Patrick McDonald

CHICAGO – To answer the musical question, “Baby, if you ever wondered, wondered whatever became of me?” there is the sublime Loni Anderson, who portrayed Jennifer Marlowe on the popular 1970s sitcom, “WKRP in Cincinnati.” Anderson was an attendee of “The Hollywood Show,” which comes to Chicago again on September 7th and 8th, 2013.

CHICAGO – What does one of the biggest stars in Mexican television do when he needs another world to conquer, and a crossover to the American market? He directs his first feature film. Eugenio Derbez, often called a “One-Man Monty Python” in Mexico, debuts as a director in “Instructions Not Included.”

CHICAGO – One of the most incorrect assumptions in literature iconography is the focus on Jane Austen as a purely romantic writer – skipping the depth of character, humor and cynicism in her work, for the sake of mooning over “Mr. Darcy.” The new film “Austenland” continues this trend.

CHICAGO – In the collaboration of actors Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and director Edgar Wright, the best in life come in threes. Following their sublime “Shaun of the Dead” and the wacky “Hot Fuzz,” comes ther third comic film rendering, “The World’s End.”

CHICAGO – The last time I checked, I am not a swoony teenage girl, looking to be romanced by a hunky-but-shadowy demon hunter. Thus the margin for enjoying “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” falls off like a leaf on an autumn tree. Even Kristen Stewart, I mean Lily Collins, can’t save it.

CHICAGO – Good things come in “threes.” It’s the new film, “The World’s End,” the third of the infamous “Cornetto Trilogy” – after “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz” – and there are the “three” that made it all happen. It’s the actors and co-creators Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, along with director/writer Edgar Wright.

CHICAGO – Fantasy young adult films, popularized by the Harry Potter series and exploding with other hot literary offerings, is about to go to the Shadowhunters and demons. “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” opens August 21st, and features Lily Collins (Clary), Jamie Campbell Bower (Jace) and Kevin Zegers (Alec) in the lead roles.

CHICAGO – One the most familiar movie clichés is the sonorous voice that intones “In a world…” to begin a movie trailer, and then extols the virtues of that upcoming feature. Lake Bell, who wrote, directed and stars in the new movie, “In a World…,’ creates a delightful and gentle satire of voiceover artists and their journeys.

CHICAGO – The revolution in technology, that has allowed the world to change completely in just two generations, was led in part by dreamers in a garage. One of those “Edisons” was Steve Jobs – the creator of Apple Computers – portrayed with an inventor’s instinct by Ashton Kutcher.

CHICAGO – Take actors Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch, make them highway line painters, put them in a fire-ravaged woodland and the makings for a savory two character portrait is realized in “Prince Avalanche.” David Gordon Green adapted and directed this appealingly offbeat art film.