Josh Lucas

CHICAGO – If NBC’s “The Firm” was viewed as a court case, the jury would probably be deadlocked. The problem is that most modern TV viewers don’t try a case again. If they consider a premiere a creative mistrial — something with elements that work but not completely engaging enough to make it an instant addition to the Season Pass Manager — they usually don’t come back.

CHICAGO – Michael Goldbach’s little-seen quirk-fest is a feature filmmaking debut like many others. It feels less like a final draft than an overcrowded sketchpad. There seems to be no end to the amount of intriguing ideas that Goldbach wishes to tackle, but he has little idea of how to string them together. His various stylistic conceits distract from the narrative rather than enhance it, resulting in an ungainly picture.

CHICAGO – Proving yet again that he can deliver when he avoids horrendous romantic comedy cliches, Matthew McConaughey does his best work in years in “The Lincoln Lawyer,” but the film doesn’t quite come together like one wishes that it would due to the common traps that befall big screen adaptations of best-selling thrillers.

CHICAGO – Michael Connelly is one of the most successful thriller writers alive, winning nearly every major award possible for his genre.

CHICAGO – In our latest drama edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 35 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the new film “The Lincoln Lawyer”!

CHICAGO – I recently made a reference to Katherine Heigl being the symbol of the modern decline of the romantic comedy and was reminded that she’s done good work on “Grey’s Anatomy” and was actually quite good in “Knocked Up.” Then why has she made such horrible films since then? Why have we had to suffer through “27 Dresses,” “The Ugly Truth,” “Killers,” and, now, “Life As We Know It,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD and a film that doesn’t break her downward slide even if it does slow it a bit.

CHICAGO – Since her breakthrough “comic” role in “Knocked Up,” Katherine Heigl has a line-up of titles that almost reads like parody – “27 Dresses,” “The Ugly Truth,” “Killers” – but there had to be some audience or they really wouldn’t exist. She makes just enough box office to keep working, which explains the latest and maybe worst of the bunch, “Life As We Know It”

CHICAGO – The romantic comedy gets another variation with the new release, “Life As We Know It,” with Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel playing opposites who need to attract when thrust into a childcare situation that they didn’t anticipate. The film is directed by Greg Berlanti, who is also the screenwriter to the upcoming “Green Lantern” movie.

CHICAGO – In our latest romantic comedy edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the new film “Life as We Know It” with Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel!

CHICAGO – On paper, “Stolen” probably looked like the kind of competent thriller that could get once-rising star Josh Lucas back into the spotlight and prove to producers that “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm could carry a motion picture. Sadly, lackluster direction of what is essentially no more interesting than an extended episode of “Cold Case” squanders the talent of both men, a pair of actors who deserve better showcases.