Christopher Plummer

CHICAGO – Let’s get this over with … Rian Johnson directed “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” in 2017. Let’s let that fanboy quiver die down and note the talented filmmaker has produced a Thanksgiving treat, his new film “Knives Out.” The old fashioned “whodunit” flicker with an all-star cast was put together in the spirit of fun at the movies.

CHICAGO – Combining an intimate, personal story with a superstar cast, writer/director Shana Feste realized a semi-autobiographical journey in her new film “Boundaries.” The cast includes Oscar winners Christopher Plummer and Vera Farmiga, as well as Lewis MacDougall (“A Monster Calls”), Kristen Schaal, Bobby Cannavale, Christopher Lloyd AND Peter Fonda in a road trip picture that reunites ne’er do well Dad Jack (Plummer) with his desperate-to-connect-with-him daughter Laura (Farmiga).

CHICAGO – A bitter and old rich man won’t take responsibility for the co-opting of something he is directly connected to. Is this the Trump administration or “All the Money in the World”? Christopher Plummer portrays mogul J. Paul Getty, trying to steer clear of his grandson’s kidnapping.

CHICAGO – The story of Ebenezer Scrooge, as told in Charles Dicken’s classic “A Christmas Carol,” seems to be the one constant that survives the commercialization of the holiday season. The story of Scrooge’s creation is told with expressive sentimentality in “The Man Who Invented Christmas.”

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 15 pairs of guaranteed anytime movie tickets up for grabs to the new dramedy “Danny Collins” starring Al Pacino! Pick your own theatre and time throughout Chicago/land!

CHICAGO – “Danny Collins” is a shoulda-woulda-coulda film. It was inspired by the true story of a John Lennon letter acquired by a musician 40 years after he was suppose to to have received it, and then re-imagined as a cheap soap opera, punctuated by far superior John Lennon songs.

CHICAGO – Dan Fogelman is a familiar behind-the-scenes creator, having wrote scripts and screenplays for “Cars,” “Fred Claus,” “Tangled,” “The Guilt Trip” and “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” He takes on his first directorial effort, the story of “Danny Collins,” a faded rock star who finds redemption through a lost letter from John Lennon.

CHICAGO – David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is an absolute masterpiece, one of the best films of 2011 and one of the best thrillers of the new millennium. After I saw it in December of 2011, there was some question of its quality when compared to the original Stieg Larsson books, the Noomi Rapace-starring foreign version, and even Fincher’s previous work, the amazing “The Social Network.” Ignore all that comparison and just view “Dragon” on its own merits. It’s spectacular.

CHICAGO – Just as it is predicted to do two Sundays from today, “The Artist” dominated the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) today, winning seven different awards. The silent, black-and-white film won Best Film, Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius), and Best Lead Actor (Jean Dujardin), and four other wins.

CHICAGO – The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards premiered tonight, celebrating the best acting performances of the year. The awards are voted on by the members of the Screen Actors Guild, (apparently) making the awards more meaningful to the winners as they were chosen by their peers.