CHICAGO – In anticipation of the scariest week of the year, HollywoodChicago.com launches its 2024 Movie Gifts series, which will suggest DVDs and collections for holiday giving.
Kate Mara
Discerning the Heroes is Tough in ‘Megan Leavey’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 9, 2017 - 6:40am Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The poster is what gives away “Megan Leavey” the most. The titular soldier, and her bomb-sniffing dog, below a billowing American flag. So which war is it? Why, it’s the Iraq invasion, where the U.S. military and the politicians at home “freed” the Iraqi citizens from a peaceful life. Making a dog story out of that boondoggle doesn’t make it any more palatable, except to “support the troops.”
‘Morgan’ Takes Out Intelligence in Artificial Intelligence
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 4, 2016 - 8:08pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There is nothing like the feeling of watching a completely immersive sci-fi film that delivers the complexity of technology in a modest package, and uses elements of nature to create a beautiful contrast. Unfortunately, “Morgan” doesn’t deliver on the enlightenment it promises.
Entertaining ‘The Martian’ is a Hollywood Space Opera
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 5, 2015 - 12:47pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It’s all based on science, they told us! “The Martian” is an old fashion feel-good movie about the hard working astronauts and scientists of the good old American space program, trying to rescue a stranded spaceman from Mars, aided by a brave cast of astro-colleagues.
Meditative ‘Transcendence’ Also Artificially Intelligent
Submitted by NickHC on April 17, 2014 - 6:53pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The Internet is for real in “Transcendence”, a B-movie with grade-A production quality, loaded with terabyte-size open-ended questions, so long as one can accept it lastly with a scientific mindset. It is a film that perceives technology to be more expansive than a box of wires and computer chips, and actualizes the expanse of the internet as limitless to the realm of spiritual.
‘Happythankyoumoreplease’ Falls Flat With Unlikable Characters
Submitted by BrianTT on March 11, 2011 - 4:00pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Josh Radnor’s “Happythankyoumoreplease” wants to be a new-generation Woody Allen film but misses the mark wildly by presenting characters that aren’t likable in situations that aren’t believable. None of the relationships that drive this awkward dramedy ring true and only a few supporting performances make the effort worthwhile as they highlight the weaknesses at the core of the manipulative script.
James Franco, Danny Boyle Elevate Harrowing Saga of ‘127 Hours’
Submitted by BrianTT on November 12, 2010 - 7:35am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – What separates us during extreme danger? Why do some people collapse under the weight of likely death while others push forward and make it out alive? What fuels the will to survive to the point that it can do the unimaginable? Aron Ralston has surely thought about his personal answers to these questions and Danny Boyle’s riveting film about his defining incident, “127 Hours,” now brings them to millions of captivated fans in theaters around the world.
