CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Frances Sternhagen
Film Review: Script Weakens Cast, Director in ‘And So it Goes’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 25, 2014 - 11:28amCHICAGO – “And So it Goes” can be summed up in its incredibly weak title, as just lazy hackery. In attempting to tell a story of redemption for a old white rich man, the film falls back on clichés, predictability, improbability, overdone physical comedy and stereotypes. The first-time pairing of Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton, and the direction of old pro Rob Reiner, couldn’t overcome the stench of the hackneyed screenplay.
Interview: Director Charles Martin Smith Spins a ‘Dolphin Tale’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 29, 2011 - 12:59pmCHICAGO – Charles Martin Smith has had a varied career as an actor and a director. He was one of the famous ensemble cast members of “American Graffiti,” directed by George Lucas, and broke out himself as a director in the mid-1980s. His latest work as a filmmaker was one of last week’s big box office hits, “Dolphin Tale.”
Film Review: Feel Goodness of ‘Dolphin Tale’ Overcomes Clichés
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 24, 2011 - 7:43amCHICAGO – In the tradition of live-action Disney films of another era, “Dolphin Tale” wears its heart on its sleeve, while at the same time using the characters as two-dimensional window dressing around a based-on-truth story of humans and an animal bonding together to inspire a nation.