Olivia Thirlby

CHICAGO – “The Darkest Hour,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, may seem like a fun sci-fi action option for movie night. It is not. There’s nothing fun about this horrifically made film, easily one of the worst of 2011. It’s stunningly bad, almost as if it was made by college students. Otherwise talented actors get sucked into awful performances (both male leads have never given less genuine performances), the special effects are horrible, and there’s never even the slightest flicker of anything worth giving a damn about.

CHICAGO – When Paul Greengrass’s “United 93” opened in American cinemas on April 28, 2006, the vast majority of buzz surrounding the film centered on the controversial question of whether it was in fact “too soon” for a film based on the 9/11 terrorist attacks to hit the big screen. It apparently wasn’t too soon for the small screen, since Peter Markle’s TV dramatization “Flight 93” played to little fanfare in January of that year.

CHICAGO – I have become nearly exhausted by writing reviews about the modern decline of the romantic comedy, the genre most in need of a complete overhaul. Most of them nowadays are horrendous. So, no one is more surprised than this critic to say that “No Strings Attached” with Ashton Kutcher & Natalie Portman, now available on Blu-ray and DVD, isn’t bad. It’s no genre classic, but it’s an enjoyable comedy on a Saturday night.

CHICAGO – Incredible high-end trip for two to Cancun, Mexico! In our latest VIP edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we’re offering you and a friend the chance to win an all-expenses-paid, three-night, high-end trip to Cancun!

CHICAGO – In this edition of the HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, two lucky winners will clean up with three DVDs from Magnolia Pictures for “Julia,” “Two Lovers” and “The Answer Man” plus a full-size poster for “I Am Love” signed by Oscar-winning star Tilda Swinton and an “I Am Love” soundtrack!

CHICAGO – It’s been awhile since the ultra-useful DVD Round-Up brought you a wave of recently released DVDs that slipped below the mainstream radar but we’re back with a very star-powered installment of your favorite column and you can now expect us to return with monthly editions.

CHICAGO – “Hell is other people!” declares reclusive author Arlen Faber. That’s nothing compared to the hell of fake people, who permeate so many subpar pictures marketed as “indie” entertainment. There’s not a single character in “The Answer Man” that feels the least bit realistic.

CHICAGO – Maybe it’s an ironic, surreal joke but the most common thought that I kept having during the first three episodes of “Bored to Death” was, well, “bored”.

CHICAGO – Three Kings sent over a brand new preview for an upcoming film starring Hilary Duff, Steve Coogan, Olivia Thirlby, Josh Peck, and Molly Shannon called “What Goes Up” and we just had to share.

CHICAGO – The coming-of-age comedy “The Wackness” with Josh Peck, Ben Kingsley, Olivia Thirlby, Mary-Kate Olsen, Method Man, and Famke Janssen may feature a bouncing hip-hop soundtrack and be about joyful things like first love, but it’s an oddly inert, haze-filled film, as if the regular marijuana usage in the film cast a haze over the entire project.