Juliette Binoche

CHICAGO – Abbas Kiarostami’s “Certified Copy” should have made my top ten last year. Every year, there’s a movie or two that I realize halfway through the next year that I didn’t praise to the right degree. Just a year later, “Certified Copy,” recently released in resplendent Criterion Blu-ray and DVD editions, feels even more like a monumental work, a brilliant filmmaking exercise that features spectacular performances, beautiful writing, and some of the most interesting thematic work of the last several years. With great special features, this is a perfect addition to the Criterion Collection.

CHICAGO – Yesterday, we brought you some of the most engaging and memorable supporting performances of 2011. As much as I love some of the acting work in that feature, it’s nothing compared to the talent on display below.

CHICAGO – Movies don’t get much more personally influential than Krzysztof Kieslowski’s “Blue,” “White,” and “Red,” collectively known as the “Three Colors” trilogy, and recently released in one gorgeous box set from The Criterion Collection. As we all do, I was a bit concerned that perhaps my memory of these films had been enhanced with time, but I found the opposite — they’re even better with age and stand as one of the best film achievements of not just their era but of all time.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Director Dito Montiel and star Channing Tatum were once tagged with the label of the hot new debut artistic partnership. 2006’s great “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” introduced both men to the world and it felt like it could be the calling card for a creative team to someday rival Scorsese & De Niro. Tatum reunited with Montiel on the disappointing “Fighting” and their latest venture, “The Son of No One,” while an improvement on Montiel’s sophomore slump, is nonetheless another misfire.

CHICAGO – In our latest police thriller edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 admit-two movie passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of “The Son of No One” starring Channing Tatum and Al Pacino!

CHICAGO – Nothing transfixes me quite like transcendent acting and writing when viewed under a cinematic lens. My favorite films of early 2011 have been Tommy Lee Jones’s stunning adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s play, “The Sunset Limited,” and Abbas Kiarostami’s beguiling new masterwork, “Certified Copy.” Both films derive their dramatic power from the differing philosophies of two articulate characters who may or may not be what they seem.

CHICAGO – In our latest romantic drama edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of “Certified Copy” starring Juliette Binoche from legendary auteur Abbas Kiarostami!

CHICAGO – The third week of the 13th Annual EU Film Festival at the Siskel Film Center has arrived, and we’re back to give you an idea of what to expect in the second half of arguably the best fest in the Windy City. We profile several of this week’s hottest tickets, including an anticipated screening hosted by Chicago’s own Jonathan Rosenbaum.