Universal Home Entertainment

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 5 ‘Bridesmaids’ DVDs With Kristen Wiig, Rose Byrne

Bridesmaids DVD with Kristen Wiig and Rose Byrne

CHICAGO – In our latest comedy edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, we have 5 DVDs up for grabs in advance of the highly anticipated home entertainment release of the “R”-rated comedy “Bridesmaids” starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Rose Byrne!

Blu-Ray Review: Channing Tatum Fails to Take Flight in ‘The Eagle’

The Eagle Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – It’s safe to say Kevin Macdonald is a filmmaker more skilled in documentaries (“One Day in September,” “Touching The Void”) than he is in scripted narratives (“The Last King of Scotland,” the forgotten “State of Play” remake). His experience in nonfiction work is certainly reflected in the realism of his production design, but it doesn’t translate to his stories, which often take a shallow approach to real-life subjects.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Sanctum’ Trudges Through a Watery Grave

Sanctum Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – If “Avatar” stood as a reminder of James Cameron’s undying popularity with audiences, “Sanctum” stands as proof that Cameron’s name alone can’t always sell a picture. Though the filmmaker merely served as executive producer of this murky thriller, the screen overflows with his signature tropes: underwater landscapes, 3D photography, hokey characters and pedestrian dialogue.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Somewhere’ Paints Haunting Portrait of Celebrity Ennui

Somewhere Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – Sofia Coppola’s films are intriguing in a way that’s often difficult to put into words. I often find my attention drifting during my initial viewing of them, and yet they somehow manage to linger in my mind long after others have faded. Her problematic costume drama, “Marie Antoinette,” has become one of my favorite films to leave on in the background of a room, simply for the pleasure of dwelling in its subtly nuanced atmosphere.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Nanny McPhee Returns’ Sure to Delight Children of All Ages

Nanny McPhee Returns Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – Magical nannies, dancing animals, great gusts of wind, lyrical life lessons and cute kids in need of a father. You don’t need to be practically perfect in every way in order to find these ingredients a trifle familiar. Robert Stevenson’s 1964 masterpiece “Mary Poppins” used these elements better than anyone has before or since, resulting in what is unquestionably the best live-action Disney film ever made.

Blu-Ray Review: Corny ‘Charlie St. Cloud’ Inspires Derisive Guffaws

Charlie St. Cloud Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – “He’s totally cute…like James Dean,” sighs a swooning cashier as tween heartthrob Zac Efron enters her shop. Efron may be many things, but Dean he is not. This line has been wisely axed from the final cut of “Charlie St. Cloud,” after inspiring a great deal of derisive laughter during the trailer’s theatrical run.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Babies’ Benefits, Suffers From Limitations

Babies Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – Couples making plans to start a family may get a kick out of “Babies,” the lyrical new documentary from French filmmaker Thomas Balmès. Everyone else may find themselves bored stiff. The film is an intriguing experiment with varying degrees of success. It’s as tedious as it is compelling and as annoying as it is insightful.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Robin Hood’ Takes Serious Approach to the Legend

Robin Hood

CHICAGO – Erase from your mind every preconception you may have about a film entitled, “Robin Hood,” and you may find yourself enjoying, or at the very east admiring, Ridley Scott’s loose yet literalistic depiction of the legendary outlaw. No film will ever top Michael Curtiz and William Keighley’s 1938 classic starring Errol Flynn, which remains one of the all time great screen entertainments.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Heroes: Season 4’ Concludes Botched Sci-Fi Series

Heroes: Season 4 Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – Here’s one of the saddest casualties of the recent writer’s strike. Tim Kring’s sci-fi series, “Heroes,” came on like gangbusters when it debuted in 2006. It intriguingly fused the formulas of “X-Men” and “Unbreakable,” as it followed a colorful assortment of earthlings who discover that they have powers unsettlingly akin to those seen comic books.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Repo Men’ Butchers Attempt at Social Satire

Repo Men Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – “Paying homage” and “ripping off” are not the same thing. A picture like Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” gathers fragments of our collective cinematic memories, and places them in an entirely fresh dreamscape of the mind. Miguel Sapochnik’s “Repo Men” assembles pieces of other movies and claims them as its own creation. The film opens like “Blade Runner,” ends like “Brazil,” and looks suspiciously like plagiarism.

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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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