CHICAGO – The late playwright August Wilson left a gift to the world in the form of his “American Century Cycle,” a series of plays each individually set in a decade of the 20th Century, focusing on the black experience. Chicago’s Goodman Theatre presents Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” now through May 19th, 2024 (click here).
HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News
‘Land of the Lost’ With Will Ferrell Should Never Be Found
Submitted by BrianTT on June 5, 2009 - 11:29am Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Land of the Lost,” starring Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, and Anna Friel, is horribly conceived, almost entirely laugh-free, and with absolutely no personality of its own. It’s one of the most inert, dull, and dead-on-arrival major summer films in a very long time with no target audience likely to be satisfied by it.
Interview: Charming, Authentically Greek Alexis Georgoulis Debuts in ‘My Life in Ruins’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 5, 2009 - 8:12amCHICAGO – When Nia Vardalos, the bride in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, went to Greece to film her new release – “My Life in Ruins” – she also had to find a hunky Greek co-star. Enter Alexis Georgoulis, in his American film debut.
Blu-Ray Review: Dull Special Features For Cute ‘He’s Just Not That Into You’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 4, 2009 - 7:16pmCHICAGO – Ken Kwapis’ “He’s Just Not That Into You” is far from a romantic comedy masterpiece but it’s a decent genre entry with an immensely likable cast that will probably entice more than a few renters and maybe even a few buyers. They deserve a better Blu-Ray.
TV on DVD Round Up, June 4, 2009: ‘Friday Night Lights,’ ‘The Cleaner’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 4, 2009 - 6:26pmCHICAGO – Just so there’s absolutely no confusion out there: HollywoodChicago.com’s beloved Round-Up column is merely for informative purposes only.
TV Review: USA Network Finds Another Potential Gem in ‘Royal Pains’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 3, 2009 - 7:43pmCHICAGO – Premiere episodes of new series really only have to pass one test - will you return for the second week? The jury is still out on the health of a whole season, but the premiere of USA’s new “Royal Pains” is clever, witty, and promising enough that most viewers are very likely to return to see the good doctor in week two.
TV Review: Audiences Unlikely to Hear NBC’s ‘The Listener’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 3, 2009 - 7:39pmCHICAGO – Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik) is a 25-year-old paramedic who can hear other people’s thoughts. The telepath is the lead character on NBC’s frustrating new “The Listener,” a show that the network is clearly burning off this summer and that I don’t need psychic powers to predict won’t be on the schedule for too long.
Blu-Ray Review: Beautiful Transfer of ‘Revolutionary Road’ Nearly Masks Film’s Flaws
Submitted by BrianTT on June 3, 2009 - 7:23pmCHICAGO – The HD picture on “Revolutionary Road” is beautiful. At first, it threw me, as if my initial mostly negative response to the film had been misguided. But then I remembered that part of the reason “Revolutionary Road” doesn’t work for me is it looks too good. The arms-length, clinical, unemotional approach to the material makes for a great Blu-Ray, but it’s still a disappointing movie.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 20 Admit-Two Passes to ‘Food, Inc.’ Screening in Chicago
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 3, 2009 - 6:53pmCHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 20 admit-two passes up for grabs to the Chicago screening of the new documentary “Food, Inc.,” which lifts the veil on the nation’s food industry from filmmaker Robert Kenner.
Exclusive Portrait: Larry King in Chicago For ‘My Remarkable Journey’ Book Signing
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 2, 2009 - 8:01pmCHICAGO – Talk-show icon Larry King of “Larry King Live” on CNN posed for an exclusive HollywoodChicago.com portrait before meeting fans at the signing of his autobiography “My Remarkable Journey” on May 30, 2009 at The Book Stall at Chestnut Court in Winnetka, Ill.
TV Review: Third Season of USA’s ‘Burn Notice’ Starts Still on Fire
Submitted by BrianTT on June 2, 2009 - 12:08pmCHICAGO – Very few sophomore seasons have ever ended as strongly as USA’s very good “Burn Notice” did earlier this year. Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) learned that the people that burned him may also have been protecting him.
Video Game Review: Tie-In For McG’s ‘Terminator: Salvation’ as Disappointing as Film
Submitted by BrianTT on June 2, 2009 - 12:02pm Video Game Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Come with me if you want to be frustrated. Video game tie-ins for movies are notoriously problematic and poorly received. Every major movie gets a video game (we’ve reviewed “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” in recent weeks and will give you our opinion of “Up” soon) and most of them suck. Even by that standard, “Terminator: Salvation,” based on the McG film with Christian Bale, is a disappointment.
Blu-Ray Review: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber Shine, But ‘Defiance’ Misses
Submitted by BrianTT on June 2, 2009 - 11:41amCHICAGO – There are many things to like about Edward Zwick’s “Defiance,” including Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber’s excellent performances, a lovely score by James Newton Howard, and, of course, the important subject matter, but the overdone screenplay and Zwick’s typically melodramatic direction just barely sink the film, although a nice Blu-Ray release should help make a few of its flaws easier to overlook.
Blu-Ray Review: Take a Bite Out of HBO’s Great ‘True Blood’ in HD
Submitted by BrianTT on June 1, 2009 - 8:41amCHICAGO – HBO’s excellent “True Blood” was often dismissed by critics and viewers last season as a “guilty pleasure”. Even the people who loved it felt a little bad about admitting it.
