Eddie Marsan

CHICAGO – Thriller fans should seek out the fascinating “Red Riding Trilogy,” a series of films with largely different casts set in different time periods that attempts to pull back the facade of peace to reveal the dark face of evil underneath. The films are not perfect but they work together to create a memorable portrait of corruption that has infected an entire country and taken more than a few victims in its grip.

CHICAGO – Guy Ritchie’s wildly successful “Sherlock Holmes” looks and sounds amazing on Blu-ray but the flaws of the blockbuster film remain. Viewed purely as escapist entertainment, “Sherlock” is a reasonably tasty piece of popcorn and the technical treatment and bonus material that accompany the film are unimpeachable but there’s still something not quite right about Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law’s take on Holmes and Watson.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Much ink has been spilled about how HBO is at the forefront of made-for-TV filmmaking in the world, a fact already demonstrated this year by the brilliant biopic “Temple Grandin” and the stellar WWII mini-series, “The Pacific.” Yet Britain’s Channel 4 deserves just as much attention and praise for producing the “Red Riding” trilogy, which has been routinely compared to HBO’s classic series, “The Wire.”

CHICAGO – Instead of relying of high-tech gadgetry and big-budget Hollywood CGI, Guy Ritchie’s gritty “Sherlock Holmes” does what major films often don’t: delivers big-payoff action sequences merely utilizing the body and mind.

CHICAGO – In our latest drama edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of “Me and Orson Welles” with Claire Danes and Zac Efron from director Richard Linklater of “School of Rock”!

DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “Happy-Go-Lucky” was one my favorite films of 2008 with a pitch-perfect performance by the great Sally Hawkins, an actress who so embodied her character that not only did she deserve to be nominated for an Oscar, she should be polishing her trophy right now. New to DVD, audiences can finally catch up with “Happy-Go-Lucky,” another notch in the belt for the great Mike Leigh, one of the more consistent filmmakers of the last twenty years.

CHICAGO – Stories are released every year about the gap between the Oscars and public opinion. It’s a chasm that seems to be growing with every passing year.

CHICAGO – Who says you can’t buy happiness? Amid all the doom and gloom of today’s economy and the stress to elect a new president, we introduce you to a little-known sleeper by the name of “Happy-Go-Lucky”.