Melissa Leo

Film Review: Eyegasmic ‘Oblivion’ With Tom Cruise Wins Your Optics, But Loses Your Brain

CHICAGO – “Oblivion” is a Pyrrhic victory that wins its battle, but loses the overall war. While this is the kind of visual production value you’d expect on a $120 million budget, an ostentatious steak dinner in the special effects department never makes up for a story that tastes more like cheap ramen noodles.

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 30 Pairs of IMAX Passes to ‘Oblivion’ With Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 30 pairs of IMAX movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the highly anticipated “Oblivion” with Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman!

Film Review: Gerard Butler Stars in Violent, Stupid ‘Olympus Has Fallen’

CHICAGO – Antoine Fuqua’s “Olympus Has Fallen” (or “Die Hard in the White House”) is a stupid, exploitative movie that wants to be “Call of Duty: Black Ops” in film form but ends up more like one of its countless, ineffective rip-offs. There are moments of goofy, B-movie fun (certainly more of them than in the much-worse “A Good Day to Die Hard”) but not enough to get over the brutal nonsense that makes up most of this action flick.

Interview: Director Antoine Fuqua Lifts Up ‘Olympus Has Fallen’

CHICAGO – The upcoming political action thriller “Olympus Has Fallen” has a familiar director behind it, the inventive Antoine Fuqua. Known best for “Training Day,” which won the Best Actor Oscar for Denzel Washington, he also directed ‘The Replacement Killers” (1998), “Shooter” (2007) and “Brooklyn’s Finest” (2009).

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 40 Pairs of Passes to ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ With Morgan Freeman

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 40 pairs of movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the highly anticipated “Olympus Has Fallen” starring Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart and Gerard Butler!

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 30 Pairs of Passes to ‘Flight’ With Denzel Washington From Robert Zemeckis

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 30 pairs of movie passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated advance screening of “Flight” with Denzel Washington from Robert Zemeckis!

TV Review: FX’s ‘Louie’ Continues to Stun with Its Brilliance

CHICAGO – I’ve seen a lot of TV in the decade-plus I’ve been covering the medium (much less the decades before that when I was purely a fan) and I can very rarely say something like this — you’ve never seen anything like “Louie.” The FX hit returns tonight on the network and reclaims its title as the best comedy on TV.

Blu-ray Review: ‘Mildred Pierce: The Collector’s Edition’

Mildred Pierce

CHICAGO – I must admit that I am of the school that thinks that “Mildred Pierce” is one of the best things that has ever played on television. It is art of the highest caliber, featuring one of the best performances in the history of the form and were it eligible it would have been in my top ten films of 2011. It’s that good. And the “Collector’s Edition” of the award-winning series lives up to that title, marking the first time that HBO has ever released a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack and weighing the production down with special features. It’s the first must-own of 2012.

DVD Review: Kevin Smith Tries Something New With ‘Red State’

Red State

CHICAGO – Everyone who told me about “Red State” prefaced it with the disclaimer that I would be stunned that it was directed by Kevin Smith. Sure, it’s a departure from his indie comedies like “Clerks” and “Mallrats” but I feel like people who are amazed he made a dark thriller like “Red State” must have never really given the writer/director enough credit. I have some serious issues with how Smith behaved regarding critics after “Cop Out” but I was a fan of every single one of his works before then and I’m happy that he chose to do something different with his talent. I think the result is a bit more sloppy than it needs to be but there’s a lot to like here, including a stellar performance from Michael Parks.

TV Review: Clichés Deflate Potential Emotion of ‘The Space Between’

CHICAGO – Some movies don’t just use cliches, they practically bathe in them, finding little other way to tell their story. Despite yet another strong performance from Oscar winner Melissa Leo (“The Fighter”), “The Space Between,” being broadcast uncut on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 this Sunday, is such a movie. She keeps it interesting but the film takes a potentially resonant story and deflates it with paper-thin storytelling.

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TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • 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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