HollywoodChicago.com Content

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.

CHICAGO – Danny McBride (“Pineapple Express,” “Land of the Lost”) gave one of the best TV performances of the last several years as the over-the-top anti-hero of HBO’s hysterical “Eastbound & Down,” a sitcom about a raging a-hole sports star brought back to Earth and forced to work as a gym teacher in the small town he grew up in, now available on DVD.

CHICAGO – Was John Dillinger an Adolf Hitler-level criminal mastermind or a modern-day Robin Hood superman? In the authentic reality portrayed by the god-like Johnny Depp in the Chicago-filmed “Public Enemies,” he’s a little bit of both for blockbuster filmmaker Michael Mann.

CHICAGO – The Greek actress with the hard-to-pronounce name (kan-uh-kuh-REE-deez), was a presenter in Chicago at the Gabby Awards, honoring Greek Americans, between seasons portraying a forensics expert on her hit TV show, “CSI: NY”.

CHICAGO – The Gen Art Film Festival here had red carpet events last week for two movie premieres, “(500) Days of Summer” with star Joseph Gordon-Levitt and director Marc Webb, plus “Mercy” with star and writer Scott Caan.

CHICAGO – I have to admit to having more respect for “My Dinner With Andre” than getting actual enjoyment from the talkative film itself. I understand the praise and awards that the film won and can see how it would have sent a ripple through the art movie world in 1981 when it was released, but I’ve never been a fan of Wallace Shawn, Andre Gregory, and Louis Malle’s film that brings new meaning to the phrase “dialogue-based”.

CHICAGO – Paramount Pictures has just released the HD teaser trailer for the new M. Night Shyamalan film “The Last Airbender,” which stars Jackson Rathbone, Nicola Peltz, Cliff Curtis, Dev Patel (from the Oscar-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire”), Noah Ringer, Jessica Andres, Seychelle Gabriel, Shaun Toub, Aasif Mandvi and Keong Sim.

CHICAGO – In making a Chicago appearance at the Gabby Awards, which honored prominent Greek Americans, actress Nia Vardalos justifiably follows through on the heritage displayed in her hit “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”

CHICAGO – Like a lot of people, “Tom and Jerry” was a major part of my childhood. When I was younger, there weren’t nearly as many choices for children’s entertainment and I wonder if kids nowadays even know who Tom and Jerry are. We may not have had 500 channels, but when you have Tom, Jerry, the Looney Tunes gang, and the Muppets, you don’t need them.

CHICAGO – Happy Chicago Pride Day from HollywoodChicago.com! Attached are two videos featuring HollywoodChicago.com staff writer Patrick McDonald with overviews on four gay-themed films: “Parting Glances” (1986), “Cruising” (1980), “Desert Hearts” (1985) and “Stonewall” (1995).