Dustin Hoffman

CHICAGO – The remarkable true-ish story of “Papillon” is difficult to mess up. Henrí Charriére published the “autobiographical novel” in 1969, and the first film version dropped in 1973, with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman as the two leads no less. The latest film has Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek in those leads, as two French prisoners constantly trying to escape.

CHICAGO – The newest Adam Sandler film that doesn’t feature him dressed like a chubby middle schooler is really bad, but in a special way. Similarly, it is an instant classic in the legacy of bizarre disasters, a footnote in writer/director history that must be witnessed to be fully understood.

CHICAGO – In our latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Combo Pack giveaway, we have 10 free Blu-ray and DVD combo packs up for grabs for the home entertainment release of the new comedy “Chef” starring Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr.!

CHICAGO – By the time of his 2011 box office blitzkrieg otherwise known as “Cowboys & Aliens,” the product that indie director-turned-Hollywood habitue Jon Favreau had been hocking as a “popcorn salesman” had gone stale – to use a showbiz term from Nicholas Ray’s” In A Lonely Place”.

CHICAGO – There are few things more fragile than an actor’s ego. It must be treated with the utmost care in order to prevent a split-second meltdown. The enormous pressure of audience expectations coupled with the piercing eye of an ever-present media is enough to send sensitive folk to a sanitarium. Thick skin is a necessity in show business, but what happens when that skin begins to age?

CHICAGO – One of director Tim Burton’s great actor collaborators is the veteran performer Martin Landau. Landau voices Mr. Rsykruski, a science teacher who inspires young Victor Frankenstein in “Frankenweenie,” released on Blu-Ray on January 8th. This is part of Laudau’s magnificent 60 year career in film, television, stage and acting instruction.

CHICAGO – It has been a tragic week for the show “Luck,” the critical smash on HBO that stars Nick Nolte and Dustin Hoffman. After a third horse died during production of the show, it has been ceased entirely, according to a just received press release from HBO. Another David Milch show that ended far too soon.

CHICAGO – That was quick. Two days after it premiered on HBO to rave reviews, the network has renewed David Milch and Michael Mann’s “Luck” with Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte for a second season.

CHICAGO – Legendary TV writer David Milch turns the world of horse racing and the people who populate it into a place not unlike the legendary title location in his beloved “Deadwood.” Just as everyone swirled around Al Swearengen’s saloon, almost all of the action in HBO’s stellar “Luck,” debuting January 29th, 2012, takes place at the track or the stables nearby.

CHICAGO – At first glance, Brian De Palma’s “Dressed to Kill” and Sam Peckinpah’s “Straw Dogs” may seem to have little in common beyond a studio and a need to be on Blu-ray. It’s common for that to the be the ONLY link (such as when “Scary Movie 2” and “Trainspotting” hit the format next week…come back for coverage). But these two actually have more in common than just a company and a spiffy new transfer. They’re a pair of controversial thrillers from two of the most interesting directors of their era. And with the remake of “Straw Dogs” about to open on Friday, perhaps it’s time we revisit them.