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CHICAGO – Africa has routinely played a major role in the work of Claire Denis, a French writer/director deservedly hailed as one of the greatest living filmmakers. Her upbringing in colonial Africa certainly proved to be an influence on her 1988 directorial debut, “Chocolat,” as well as 1999’s equally evocative “Beau travail.” Both films centered on protagonists re-connecting with their deep-seated memories of life on the continent.

CHICAGO – Pixar continued their line of excellent Blu-ray releases a couple of weeks ago by adding “The Incredibles” to their line. As new Pixar flicks have come out or hit Blu-ray, the company has usually reached into the vault to offer one of their past hits as a companion. With only one Pixar film left to be released in HD (“Finding Nemo”), your collection is nearly complete.

CHICAGO – We weren’t kind enough to “Rabbit Hole.” Sometimes it takes years to realize when a film has fallen under the critical radar. Sometimes it’s only a few months. With the press assault for films like “Black Swan,” “True Grit,” and “The King’s Speech,” one of the absolute best films of 2010 fell under the radar.

CHICAGO – Brian Tallerico guests on Bill Moller’s show on WGN-Radio in Chicago on Apr. 23, 2011 to preview and review new shows for the next week including BBC America’s “Doctor Who,” HBO’s “Cinema Verite” & “Treme,” NBC’s “The Voice,” Comedy Central’s “South Park,” and more.

CHICAGO – Being the daughter of comedian Danny Thomas, Marlo Thomas certainly was appropriate in naming her latest book, “Growing Up Laughing: My Story and the Story of Funny.” She and her husband Phil Donahue recently were in Chicago to promote the memoir.

CHICAGO – In our latest special edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 30 admit-two advance-screening movie passes plus one VIP grand prize pack up for grabs to the new film “Thor” with Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman!

CHICAGO – The popular image of the newspaper reporter screaming into the phone with a hot scoop most likely began with the popular and oft-produced stageplay, “The Front Page.” Timeline Theatre of Chicago presents an essential restaging of the classic with superior attention to period detail.

CHICAGO – Film streaming is clearly the future of movie watching as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and many more have redefined the way people choose their entertainment. An intriguing new choice, IndiePix Unlimited, launched last week and we’ve been given a sneak peek of what it has to offer for at home or on-the-go for only $7.95 a month. Film festival fans should definitely take note.

CHICAGO – Few filmmakers have proven to be as effortlessly prolific as Chicago-based writer/director/producer/actor Joe Swanberg. Since 2005, he’s released one directorial feature per year, with the exception of 2010.

CHICAGO – In our latest direct-from-Broadway edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 15 admit-one passes up for grabs to the Chicago and Chicagoland screenings of the theatrical “Memphis” in HD!