Emma Roberts

CHICAGO – I’m conflicted about Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden’s “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” a good movie that I think a lot of people wanted to be great. After Fleck & Boden’s spectacular one-two punch of “Half Nelson” and “Sugar,” I think we started to expect that they would hit a home run every time. So, this one’s just a single. It’s still a creative hit despite its flaws.

CHICAGO – Though “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” is the third feature film from Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, it’s the duo’s first picture that feels like it was made by first-time filmmakers. While their previous two features, “Half Nelson” and “Sugar,’ were entrenched in documentary realism and exuded the assurance and nuance of master filmmakers, this latest effort feels oddly programmed for mainstream consumption.

CHICAGO – Two of the most interesting young directors of their generation return this week with the dramedy “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden’s follow-up to the highly-acclaimed “Half Nelson” and “Sugar.” The film stars Keir Gilchrist (“The United States of Tara”), Zach Galifianakis (“The Hangover”) and Emma Roberts (“Valentine’s Day”) and opens on Friday, October 8th, 2010.

CHICAGO – In our latest comedy/drama edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the new film “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” with Zach Galifianakis and Jim Gaffigan!

CHICAGO – Only a few short weeks ago, I sat through the two-hour shrug-fest that is Ang Lee’s “Taking Woodstock” and lamented how so many of the film’s interactions between parents and the younger generation were played for cartoonish laughs instead of striving for the haunting poignancy of the director’s 1997 family drama “The Ice Storm.” Well, upon viewing Derick Martini’s “Lymelife,” I determined that the cliché is true: Be careful what you wish for.

CHICAGO – Derick Martini’s “Lymelife,” starring Rory Culkin, Kieran Culkin, Alec Baldwin, Jill Hennessy, Emma Roberts, Timothy Hutton, and Cynthia Nixon is a dramatic slice of nostalgia for its co-writer/director.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – This serious dog lover was swayed by the family-friendly charms of “Hotel For Dogs,” now available on Blu-Ray and DVD. I’ll admit that the film has some pretty serious flaws and we’ll get to those, but if you’re a kid movie aficionado with a soft spot for man’s best friend, you could do a lot worse than the Blu-Ray of “Hotel For Dogs”. It’s a shaggy one, but a lovable movie pooch.

CHICAGO – Emma Roberts as “Nancy Drew” is nice but nobody’s fool.