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  • 55th Chicago International Film Festival
    Film Feature: Navigating the 55th Chicago International Film Festival

    CHICAGO – The Windy City’s greatest annual cinema celebration is upon us, and the 55th Chicago International Film Festival is about to crank up the projection machines for 11 days of amazing cinema treats, from October 16th through the 27th, 2019. How does a film buff or curious participant navigate the waters of the festival? HollywoodChicago.com is here to guide you.

Current Film Reviews

  • Visual Beauty Can't Cover Up Cultural Vagueness in 'Abominable'
    HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.5/5.0
    Rating: 2.5/2.5

    CHICAGO – The changing view on yetis goes to show just how different my childhood was from kids growing up today. Back in my day, yeti’s were elusive creatures meant to be feared, much like Big Foot or Loch Ness. Films like “Smallfoot” and “Abominable” are paving the way towards acceptance were we ever to encounter a yeti, but the latter is more of a step back than forwards.

  • Zellweger's Star Power Single-Handedly Saves Stale 'Judy'
    HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.0/5.0
    Rating: 3.0/5.0

    CHICAGO – Even before I figured out my own sexuality, Judy Garland’s status as a gay icon was known to me. I wouldn’t understand why until much later in my life, but sure as the sky was blue, the city was emerald, and the brick road was yellow, I knew I was a friend of Dorothy. Heartbreakingly, “Judy” paints a bleak portrait of the star, but never takes a look at the bigger picture.

  • 'Hustlers' Is Flashy But Empty Stripper Crime Caper
    HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.0/5.0
    Rating: 3.0/5.0

    CHICAGO – This striper crime caper is flashy, buffed to a high gloss, and more entertaining and watchable than it has any right to be. But it’s never quite as smart, or layered as it seems to think it is.
    Constance Wu from “Crazy Rich Asians” stars as the proverbial stripper with a heart of gold, Destiny.

  • HollywoodChicago.com ESP, En Español: 'It Chapter Two' y 'Official Secrets'

    CHICAGO – Cada semana, HollywoodChicago.com le traerá las criticas de las películas que hemos visto y que están saliendo esa semana, pero en español. HollywoodChicago.com ESP no sólo representa HollywoodChicago.com Espanol, sino también Esta Semana en Peliculas.

  • "Chapter 2" Lacks crucial "IT" factor
    HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.5/5.0
    Rating: 2.5/5.0

    CHICAGO – “It Chapter 2” has some of the same problems as its source material, and the previous adaptation of the Stephen King spine-tingler. It has a great beginning, but the ensuing story never tops or reaches the same level as that first scene. So in Chapter 2’s slog on to an ultimately unsatisfying ending, we are witnessing a yarn literally unraveling before our very eyes.

  • Finding One’s Self in ‘Where’d You Go, Bernadette’
    HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.5/5.0
    Rating: 4.5/5.0

    CHICAGO – There is something so lovely about a film that unfolds slowly, until the moment occurs when a multi-layered story occurrence takes the breath away. “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” is such a film, portrayed with a magic subtlety by Cate Blanchett, one of the finest film actors working. She lives a life that is broken, but not in ways we suspect.

  • ‘Good Boys’ Misses the Mark But Manages to Land
    HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.0/5.0
    Rating: 3.0/5.0

    CHICAGO – The innocence of childhood is about to be wrecked for the gazillionth time, c’est la vie. “Good Boys” is a raunchy film with foul-mouthed middle schoolers going on wacky adventures. The pretzel logic to set up these adventures are weak, but the core of the conclusion is the strength.
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