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.
Rose Byrne
Funny But Familiar Trip to Frat House in ‘Neighbors’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 9, 2014 - 9:30amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I have a high tolerance for Seth Rogen, but he begins to show some signs of creative exhaustion in “Neighbors,” a raunchy frat house comedy that’s never quite as funny as it should be. Rogen’s onscreen persona here comes dangerously close to schtick.
‘Insidious: Chapter 2’ is Mere Ghost of Original
Submitted by BrianTT on September 13, 2013 - 9:39amRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Writer Leigh Whannell and director James Wan reunite for “Insidious: Chapter 2,” a repetitive, cluttered, just silly variation on the first movie that will feel like a step back for anyone who admired Wan’s notable advancement as a filmmaker in this summer’s stellar “The Conjuring.”
Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson Lack Brass in ‘The Internship’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 7, 2013 - 9:05amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Dang, dang, dang. C’mon, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, how about a little anarchy? “The Internship” is a perfectly nice little comedy about old dudes trying to break into the new world of Google employment. But this new world is just another empire, and nobody wants to topple it.
Crime, Fatherhood Intersect in ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 5, 2013 - 8:21amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Derek Cianfrance’s masterful “The Place Beyond the Pines” is a complex, epic piece of storytelling about the ripple effect of crime through families and across generations. Drastic action does not exist in a vacuum. It influences generations below and those impacted by their parent’s decisions.
Matthew Vaughn’s Entertaining, Stylish ‘X-Men: First Class’ Rocks
Submitted by BrianTT on June 2, 2011 - 6:26pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Matthew Vaughn rights the ship of mediocre superhero movies with the incredibly accomplished “X-Men: First Class,” the best Marvel Movie since “Spider-Man 2” and a film that proves that big blockbuster summer entertainment can be both commercially crowd-pleasing and intellectually complex at the same time. “X-Men: First Class” features a spectacular mix of well-choreographed action, revisionist history, themes of tolerance, and great performances. This will be one of the best movies of this season.
Kristen Wiig Carries Charming Comedy of ‘Bridesmaids’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 13, 2011 - 11:22amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – With an incredibly talented ensemble, heartfelt script, and honest characterizations, “Bridesmaids” has been touted as a revolutionary re-examination of what one should expect from the phrase “chick flick.” Having never been much of a fan of genre labels, the idea that this film should be judged differently because it has female stars irks me a bit, but if that gets more people into theatre seats and away from the junk that typically qualifies as “entertainment for women,” I’ll happily embrace it. For whatever reason you see it, the most important thing to know is this simple – “Bridesmaids” is funny. Damn funny.
‘Saw’ Creators Fall Just Short of True Scares With ‘Insidious’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 1, 2011 - 11:38amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I have written over a thousand reviews and have rarely been as conflicted as I am about my response to James Wan’s “Insidious.” It comes down to this question — do you judge the effort or the execution?
Russell Brand, Jonah Hill Rock in Very Funny ‘Get Him to the Greek’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 4, 2010 - 10:31amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Taking a character who was created as an obnoxious supporting one and giving him his own spin-off movie sounds like a recipe for disaster. Despite generally liking its stars and enjoying “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” I was dreading the quasi-sequel “Get Him to the Greek”. There were just too many screenwriting pitfalls in which the film could have and should have fallen in.