CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
HollywoodChicago.com
Spreading Comic Book Fatigue to Everyone, ‘Venom’ Poisons the Well
Submitted by JonHC on October 5, 2018 - 5:20amRating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I was one of the last sentinels; a conscientious objector in the war against comic book films. The handful of these that come out yearly had yet to weigh heavy on my film soul, especially when so many of the newer ones creating unique experiences, like “Deadpool” and “Thor: Ragnarok”. Even DC films, in all their failure, are products of their time. “Venom” changed all that.
There Are Just Enough Reasons to Go Ape Over ‘Rampage’
Submitted by JonHC on April 12, 2018 - 12:37pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO - As a whole, we have a fascination with watching destruction in front of us. It provides a catharsis from our heavily stressed lives, especially in the Trump era. It provides a necessary release of aggression, the same way video games do for people. “Rampage” scratches that itch, but only if you aren’t also looking to be intellectually stimulated or care about plot coherence.
‘A Quiet Place’ Will Make You Wish You Had a Quiet Place to Hide
Submitted by JonHC on April 5, 2018 - 9:07pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO - Terror and fear take several forms. Sometimes it’s something as simple as spiders or snakes or even an incompetent president. Other times it can take the form of natural states, like darkness. Horror films channel our fears, but the great ones give us something new to fear. “A Quiet Place” lures us in with the safety of silence, only to reveal the monsters hiding within.
For Better or Worse, ‘Ready Player One’ is Nostalgia at its Purest
Submitted by JonHC on March 29, 2018 - 12:19pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Just in time for Easter, there’s a film filled with enough Easter eggs to drown a small country. “Ready Player One” is a “Where’s Waldo” of mostly 80’s pop culture references that are meant to trigger our (and especially filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s) sentimental, nostalgic cores by bombarding us with reminders of our childhood. These trips down memory lane are fun until they’re not.
‘Love, Simon’ is a Palatable Queer Film Entry That Leaves Us Wanting
Submitted by JonHC on March 18, 2018 - 7:09pm- 20th Century Fox
- Alexandra Shipp
- Becky Albertalli
- Elizabeth Berger
- Gay
- Greg Berlanti
- HollywoodChicago.com
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Isaac Aptaker
- Jennifer Garner
- Jon Espino
- Josh Duhamel
- Katherine Langford
- Keiynan Lonsdale
- Love, Simon
- Movie Review
- Natasha Rothwell
- Nick Robinson
- Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
- Tony Hale
Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Anyone who has ever held a big secret knows that the weight of it is usually worse than the secret itself. The only thing worse than that is when the secret you’re holding back is your true self. “Love, Simon” explores the all-too-familiar, high school coming of age story, but with the added complication of coming to terms with your sexuality and identity.
‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ Examines Our Violence
Submitted by JonHC on November 20, 2017 - 9:12pmRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Film is often an expression of our society, either as a depiction of how it really is or how it should be. Few films are as daring as Martin McDonagh’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” which isn’t afraid to show us the state of our society and offer a realistic solution through a grim drama that is as humorous as it is devastating.
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Shatters the Hammer, But Maintains the Mold
Submitted by JonHC on November 1, 2017 - 2:04pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Any blacksmith will tell you that their job is much more than the brute action of slamming a hammer onto steel. There is some finessing and an attention to detail that needs to take place in order to make something truly notable. With Taika Waititi manning the hammer, he takes the “Thor” franchise out from the Dark Ages and into the technicolor light.
‘Battle of the Sexes’ Parallels a Fight That’s Going on Today
Submitted by JonHC on September 22, 2017 - 4:57pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Since the time of early hominids, there has been a battle raging with your side being chosen before you’re even born. It all began when men claimed they were superior to women, forcing women to fight for the right at equality. Unfortunately, it remains as alive in the 70’s, when “Battle of the Sexes” takes place, as it is now.
HollywoodChicago.com ESP, En Español: ‘American Assassin,’ ‘Brad’s Status’ y ‘mother!’
Submitted by JonHC on September 16, 2017 - 8:53am- American Assassin
- Ben Stiller
- Brad's Status
- Darren Aronofsky
- Dylan O'Brien
- Ed Harris
- En Español
- Esta Semana en Peliculas
- Hollywood Chicago en español
- HollywoodChicago ESP
- HollywoodChicago.com
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Javier Bardem
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Jon Espino
- Michael Keaton
- Michelle Pfeiffer
- mother!
- Movie Review
- Paramount
CHICAGO – Cada semana, HollywoodChicago.com le traerá las criticas de las películas que hemos visto y que están saliendo esa semana, pero en español. HollywoodChicago.com ESP no sólo representa HollywoodChicago.com Espanol, sino también Esta Semana en Peliculas. Esta semana, vamos a una misión de venganza y terminamos salvando el mundo (“American Assassin”), luego nos vamos de viaje a visitar algunas universidades mientras tenemos un colapso mental (“Brad’s Status”), y luego nos transportan a una casa que significa mucho más de lo que parece (“mother!”).
You’ll Be Counting the Minutes Until You Too Can Be ‘Home Again’
Submitted by JonHC on September 10, 2017 - 12:17pmRating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Seeing so many films on a daily basis, you would think that I would grow tired of them. I don’t. Instead, I begin to notice the same formulas in films, like the one in “Home Again”. Unfortunately for “Home Again” you’ll spend most of the film wondering just how much longer before you can be the same.