CHICAGO – It is Chicago where New York City native Harry Wood is debuting his first play, entitled “Roast,” through The Comrades theater company at the Greenhouse Theater Center. The comic drama, about a gathering of stand up comics and relatives to “roast” – rather than eulogize – a deceased fellow comedian, is a World Premiere that runs through August 18th, 2019. For tickets and more information, click here.
Angelina Jolie
Alicia Vikander Has a Case of the Runs in ‘Tomb Raider’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 15, 2018 - 5:13pm Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Movies based on video games are almost never good… even the best ones only ascend to the level of “barely watchable.” By that measure, “Tomb Raider” can be considered a modest success since it didn’t make me want to claw my eyes out. I have to confess I never saw either of the first two films with Angelina Jolie, but after watching this I’m not actually clamoring at the bit to catch up.
Dull Story of Extraordinary Survival in ‘Unbroken’
Submitted by NickHC on December 24, 2014 - 4:00pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Olympic runner, plane crash survivor, and WWII POW Louis Zamperini had an extraordinary life of defeating even more profound conditions from cruel nature and fellow man. His is a tale of grandiose cinematic potential, especially considering our desire for beat-down underdogs and their gauntlets of adversity, but such gets a surface-level treatment from director Angelina Jolie’s underwhelming tribute “Unbroken.”
‘Maleficent’ is All Dressed Up With No Story to Tell
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 30, 2014 - 6:24pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If “Maleficent” were an actual fairy tale storybook, I’d say it has beautiful illustrations but not much story to tell. As the title character, Angelina Jolie is a towering presence with an unforgettable look, but the film itself is all dressed up with nowhere to go. “Maleficent” the movie’s story moves so slowly it makes a sloth look like a cheetah.
Angelina Jolie is ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’ in Directorial Debut
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 6, 2012 - 9:59am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The sorrows of war has been played out too many times in our so-called modern age. The excessively cruel Bosnian war – a three year conflict that introduced the vile term “ethnic cleansing” – is the background of Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, “In the Land of Blood and Honey.”
More or Less Same Formula in ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 26, 2011 - 8:21amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Good and evil, chase and fight. Those are the two basic formulas that dominate “Kung Fu Panda 2,” the sequel to the very popular first film. That redundancy is helped by the spirituality of an animated panda and some spectacular 3D rendering.
‘The Tourist’ Twists Predictably, Lacks Chemistry Between Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on December 10, 2010 - 4:24pmRating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Though you probably don’t know his name, Christopher McQuarrie’s involvement might sell you on paying to see “The Tourist” even more than “A”-list stars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. After all, McQuarrie is the writer behind 1995’s Oscar-winning magnum opus by the name of “The Usual Suspects”.
‘Salt’ With Angelina Jolie Suffers From Lack of Flavor
Submitted by BrianTT on July 23, 2010 - 12:48pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Perhaps the creators of “Salt” took the potential double meaning of its title a bit too seriously because the film has been overloaded with one flavor at the expense of the variety that could have turned this well-done action movie into something a bit more memorable. Angelina Jolie is great and the film is undeniably expertly made but it’s also shockingly lacking in personality or moments to make it register as more than just an extended chase scene.
‘Wanted’ With Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy Concocts Curving Bullet in Gluttonously Entertaining Blockbuster
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 27, 2008 - 12:01am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – With curving, clinking and kissing bullets, “Wanted” indeed does Chicago proud. And Angelina Jolie sells it. And Morgan Freeman is ominous. And in his body of work, James McAvoy – the star of this orgasmic summer blockbuster – becomes a man.
‘Beowulf’ in IMAX 3D Affords Break For Big Actors to Improve Even Themselves
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 15, 2007 - 1:14pm
CHICAGO – It’s all the rave today to exhume an epic from long, long ago and bring it back on the monster screen bigger, better and with more grandeur than ever fathomable before.
