Elizabeth Olsen

Blu-ray Review: ‘Silent House’ Pulls Off Ambitious Stunt with Mixed Results

Silent House Blu-ray

CHICAGO – “Silent House” inspires the same strange mixture of feelings that I felt while watching fascinating yet severely flawed pictures like “The Life Aquatic” or “I Heart Huckabees.” My rational mind recognizes that the film doesn’t quite work, and yet my inner cinephile urges me to recommend it anyway. Here’s a movie that’s nearly worth seeing in spite of itself.

Interview: Cillian Murphy, Rodrigo Cortes Run ‘Red Lights’

CHICAGO – Writer/director Rodrigo Cortes really broke through with the award-winning “Buried,” starring Ryan Reynolds. He returns this week with a very different thriller called “Red Lights,” starring the great Cillian Murphy, who joined Mr. Cortes recently in Chicago for a discussion about “2001,” working with Robert De Niro, and the complexity of audience expectations.

Film Review: Elizabeth Olsen Takes Misguided Trip to ‘Silent House’

Silent House
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.0/5.0
Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Elizabeth Olsen does her damned best to save “Silent House” from itself but this quasi-thriller collapses under the weight of a script that just doesn’t work. It’s one of those horror movies with no internal logic and camera tricks as ways to heighten tension instead of anything that feels remotely genuine. The trip through “Silent House” starts promisingly but you’ll be running for the doors before it ends.

Blu-ray Review: Striking, Haunting ‘Martha Marcy May Marlene’

Martha Marcy May Marlene

CHICAGO – You’d never know it from the Academy Awards this past weekend but Sean Durkin’s “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, was one of the best movies of 2011, a better overall film than at least half of this year’s Oscar winners. It features my choice for the best actress performance of 2011 and won the CFCA Award for Most Promising Filmmaker and Most Promising Performer. It’s absolutely a must-see.

Feature: The Top 15 Interviews on HollywoodChicago.com in 2011

CHICAGO – One of the great privileges of reporting film and television on HollywoodChicago.com is the opportunity to interview the performers, directors and legends that create movie and TV content.

Film Feature: The Best Lead Performances of 2011

CHICAGO – Yesterday, we brought you some of the most engaging and memorable supporting performances of 2011. As much as I love some of the acting work in that feature, it’s nothing compared to the talent on display below.

Film Review: Brilliant ‘Martha Marcy May Marlene’ Offers No Easy Answers

CHICAGO – With a striking lead performance and assured direction from a debut filmmaker, “Martha Marcy May Marlene” has been one of the most acclaimed films of 2011 since its debut at Sundance many months ago.

Interview: Sean Durkin, Elizabeth Olsen of ‘Martha Marcy May Marlene’

CHICAGO – One of the more memorable dramas of the year hits Chicago theaters this Friday in Sean Durkin’s directorial debut “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” The story of a young girl who escapes her life in a cult only to have difficulty readjusting to being home with her distant sister has earned nothing but raves since its Sundance debut.

Preview: 47th Chicago International Film Festival, Part One

CHICAGO – This year’s line-up for the 47th Annual Chicago International Film Festival is an eclectic mix of major Oscar contenders (“My Week With Marilyn,” “The Artist,” “The Descendants”) along with a number of interesting smaller films.

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  • Manhunt

    CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

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