CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Gemma Arterton
On-Air Film Review: Swashbuckling Rafe! ‘The King’s Man’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 26, 2021 - 1:00pmCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 23rd, 2021, reviewing the third film in the KINGSMEN series, an origin prequel entitled “The King’s Men,” currently in theaters.
Film Review: ‘Their Finest’ is British Filmmaking at Its Finest
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 14, 2017 - 4:13pmCHICAGO – In a combined BBC Films, Welsh Government and Pinewood (London) Pictures production, the British-based “Their Finest” pairs England’s history with authentic and passionate romance, to create a sly and funny riff on propaganda films and the British movie industry during the early days of World War II.
What to Watch: Oct. 27-Nov. 2, 2013
Submitted by BrianTT on October 29, 2013 - 3:28pm- Beauty of the Devil
- Blu-ray Review
- Brian Tallerico
- Byzantium
- Christopher Guest
- DVD Review
- Family Tree
- Gemma Arterton
- HBO
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Hulu
- iTunes
- Jeff Bridges
- Melissa McCarthy
- Neil Jordan
- Netflix
- Owen Wilson
- R.I.P.D.
- Ryan Reynolds
- Sandra Bullock
- Saoirse Ronan
- The Heat
- The Internship
- Vince Vaughn
- VOD
- What to Watch
- Theater, TV, DVD & Blu-Ray
CHICAGO – There are a few major comedies on New Releases shelves this week along with some interesting, smaller films and one of the most anticipated TV shows of 2013. What options are new in the world of Blu-ray, DVD, streaming and digital TV providers? Some of the most interesting and most unbearable comeedies of the year hit your home viewing radar. Here’s how to rank them from ha-ha to hateful.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 40 Pairs of Passes to ‘Runner Runner’ with Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 27, 2013 - 5:29pmCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 40 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated thriller “Runner Runner” starring Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck!
Film Review: Neil Jordan’s ‘Byzantium’ Feels Drained of Passion
Submitted by BrianTT on June 27, 2013 - 5:27pmCHICAGO – I’ve rarely said this about Neil Jordan movie – in fact, maybe never – but I was bored during his latest, the vampire drama “Byzantium,” a movie with an intriguing cast and interesting story but little in the way of passion, emotion, dread, or the other intangibles needed to make a horror film like this effective.
Blu-ray Review: Turgid ‘Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters’ Piles on the Gore
Submitted by mattmovieman on June 21, 2013 - 9:22amCHICAGO – Witches were always my monster of choice as a child. Their façade of maternal warmth that routinely gave way to fiendish malice was both scary and oddly funny. Actresses love playing this archetype because it allows them to break all the rules followed by photogenic starlets. The fun had by everyone in a witch’s cape—from Margaret Hamilton to Angelica Huston—is timelessly infectious.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 40 Pairs of IMAX Passes to ‘Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on January 17, 2013 - 1:12amCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 40 pairs of IMAX movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the new action/fantasy “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” starring Jeremy Renner!
DVD Review: ‘Tamara Drewe’ Charms, Exasperates in Equal Measure
Submitted by mattmovieman on February 23, 2011 - 12:42pmCHICAGO – A simple glance at the trailer and poster for “Tamara Drewe” would lead one to assume that the film was a showcase for the largely untapped abilities of Gemma Arterton. At age 25, she’s already been wasted in three regrettable Hollywood blockbusters, emerging as little more than a low-rent Rachel Weisz. Her strong work in British productions like “The Disappearance of Alice Creed” suggests that she may merely be miscast.
DVD Review: ‘The Disappearance of Alice Creed’ Holds Interest Despite Flaws
Submitted by mattmovieman on November 30, 2010 - 10:29amCHICAGO – There is no doubt that Gemma Arterton is a pretty face. Her natural beauty is so intoxicating that it nearly always upstages whatever talent may reside beneath her scintillating surface. Her aggressively bland work in mediocre action fare like “Clash of the Titans” and “Prince of Persia” had convinced me that she was nothing more than a non-thinking man’s Rachel Weisz.
Film Review: Gemma Arterton Displays Luminosity as ‘Tamara Drewe’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 22, 2010 - 9:49pmCHICAGO – There are some movies that are gut level great because of plot, atmosphere and pacing, and then there are movies like “Tamara Drewe,” which rely on the elusive star power of the performer to drive its engine. Gemma Arterton portrays the title character and lights up the screen with a vivid presence in this simple story of a woman’s homecoming.