William Friedkin

CHICAGO – Linda Blair trades her celebrity for activism. Her WorldHeart Foundation is a literal pet project, as it rehabilitates neglected and abandoned animals on the streets of Los Angeles. Blair, best known for her unforgettable role as Regan in “The Exorcist,” recently appeared in Chicago at the Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show.

CHICAGO – When does a great film become less powerful? We’ve all seen movies that worked wonderfully for us at one point in our lives and had less impact when we saw them again a decade or two later. The movies that not only remain powerful but, in some ways, improve upon repeat viewing are rare. They’re the true classics. Fritz Lang’s “M,” recently released on Criterion Blu-ray, is one such movie.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “The French Connection” is one of those rare movies that’s always better than I remember it to be. Not that I think poorly of William Friedkin’s masterful procedural, a multiple Oscar winner and game-changer in the world of detective cinema, but that it’s a film that blows me away every time see it. So why did William Friedkin have to mess with the picture?