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.
Moon Bloodgood
John Hawkes’ Honest Work Just Saves ‘The Sessions’
Submitted by BrianTT on October 26, 2012 - 9:06am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Sometimes an actor can deliver on so many levels at once that it makes flaws of a film easier to overlook. I’ll admit that while watching “The Sessions,” I was so caught up in the honest, true performance from the great John Hawkes that I didn’t consider many of the film’s dramatic failings until I began to consider my review. Hawkes’ work here is that good that it carries one away on a wave of emotion that dismisses critical thought. The film around him could have been better but you’re unlikely to realize that while you’re watching it.
Emotional Journey For Maria Bello, Michael Sheen in ‘Beautiful Boy’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 10, 2011 - 5:23am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The family unit, now in a constant battle with technology, changing morality and a fracturing social structure, comes under psychological siege in the mortally sad but ultimately compelling “Beautiful Boy,” featuring Maria Bello and Michael Sheen.
Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton Are Redemptive in ‘Faster’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 24, 2010 - 9:14amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The Action Film is getting a bit creaky, relying more on computer generated eye candy than character or plot. It is refreshing to experience a film like “Faster,” featuring Dwayne Johnson and Billy Bob Thornton, because it is an action film that means something, and puts its inhabitants on a path to their own salvation.
Christian Bale, Sam Worthington in McG’s Disappointing ‘Terminator: Salvation’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 21, 2009 - 11:02am Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – McG’s loud-and-annoying “Terminator: Salvation” with Christian Bale and Sam Worthington continues the summer of non-Trek disappointments, delivering nothing but a bloated exercise in CGI overload. With awful dialogue, a ridiculous plot, and mostly uninspired performances, the interesting human element has been drained from the franchise. The machines have won.
