Charlotte Rampling

CHICAGO – The Criterion deal with IFC Films has led to some very interesting additions to their collection including some controversial choices. The universally-acclaimed and upcoming “Carlos” may be understandable but do “Everlasting Moments” and “Revanche” deserve the standing that comes with the Criterion label? I’m torn and no more so than with the release of “Life During Wartime,” a decent and interesting flick that nonetheless would be FAR down the list of movies I would choose for induction into the most important club in DVD history.

CHICAGO – Three of the best young living actors turn Mark Romanek’s adaptation of the highly-acclaimed novel “Never Let Me Go” into one of the more lingering films of 2010, and now released on Blu-ray and DVD from Fox. You know how some films dissipate on the ride home, so much so that you barely remember the plot? The opposite are those movies that burrow their way into your memory and grow with time. “Never Let Me Go” is definitely one of those.

CHICAGO – With his unique and sometimes divisive career, writer/director Todd Solondz is something of a controversial figure in the world of independent cinema. Some people love him, others hate him, and very few fall in the middle. His new film, “Life During Wartime,” is unlikely to change his polarizing reputation.

CHICAGO – Some movies from my youth have not aged as well as memory would have me believe. We’ve all been there. A movie we thought was great when we were a teenager looks downright awful with the passage of time. I was worried that my memory of Alan Parker’s “Angel Heart” was through similar rose-colored glasses. Worry not. “Angel Heart” is even better than you remember.

CHICAGO – When did Vin Diesel go from “the next Bruce Willis” to the “the current Steven Seagal”? Diesel’s half-asleep, apathetic performance in the sci-fi action flick “Babylon A.D.” is only one of the problems with a film that was ignored in theaters but has been given a respectable treatment on Blu-Ray.

CHICAGO – Every year produces a movie or two that dazzles with beautiful costumes and lavishly recreated period settings but falls flat when it comes to character.

CHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two passes up for grabs to the Chicago screening of “The Duchess,” which stars Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Hayley Atwell, Charlotte Rampling and Dominic Cooper.

CHICAGO – Despite its timid title, “Deception” has all the right ingredients for a decent tale of mystery: a strong premise, sound acting and the famous femme fatale. It even starts with a promising conviction: How does a background player in life deal with initiation into a secret society?