Tower Heist

CHICAGO – Brett Ratner’s “Tower Heist” features a LOT of actors who have proven talents but haven’t made the best career decisions of late. The number of disappointing films that star Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, and Tea Leoni could fill a film festival in Hell. And Ratner has committed his own crimes against celluloid. So, I was dreading “Tower Heist.” There’s nothing to dread here.

CHICAGO – In our latest comedy caper edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Blu-ray, we have 5 Blu-rays up for grabs for the home entertainment release of “Tower Heist” starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy!

CHICAGO – With 2012 staring us in the face like a bad movie concept (oops), it’s time to go over the worst films of 2011, if only to purge the refuse from our souls. If you think film critiquing is martinis with F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald – or the plot to “Midnight in Paris” – then strap in and read on.

CHICAGO – In a weekend that didn’t see any major new releases, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” held its ground over all the current releases and reclaimed the top spot at the box office as a three-peat champ. The film brought in an estimated $16.9 million over the first December weekend.

CHICAGO – In the battle of vampires and puppets, the heartthrobs got the win. To clarify, that’s the vampires. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” came in at number one in the weekend box office with $42 million over the weekend and $62.3 million over the five-day Thanksgiving break. The total was enough to hold off “The Muppets,” which brought in a very respectable $29.5 million three-day, $42 million five-day total.

CHICAGO – No surprise here: “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” dominated the box office this weekend and took home the number one spot. The fourth film in the hit vampire/teenage love franchise brought in an estimated $139.5 million in its opening three days.

CHICAGO – After two weeks of the animated feature film “Puss in Boots” holding the box office crown, this week the new film “Immortals” took the crown. Earning an estimated $32 million, the action packed mythological film easily brought in enough to be deemed number one.

CHICAGO – A day after producer/director Brett Ratner was ousted from being the 2012 Academy Award show producer, 2012 host Eddie Murphy has decided he will no longer host the upcoming Oscar ceremony. The announcement came Wednesday afternoon as Murphy – who worked with Ratner on the recent feature release “Tower Heist” – decided he didn’t want to stay on as host without his friend and creative partner working with him.

CHICAGO – For the second week in a row, the animated DreamWorks feature “Puss in Boots” came in with the top spot at the weekend box office. The film, based on the feline character that originated in the “Shrek” series, totaled $33 million in its second week in theaters.

CHICAGO – The frustrating madness that is the typical Hollywood movie never ceases to amaze, in the sense where large sums of cash are outlaid to pair the right movie stars together, and not one wit is expended to create an interesting or cohesive story. “Tower Heist” is the latest example of this sad trend.