CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News
Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Joneses’ Has Charming Cast, Clever Premise
Submitted by BrianTT on August 18, 2010 - 9:42pmCHICAGO – A well-cast comedy and a clever concept can help make screenwriting speed bumps much more tolerable. Take “The Joneses,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD. It has an undeniably interesting set-up and a very likable cast and those facts alone make it worth a rental. It’s disappointingly tooth-less and somewhat predictable, but the film’s flaws are easy to overlook.
Video Game Review: ‘Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days’ Has Bite to Go With Bark
Submitted by BrianTT on August 18, 2010 - 9:11pmCHICAGO – The ultra-violent third-person shooter “Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days” wins points merely by the developer’s refusal to pull any punches when it comes to visceral, pitch-black action, but a few frustrating elements continue to hold the franchise back from what it could have been.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Signed Poster By ‘The Extra Man’ Stars Kevin Kline, Paul Dano; Three Magnolia DVDs
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 18, 2010 - 3:17pmCHICAGO – In this edition of the HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, one lucky winner will clean up with three DVDs from Magnolia Pictures for the movies “The Great Buck Howard,” “What Just Happened” and “Finding Amanda” plus a full-size poster for “The Extra Man” signed by filmmaker Shari Springer Berman and stars Kevin Kline and Paul Dano!
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Elvis on Tour’ Preserves Late Triumph For the King
Submitted by mattmovieman on August 18, 2010 - 3:16pmCHICAGO – Elvis may have left the building, but his work remains viscerally alive in this breezily enjoyable concert documentary. It was filmed during a 15-city tour in April of 1972, and captures the King of Rock at a triumphant peak late in his career, one year before his infamous “Aloha from Hawaii” concert (the first globally broadcast via satellite) and five years before his death.
Interview: Director David Michôd Explores His ‘Animal Kingdom’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 18, 2010 - 8:46amCHICAGO – The gangster movie gets a nice Freudian twist in director David Michôd’s new film, “Animal Kingdom.” This Australian import focuses on a family of bank robbers whose mother is the glue that holds their criminality together. Guy Pearce (”Memento,” “The Hurt Locker”) lends his talent as Leckie, a pursuing police officer.
Exclusive Portrait: Celebrating Ozzfest With Guitarist Zakk Wylde
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 18, 2010 - 12:18amCHICAGO – As Ozzfest, the summer music jam anchored by Ozzy Osbourne, rolls through Chicago on Tuesday, August 17th, former Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde brought his new band, Black Label Society, to rock at the fest. He also had time to greet fans here on Monday at Borders Books State Street.
Blu-Ray Review: Inconsistent ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ Not For Whole Family
Submitted by BrianTT on August 17, 2010 - 8:50pmCHICAGO – I am not (quite) yet old enough to have completely blocked out the socially treacherous days of middle school. For most kids, life is cruising smoothly until they get to middle school when cliques, popularity, and the opposite sex start to become a daily dilemma. Such is the subject matter of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” a cute-but-flawed family comedy with a few good laughs and strong supporting performances but generally silly tone that never quite comes together into something memorable.
Exclusive Portrait: Bruce Willis, Star of ‘The Expendables,’ ‘Red’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 17, 2010 - 3:06pmCHICAGO – The bright star named Bruno, Bruce Willis himself, was recently in Chicago at a benefit event for the Foundation for Retinal Research. In his role as Global Brand Ambassador for Sobeski Vodka, Willis offered a toast for the foundation, in the same week as his cameo appearance in “The Expendables.”
DVD Review: ‘The City of Your Final Destination’ Fails Spectacular Cast
Submitted by BrianTT on August 17, 2010 - 2:23pmCHICAGO – It’s unlikely that there will be a more A-list cast in a more frustrating film this entire year than on display in “The City of Your Final Destination.” Not only does it include a reunion of the great director James Ivory with star Anthony Hopkins (who appeared in the director’s “Howards End” and “Remains of the Day”) but it features two of my favorite actresses alive, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Laura Linney. And yet, the only word I can think of to describe the film is “disappointing.”
Blu-Ray Review: Riveting, Memorable ‘Red Riding Trilogy’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 17, 2010 - 1:41pmCHICAGO – Thriller fans should seek out the fascinating “Red Riding Trilogy,” a series of films with largely different casts set in different time periods that attempts to pull back the facade of peace to reveal the dark face of evil underneath. The films are not perfect but they work together to create a memorable portrait of corruption that has infected an entire country and taken more than a few victims in its grip.
TV Review: Suddenly, Nothing Happened on Season-Six Premiere of ‘Weeds’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 16, 2010 - 1:05pmCHICAGO – In an unhinged series where anything can happen, what do you make of an episode where not much happens at all?
Blu-Ray Review: Stylish, Fascinating ‘The Good, The Bad, The Weird’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 16, 2010 - 12:55pmCHICAGO – Our film critic Matt Fagerholm may have felt that “The Good, The Bad, The Weird” valued style over substance to a fault (read his review) but this critic still holds it as one of the best films of the year; a joyful cavalcade of modern action and spaghetti western archetypes that’s unlike anything else released in 2010. Don’t miss this excellent movie now that it’s on Blu-ray.
Blu-Ray Review: Spend ‘Date Night’ With Tina Fey, Steve Carell
Submitted by BrianTT on August 16, 2010 - 11:26amCHICAGO – “Date Night” is one of the few word-of-mouth hits of 2010; a film that started off reasonably well at the box office but hung around the top ten for months after its release, turning it into an undeniable comedy success. The comedy starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey opened in second place but dropped so slowly that it almost made $100 million (a huge amount for a movie like this one and plus another $50 million internationally). The movie’s loyal fans will love the excellent Blu-ray release from 20th Century Fox.
