Steve Buscemi

CHICAGO – The “thin blue line” is a police term. It represents the designation between the protection the police provides and the anarchy that is on the other side of that protection. The cop that Woody Harrelson portrays in “Rampart” crosses that line repeatably, formulating his own retribution.

CHICAGO – The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards premiered tonight, celebrating the best acting performances of the year. The awards are voted on by the members of the Screen Actors Guild, (apparently) making the awards more meaningful to the winners as they were chosen by their peers.

CHICAGO – HBO long led the way when it came to TV on DVD releases, but they were never much for special features. I think the idea was that their programming spoke for itself. “It’s not TV, it’s HBO.” So why should they do what their competition does when it comes to deleted scenes, commentaries, etc.? It was a bit frustrating to read press releases for great TV shows and realize that they were once again bare-bones editions. Which makes the bonus-packed first season of “Boardwalk Empire” all that more amazing.

CHICAGO – We need more programming as ridiculously ambitious as HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire.” Not only does this Emmy award-winning program, returning tonight for its highly-anticipated second season, feature dozens of speaking roles and multiple subplots but it’s also the most uniquely stylish show on TV.

CHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV, we have 10 admit-two passes up for grabs to the VIP advance-screening Chicago party for season two of HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” starring Steve Buscemi!

CHICAGO – Most Coen brother releases on Blu-ray are going to cause a ripple through the film-loving community. Who doesn’t want to own “Fargo,” “Miller’s Crossing,” and even less-beloved films like “The Man Who Wasn’t There” or “The Hudsucker Proxy” in 1080p? Joel and Ethan Coen have long been visually-gifted filmmakers and those gifts shine through brightly in HD. But the release of the massively-adored “The Big Lebowski” in a special Blu-ray edition? Well, that’s more of a wave than a ripple.

CHICAGO – In our latest comedy/crime/cult classic edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Blu-ray, we have 5 Blu-rays up for grabs to the highly anticipated home entertainment release of “The Big Lebowski” starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Steve Buscemi!

CHICAGO – “The King’s Speech,” “The Fighter,” and “Black Swan” were the big film winners at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, while “Boardwalk Empire,” “Modern Family,” “30 Rock,” “The Good Wife,” and “Hot in Cleveland” won awards on the TV side of the presentation. Ernest Borgnine won the Lifetime Achievement Award.

CHICAGO – Timed to coincide with Fox’s release of “Machete,” Sony has released three of director Robert Rodriguez’s earlier action extravaganzas on two releases — a double feature of “El Mariachi” and “Desperado” to sit next to your new copy of “Once Upon a Time in Mexico.” Both releases feature more special features and arguably better HD transfers than Rodriguez’s 2010 film and could be the better choice for your Blu-ray dollar than “Machete.”

CHICAGO – Is there any lingering doubt that we are in the golden age of television? If you need further proof of the remarkable breadth of the genre in 2010, look no further than HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire,” an amazing new dramatic series courtesy of one of cinema’s masters (Martin Scorsese) and one of television’s (“The Sopranos” veteran Terence Winter).