Elton John

CHICAGO – As a wee lad, one of the first records I bought was Elton John’s Greatest Hits. The album was magnficent, each song expressing the very emotion it sought to deliver. With that basis in mind, I approached John’s biopic “Rocketman” with a hope of deliverance. It felt flatter than a pancake under a steam roller.

CHICAGO – “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” is a hard “R”-rated sequel with a thoroughly juvenile soul. It pairs silly wordplay, dirty jokes and a startling amount of bloody and gratuitous violence while its tongue remains thoroughly in cheek. This is a James Bond movie as made by an unusually sadistic 16-year-old under the influence of some not entirely legal substances.

CHICAGO – Next year will mark the 50th Anniversary of the seminal 1960s sitcom, “I Dream of Jeannie.” Unforgettable – for many reasons – was Barbara Eden, who portrayed a genie named Jeannie. Ms. Eden was at the “Hollywood Show” Chicago last year, and was interviewed by HollywoodChicago.com.

CHICAGO – While “The Lion King” is one of the best Disney movies of all time, “The Lion King 3D” is a manipulative exploitation to bring paying parents back with their kids merely through the sexiness of today’s 3D fad.

CHICAGO – When the initial production of Elton John and Tim Rice’s “Aida” made its foray to the Broadway stage, following what was surely a tempestuous artistic adolescence, the public hurrah with which it was met signaled the birth of two eminent stage relations. First, that of John’s with both Broadway and West End investors, a collaboration that has far outstretched the boundaries set forth by “The Lion King”.

CHICAGO – As a tribute to “Borat,” let’s start with a lesson in “not” jokes.