Jonathan Sadowski

CHICAGO – There’s something very wrong with Bradley Parker’s “Chernobyl Dairies,” and the problem is right there in its title. The very notion of setting a knee-jerk horror film at the site of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster is so offensive that it’s bound to halt many moviegoers from judging the picture on its own terms. It’s the cinematic equivalent of an obscenely tasteless haunted house.

CHICAGO – In our latest found-footage horror edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two movie vouchers plus 3 grand-prize packs up for grabs to the new horror film “Chernobyl Diaries” from “Paranormal Activity” creator Oren Peli!

CHICAGO – Bradley Parker’s “Chernobyl Diaries” has just enough personality, confident technical elements, and outright weirdness to make it a trip worth taking for horror fans. The fact that the parts of the production that undeniably work couldn’t be wrangled into something that’s more competent overall is disappointing but there’s more to like here than one would expect.

CHICAGO – Laugh tracks are a dying breed. Think of classic, full-throttle laugh tracks from “The Jeffersons,” “The Beverly Hillbillies” and “Full House.”

CHICAGO – When Tina Fey made the jump from “Saturday Night Live” to “30 Rock,” she was planning on taking her talented co-star and friend Rachel Dratch to the award-winning show. Before the season began, Dratch was replaced by Jane Krakowski and the rest is history.