HollywoodChicago.com Movie Reviews
Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried Can’t Quite Deliver ‘Dear John’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 5, 2010 - 8:26am. Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Love stories are as common at the movies as popcorn and sticky floors. Despite this, rising stars Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried add their own spin to the timeworn plot theme in “Dear John.”
Original, Stylish ‘Daybreakers’ With Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe
Submitted by BrianTT on January 8, 2010 - 3:12pm.Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In the early part of the last decade, Michael and Peter Spierig (The Spierig Brothers) debuted with the unique zombie cult hit “Undead” and horror nuts waited to see what they’d do next. It took way too long but the brothers are back with the stylish, original “Daybreakers,” a vampire film that injects new life into an often-dead genre.
Heath Ledger Still Lives in ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 8, 2010 - 8:00am. Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Bogart, James Dean and Heath Ledger are not dead, they’re just stuck in the Netflix queue. And Ledger, with a little help from some friends, gets one more theatrical release in “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.”
Robert Downey Jr.’s Low-Tech ‘Sherlock Holmes’ Packs Powerful Punch
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on December 27, 2009 - 9:18pm.Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Instead of relying of high-tech gadgetry and big-budget Hollywood CGI, Guy Ritchie’s gritty “Sherlock Holmes” does what major films often don’t: delivers big-payoff action sequences merely utilizing the body and mind.
Colin Firth Plays a Wistful Game of Solitaire in ‘A Single Man’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 26, 2009 - 8:13am. Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There is a certain madness in the shock of grieving over a loved one who has passed that manifests itself in particular ways. Colin Firth interprets those emotions intuitively in the captivating “A Single Man.”
Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin Shine in ‘It’s Complicated’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 25, 2009 - 7:26am. Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Referring to her new film, “It’s Complicated,” Meryl Steep recently said, “It’s incredible, I’m playing the romantic lead in romantic comedies. Bette Davis is rolling over in her grave.” Tell Kate Hepburn the news.
Star-Studded ‘Nine’ With Daniel Day-Lewis Delivers Grand Musical Spectacle
Submitted by BrianTT on December 24, 2009 - 1:41pm.Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Rob Marshall’s highly anticipated “Nine” isn’t quite the complete piece that it could have been, but its flaws are easy to overlook in favor of the spectacle of old-fashioned, pure entertainment. It is what so many musicals are remembered for being: a series of memorable moments, the toe-tapping sum of which makes a missed beat or two easier to overlook.
Emily Blunt is the Girl Who Would Be Queen in ‘The Young Victoria’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 18, 2009 - 7:58am.Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of the functions of royalty seems to be an expected adoration from the peasants. Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend and Paul Bettany offer their interpretation on a monarch’s origins with “The Young Victoria.”
Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman Deliver Predictable Drama With ‘Invictus’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 14, 2009 - 4:15pm.Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Director Clint Eastwood has given up on subtlety, choosing instead to tell old-fashioned, direct stories with as much technical skill and dramatic competency as possible. There’s nothing particularly wrong with the legendary director’s “Invictus,” but it’s also not nearly as memorable or thrilling as it could have or, given the true story that it tells, should have been.
Disney Magic is Hopping to New Orleans in ‘The Princess and the Frog’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 11, 2009 - 8:19am.Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The feature animation film tradition, invented by and fostered by the Walt Disney Company for close to 70 years, gets another glorious rendition in their latest release, “The Princess and the Frog.”
Oscar-Worthy ‘Up in the Air’ Gels With Shrewd Script, Fresh Faces, Unpredicted Realism
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on December 5, 2009 - 4:11pm.Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Director Jason Reitman is becoming like a fine wine. He’s maturing with age, tasting newer with each sip and leaving an aftertaste that makes you think you’ll savor what’s next.
Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman Not Relatable in ‘Brothers’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 4, 2009 - 5:52am. Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The transition from hot young actor to the domestic picket fence is about ten years and a shadowy crow’s foot. One day you’re a galaxy queen, superhero and Donnie Darko, next you’re playing house in “Brothers.”
Oppressively Bleak ‘The Road’ Buries Great Viggo Mortensen Performance
Submitted by BrianTT on November 25, 2009 - 12:13pm. Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The long-delayed and highly-anticipated adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” has moments of stark beauty and a typically fantastic lead performance from Viggo Mortensen, but the film ultimately misses its mark as a whole piece, coming off numbing in its bleak, repetitive view of the end of the world instead of inspiring emotionally or creatively.
