Oscilloscope Laboratories

CHICAGO – Melanie Lynskey is one of those effortlessly sublime character actresses who always seemed destined for stardom. At age 16, she made an astonishing film debut in Peter Jackson’s “Heavenly Creatures” opposite Kate Winslet. In the years that followed, she has proven adept at playing everything from a good-hearted stepsister (in “Ever After”) to a severely screwed-up mom (in “Win Win”).

CHICAGO – Flawed females are often feared by Hollywood because of their questionable commercial appeal. Yet 2012 has provided moviegoers and TV fans with a rich assortment of characters—led by Lena Dunham’s Hannah Horvath on HBO’s “Girls”—that prove women can be every bit as immature, developmentally arrested and utterly fascinating as the guys.

CHICAGO – In our latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 20 pairs of guaranteed, anytime movie passes plus 5 grand prize packs up for grabs for the new Oscilloscope Laboratories film “Samsara” from the creators of the award-winning film “Baraka”!

CHICAGO – Many critics failed to take Lynne Ramsay’s “We Need to Talk About Kevin” seriously, dismissing it as an art house retread of “The Omen.” Such a simplistic label fails to take into account the film’s carefully textured portrait of a deeply fractured mother-son relationship. Though the film takes its premise to melodramatic extremes, it does harbor considerable insight into the repercussions of a disconnect between parent and child.

CHICAGO – With so many unfaithful weiners crowding the daily news cycle, I suppose it’s as appropriate a time as any for a film like Dana Adam Shapiro’s “Monogamy.” As in the over-publicized Anthony Weiner case, the infidelity in Shapiro’s film never actually takes place. Instead of physical contact, the affair takes place entirely within the obsessive mind of a sexually frustrated voyeur.

CHICAGO – As far as punk rock electroclash bands go, concertgoers would be hard pressed to find one as vibrant, charismatic and thrillingly alive as Le Tigre. It’s a band that I had no knowledge of prior to viewing this documentary, and though the film itself is a rather unexceptional tour video, it has made me an instant fan of the group, whose witty and catchy rhythms are simply irresistible.

CHICAGO – In our latest documentary edition of the HollywoodChicago.com Hookup, we have 3 DVDs and limited-edition theatrical posters up for grabs to “Exit Through the Gift Shop”!

CHICAGO – The power of a single image is often far greater than any amount of written words. In a culture as visually over-saturated as our own, it’s so easy to take images for granted. Our days are too hectic, and our minds are too cluttered to view every piece of footage filtered down to us from the mainstream media with the same critical eye and healthy dose of skepticism.

CHICAGO – At a time when many so-called independent film distributors are following the mold of mainstream companies, Oscilloscope Pictures is a breath of exhilaratingly fresh air. Its films range from electrifying shoestring documentaries like “Dear Zachary” and priceless foreign imports like “Kisses” to major award season contenders such as “The Messenger” and “Wendy and Lucy.”