HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News

Interview: Nat Dykeman on the Upcoming Lake County Film Festival

Lake County Film Fest Logo

CHICAGO – The Lake County Film Festival is in its 7th year, and the person behind it is Nat Dykeman. Running from March 4th through the 8th, the festival will highlight several emerging filmmakers and run associated special events.

Interview: Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown Goes ‘Back to the Future’

CHICAGO – The reunited cast of ‘Back to the Future’ included one of the key members of that 1985 classic. Christopher Lloyd, unforgettable as Doc Brown, took questions from fans in an appearance recently at the Hollywood Palms in Naperville, IL.

TV Review: Promising ‘Parenthood’ Features Spectacular Ensemble

CHICAGO – Like a lot of Hollywood depictions of family, “Parenthood” features a lot of yelling. For some reason, most writers think of raised voices when they think of the lives of parents and their children. We don’t all talk over each other during family dinners.

DVD Review: Inspired Zombie Mayhem of Gore-Filled ‘Dead Snow’

Dead Snow

CHICAGO – Just as Edgar Wright’s “Shaun of the Dead” was a wonderful homage to the work of George A. Romero, I feel like Tommy Wirkola’s highly-buzzed Nazi zombie film “Dead Snow” is an ode to the work accomplished by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell in the films of the “Evil Dead” series.

DVD Review: ‘The September Issue’ is Jam-Packed With Fashionable Footage

The September Issue DVD

CHICAGO – Though “The Devil Wears Prada” ultimately had a sobering message about resisting the vapid world of fashion, fans of the picture couldn’t care less. Who wouldn’t want to be Miranda Priestly, an editor-in-chief whose fashion taste influences the world? She spends all day getting what she wants, and can chill blood with the mere tensing of a facial muscle.

Blu-Ray Review: Entertaining ‘Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths’

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

CHICAGO – Comic book fiction has a long history of parallel world and alternate universe stories and it only seemed a matter of time before the popular DC Universe series of straight-to-DVD animated films got around to making one. After the so-so “Wonder Woman,” the less-than-good “Green Lantern,” and the slight improvement of “Superman Batman: Public Enemies,” the series has returned to what they do best - team heroics - with the entertaining “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths”.

Blu-Ray Review: Marvelous Fantasy of ‘The Neverending Story’ Deserves Better Release

The Neverending Story

CHICAGO – I think it’s funny that so many parents commented on “Where the Wild Things Are” being too dark and scary. Clearly, they didn’t grow up in the same era of ’70s and ’80s fantasy films as I did when kid’s movies could be honestly terrifying.

Interview: Executive Producer Rene Balcer on if ‘Law & Order’ Will Save the Day

Rene Balcer

CHICAGO – As the late, great Sophia Petrillo of “The Golden Girls” might have philosophized, “Picture it: September 13, 1990.” When “Law & Order” premiere, “The Internet” and “Email” were barely words, “mobile phones” looked like portable hair dryers, and Google, Yahoo, and AOL weren’t even gleams in Bill Gates’ eyeglasses — let alone Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube. HBO and Showtime had yet to produce A-list hour dramas, and F/X, TNT, AMC, and USA had yet to produce anything more than the occasional TV-movie at all.

Interview: Mike McNamara Hosts Female Filmmakers Night in Chicago

CHICAGO – Every first Tuesday of the month means it’s time for the Midwest Independent Film Festival. This upcoming March 2nd, Executive Director Mike McNamara hosts Female Filmmakers Night for the first time at the festival.

‘The Crazies’ Defies Rule That Horror Remakes Never Work

The Crazies
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Horror remakes are almost never a good idea but there seems to be something about George A. Romero’s work that defies that expectation. Zack Snyder delivered with his version of “Dawn of the Dead” and now Breck Eisner has shocked genre fans with his effective take on the low budget classic “The Crazies”.

Interview: Claudia Wells is the Original Jennifer in ‘Back to the Future’

CHICAGO – The classic film “Back to the Future” celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and the original cast – including Claudia Wells as Jennifer – will be introducing the film this weekend at the Hollywood Palms and Hollywood Blvd Cinema in suburban Chicago.

DVD Review: ‘Everybody’s Fine’ is Second-Rate Hokum With a First-Rate Lead

Everybody's Fine DVD

CHICAGO – Is there any cinematic prize less prestigious than the Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award? Most of the films honored by this group tend to be simple-minded, cloying and thoroughly manipulative. Any group that names “The Blind Side” as “the best film of 2009” seriously needs its head examined. The Heartland award emblem gracing the DVD box of “Everybody’s Fine” is sure to scare off serious fans of its legendary lead actor.

Blu-Ray Review: Richard Kelly Strains to Think Outside ‘The Box’

The Box Blu Ray

CHICAGO – Most filmmakers are content in recycling ideas. Richard Kelly strains to come up with new ones every time he steps behind a camera. It’s difficult to think of him ever becoming a commercial commodity (thoughts of David Lynch directing “Return of the Jedi” come to mind). Yet Kelly’s boundless ambition has often far exceeded his abilities.

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TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • Manhunt

    CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

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