Jon Cryer

CHICAGO – It’s funny that after all of the build-up, all of the headlines, and all of the hype that the ninth season of “Two and a Half Men” proved to be so lackluster.

CHICAGO – In our latest special-engagement edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 10 admit-two passes up for grabs for the theatrical release of the one-night-only stage performance of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” with the New York Philharmonic!

CHICAGO – Who saw this one coming? After weeks of playing the guessing game as to who would replace Charlie Sheen on CBS’s hit comedy “Two and a Half Men,” former TV star and current movie star Ashton Kutcher has been revealed as the “winning” man by The Hollywood Reporter. While journalists pestered John Stamos, Jeremy Piven, and even Hugh Grant, among many others, Kutcher was very quietly inking the deal that will surely be made official at next week’s CBS upfronts.

CHICAGO – Robert Rodriguez is a one-man moviemaking machine. He’s always looking for the fastest and most cost-effective ways for getting his work out to the public. His success story, memorably chronicled in the book “Rebel Without a Crew,” is genuinely inspiring, yet his films often fail to resonate as anything other than exercises in design.

CHICAGO – Neil Patrick Harris hosted a joyful edition of the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday night, September 20th, 2009, at which AMC’s “Mad Men” and NBC’s “30 Rock” were the big winners with Alec Baldwin, Jon Cryer, Kristin Chenoweth, Toni Collette, Cherry Jones, Michael Emerson, Glenn Close, and Bryan Cranston walking away with the major acting awards.

CHICAGO – Late summer and early fall always produce a wave of TV programs on DVD, as if you’ll see the latest season on a store shelf at the local Best Buy and remember that a show returns to the air soon. It’s both advertising and a way for viewers to catch up before another weekly iteration of one of their favorite shows.

CHICAGO – The Round-Up is back with a house-cleaning version of our legendary column that brings five titles together that have almost nothing in common other than the fact that they might have slipped under your radar as you were busy spring cleaning. A Bollywood musical, an indie film, a new TV show, an old one, and a foreign one. We’ve got something for everyone.

DVD Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Let’s be honest. Most ‘lost’ films are not found for a reason. It’s so funny to me that movies that were probably ignored for a good reason can suddenly become cult hits just because they’re unavailable for a few years. Having said that, there are one or two movies worth re-finding in Lionsgate’s ’80s-themed “The Lost Collection,” but there are also six to seven that should stay lost.

DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – When I hear about shows that were “brilliant-but-canceled” one of the first series that comes to mind is the great “Andy Richter Controls the Universe”. Developing a cult following through cable repeats over the years, the complete series has been one of the most requested-but-unavailable titles since the show left the air over five years ago. Andy fans, your day has finally come. Rejoice.