Jude Law

CHICAGO – Two films tied for the most Oscars this week and only one is available on Blu-ray as Martin Scorsese’s beloved “Hugo,” winner of five Oscars, hit the home market with one of the best HD transfers I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen hundreds). This movie looks beautiful in HD, arguably more so than it did in 3D in theaters. I have more issues with the film than most critics but the transfer perfectly amplifies the film’s strengths, downplaying its weaknesses. The special features are light but the video is strong enough not to complain.

CHICAGO – There have been a series of catalog releases so far this year (releases that aren’t exactly new but weren’t available in HD before) and there are many exciting ones still to come (Universal has an amazing slate of releases scheduled throughout the year). 2012 is going to be the year in which you complete your collection. You may want to include one of the three recently-released Lionsgate/Miramax movies to celebrate Oscar season. These were some of the Academy’s most beloved.

CHICAGO – January 2012 is Steven Soderbergh month. The man’s newest film, “Haywire,” opens in theaters on January 20th (and we’ll have a review up shortly before it opens) while Criterion is upgrading his Oscar-winning “Traffic” to Blu-ray and re-releasing their DVD edition on the 17th of the month (you can, of course, also expect a review of that to run soon). The first wave of the Soderbergh trifecta is the Blu-ray and DVD release of “Contagion,” another expertly-made piece of filmmaking from a man who seems to know how to do nothing less.

CHICAGO – The production team of “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” – designers, crew, writers, director and actors – should be proud of the level of respect they have given and embodied in delivering an updated Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty and the like. They take liberties, of course, but they also make sure that the truth of the characters are always intact.

CHICAGO – In our latest blockbuster edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 admit-two movie passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated sequel “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law!

CHICAGO – Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” is a deeply personal piece, a magical tale about imagination and the importance of film preservation presented with some of the most technical expertise in years.

CHICAGO – In our latest movie and book companion edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 admit-two movie passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of “Hugo” from legendary director Martin Scorsese!

CHICAGO – A new trailer for the upcoming film “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” has hit the internet today. The new film, which will once again star Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson, appears to follow the same formula of the first film; combining action and mystery with humor and wit.

CHICAGO – A few weeks ago saw the release of the R-rated “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” a gore-free creature feature that was given the MPAA stamp of 17-plus due to “pervasive scariness.” This week sees the PG-13-rated “Contagion,” a film SO much more pervasively scary than the movie about goblins in a distant mansion because, well, it’s about the fact that the world is pervasively scary.

CHICAGO – In our latest special edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two advance-screening movie passes plus three grand prize packs up for grabs to the highly anticipated new film “Contagion” with Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Jude Law!