blu-Ray collection should expand by three movies next week when “The Bourne Trilogy” finally hits the format in a beautiful three-disc box with perfect picture and sound and an amazing collection of special features.

DVD, Blu-Ray Round Up, Jan. 20, 2009: ‘Henry Poole is Here,’ ‘The Pink Panther,’ ‘King Kong’

Pink Panther

CHICAGO – This week’s edition of the Round-Up - HollywoodChicago’s recurring feature of titles that might fall through the cracks if we don’t shine a spotlight on them, however briefly - includes proof that while not all remakes fail some certainly do, Chris Rock is still the most talented stand-up comedian alive, and the Brits usually do TV better than Americans.

Blu-Ray Review: Horror of ‘Mirrors’ Shatters on Closer Inspection

Mirrors

CHICAGO – “Mirrors” is a so-so horror movie helped a bit by its interesting director’s visual flourishes and a better-than-average ensemble but ultimately shattered by an incoherent screenplay and dialogue that is more likely to produce laughter than shivers.

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TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • Manhunt

    CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

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