Treat Williams

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV, we have 100 pairs of advance TV premiere tickets up for grabs to the new NBC drama “American Odyssey” starring Anna Friel and Peter Facinelli! This will be a special event honoring women in the military for their services.

CHICAGO – Kate Hudson portrays a dying woman in “A Little Bit of Heaven,” and the film is so annoying that her extinguishment can’t come fast enough. The film insults both living and dying, and virtually everything in between, and brings along Lucy Punch, Kathy Bates, Gael Garciá Bernal, Peter Dinklage and Whoopi Goldberg for the funeral.

CHICAGO – The entertainment machine often turns in an unusual way that allows for a wave of material featuring the same star in the same month. Just as Robert De Niro was preparing his odd speech for the Golden Globe Awards, two of his most beloved films were being released on Blu-ray in “Raging Bull” and “Once Upon a Time in America,” while one of his 2010 works in “Stone” was about to hit the market as well. January 2011 is De Niro month. Sadly, while the “Raging Bull” Blu-ray is a gorgeous must-own, “Once Upon a Time in America” is merely satisfactory. The film is still strong but the release is nothing special.

CHICAGO – James Franco gave a riveting performance in Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours” that is likely to earn one of the best actors of his generation an Academy Award nomination in a few weeks, but it wasn’t his only stellar turn in 2010. He also thoroughly delivered as the legendary poet Allen Ginsberg in the hybrid “Howl,” a film that’s part poem, part courtroom drama, and part history lesson. It doesn’t always come together but it’s worth seeing just for Franco’s work and the strength of the source material alone.

CHICAGO – The film recently hit theaters, but we’re excited to present 25 admit-two run-of-engagement tickets so you can see one of HollywoodChicago.com’s most-raved films of 2010: “127 Hours” from Danny Boyle (the Oscar-winning director of “Slumdog Millionaire”)! And in this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, you can even see the incredible true story of Aron Ralston (as portrayed by James Franco) for free at the convenient time of your choosing!

CHICAGO – The power of Danny Boyle is his every film doesn’t look like the last. From “Trainspotting” to “28 Days Later…” to “Sunshine,” his career so far has culminated in the triumphant “Slumdog Millionaire,” which won best picture at the 2009 Oscars.

CHICAGO – “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked…” So began the reading of Allen Ginsberg’s poem that rattled society, the very title of which is the inspiration for the new film, “Howl,” featuring James Franco, Jon Hamm and Mary Louise-Parker.

CHICAGO – The seismic shift that took place with the publication of Allen Ginsberg’s epic poem, “Howl” – which is also the title of the new movie about the verse – reverberates and inspires to this very day. The brilliantly rendered film, starring James Franco as Ginsberg, is written and directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman.