Stella Maeve

CHICAGO – Besedka Johnson was 85 years old when she was discovered at a YMCA. After devoting her life to astrology, the genial woman was suddenly brought to the attention of indie filmmakers intrigued by her vintage movie star features. At 86, she delivered a tour-de-force film debut in Sean Baker’s marvelous drama, “Starlet.” And at 87, she passed away.

CHICAGO – As the 2012-13 midseason continues to shock with its complete inability to produce a new hit and shows like “Do No Harm” and “The Job” get canceled after only two episodes while other failures like “Cult,” “Zero Hour,” “Deception” and “1600 Penn” limp to their non-renewals, networks keep throwing things at the wall and hoping they stick.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Sean Baker’s “Starlet” is about an incredibly unlikely friendship between two women six decades apart and, like a lot of acclaimed independent films, it plays like an interesting short story adapted to celluloid. The first forty-five minutes of Baker’s debut really work, as the writer/director works with his two talented leads to craft an interesting character study. When the film has to get into more depth regarding its characters futures and pasts, it falters a bit but there’s still a lot to like here.

CHICAGO – Following our HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with free movie passes for the new film “The Runaways,” this is a follow-up Hookup for the same film where five people will be awarded VIP prize packs and one person will win a grand prize pack!

CHICAGO – In our latest dramatic edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of “The Runaways” with Kristen Stewart (“Twilight,” “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” and “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”) and Dakota Fanning!