CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the doc series “Charlie Hustle & the Matter of Pete Rose,” about the rise and bitter fall of the major league legend, the MLB’s all-time hits leader, only to be banned from the sport because of gambling. Streaming on MAX and on HBO since July 24th.
July 2008
Despite Jet Li’s Would-Be Resurrection, ‘The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’ Still Flops
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 31, 2008 - 11:35pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The threequel that culminates with “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” is so hackneyed that even the main star of the previous two films – Brendan Fraser – wasn’t enough to sell audiences on a third return. Universal Studios needed to enlist co-star Jet Li to stand a fighting chance and take the mood the Asian way.
Analysis: Second Season of AMC’s Hit Series ‘Mad Men’ the Easiest Sell on TV Today
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 30, 2008 - 3:24pmCHICAGO – Men in three-piece suits. Smoking and drinking throughout the day in your corner office. Womanizing and objectifying every woman in the secretarial pool.
Neil Young’s ‘CSNY Déjà Vu’ a Concert Film That Mixes Message With Music
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 30, 2008 - 1:26amCHICAGO – David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young (collectively CSNY) have long established their credibility as a rock/folk group of the highest order.
Neil Young’s ‘CSNY Déjà Vu’ a Concert Film That Mixes Message With Music
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 30, 2008 - 1:15am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young (collectively CSNY) have long established their credibility as a rock/folk group of the highest order.
Interview: Matthew Goode Focuses on Inner Challenges in New Film ‘Brideshead Revisited’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 29, 2008 - 2:02amCHICAGO – The celebrated Evelyn Waugh novel and 1981 BBC miniseries “Brideshead Revisited” have put the unusually titled story into cultural consciousness. Beloved by readers for years, the adapted miniseries brought the popular characters to life and further cemented the epic and literary journey of class awareness, star-crossed love and fine estates.
No Matter How Hard You Believe Otherwise, ‘The X-Files: I Want to Believe’ Most Anemic Story Yet
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 25, 2008 - 12:01amCHICAGO – Following an addictive TV series that spanned from 1992 to 2002, I wanted to believe “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” would more dynamically pay homage to its television success than Chris Carter’s first film attempt in 1998. In take two, though, it didn’t happen.
No Matter How Hard You Believe Otherwise, ‘The X-Files: I Want to Believe’ Most Anemic Story Yet
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 25, 2008 - 12:01amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Following an addictive TV series that spanned from 1992 to 2002, I wanted to believe “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” would more dynamically pay homage to its television success than Chris Carter’s first film attempt in 1998. In take two, though, it didn’t happen.
Emotions of Sexuality, Gender, Social Order Wrestle During 1800s Paris in ‘The Last Mistress’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 22, 2008 - 1:45amCHICAGO – Difficult as it is now, in 1835 women in Paris never really had many choices for an eventual lifestyle.
They could hope to marry rich and live in relative comfort or they could toil in a working-class marriage while raising children and working themselves to death.
Emotions of Sexuality, Gender, Social Order Wrestle During 1800s Paris in ‘The Last Mistress’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 22, 2008 - 1:39am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Difficult as it is now, in 1835 women in Paris never really had many choices for an eventual lifestyle.
They could hope to marry rich and live in relative comfort or they could toil in a working-class marriage while raising children and working themselves to death. If they didn’t marry, they might be a maid or a governess. If they were really bored and bold, though, they could be “The Last Mistress”.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s ‘Willy Wonka’ Sure to Satisfy Your Child’s Sweet Spot
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 21, 2008 - 2:32pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Ah, it’s summer again. Kids in Chicago are playing in the Millennium Park fountains, teenagers are flooding in to see the latest cinema blockbusters and families are enjoying Lake Michigan’s beaches.
Andy Samberg, Witty Script Lift Animated ‘Space Chimps’ Off Launching Pad
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 20, 2008 - 7:07pmCHICAGO – So far in the 2008 summer animation season we’ve seen cuddly martial artists (“Kung Fu Panda”) and robots in love (“WALL-E”).
Andy Samberg, Witty Script Lift Animated ‘Space Chimps’ Off Launching Pad
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 20, 2008 - 6:50pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – So far in the 2008 summer animation season we’ve seen cuddly martial artists (“Kung Fu Panda”) and robots in love (“WALL-E”).
But where are the monkeys and how long before the first joke about flinging their poo?
Despite Rollercoaster Energy, ‘Mamma Mia!’ Bellows Beloved ABBA Vocals With Feel-Good Appeal
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 18, 2008 - 2:03amCHICAGO – While it’d be embellishment to say you’d have the time of your life at the new musical film “Mamma Mia!,” any dancing queen or an admirer of seeing Pierce Brosnan croon a tune instead of trigger James Bond destruction can at least have some of the time of your 108 minutes.
Despite Rollercoaster Energy, ‘Mamma Mia!’ Bellows Beloved ABBA Vocals With Feel-Good Appeal
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 18, 2008 - 1:47am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – While it’d be embellishment to say you’d have the time of your life at the new musical film “Mamma Mia!,” any dancing queen or an admirer of seeing Pierce Brosnan croon a tune instead of trigger James Bond destruction can at least have some of the time of your 108 minutes.
Exclusive 35-Image ‘The Dark Knight’ Slideshow: Director Christopher Nolan, Gary Oldman, Walk Chicago Red Carpet
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 17, 2008 - 12:01amCHICAGO – This exclusive, 35-image slideshow contains original HollywoodChicago.com photography from the July 16, 2008 red carpet for “The Dark Knight” at Chicago’s Navy Pier. Our full review of the film by critic Adam Fendelman can be read here.
‘The Dark Knight’ Bestows Role of a Lifetime For Heath Ledger, Epic Proportions For Itself
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 17, 2008 - 12:01amCHICAGO – With only three short words comprising the film’s enigmatic title, “The Dark Knight” also boasts three epic claims to fame: the role of a lifetime for the late Heath Ledger as the hauntingly deranged Joker, one of the best films of 2008 and one of the greatest superhero films of all time.
‘The Dark Knight’ Bestows Role of a Lifetime For Heath Ledger, Epic Proportions For Itself
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 17, 2008 - 12:01am Rating: 5.0/5.0 (rarely perfect) |
CHICAGO – With only three short words comprising the film’s enigmatic title, “The Dark Knight” also boasts three epic claims to fame: the role of a lifetime for the late Heath Ledger as the hauntingly deranged Joker, one of the best films of 2008 and one of the greatest superhero films of all time.
Slideshow: Chicago Play ‘Lookingglass Alice’ at Lookingglass Theatre
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 16, 2008 - 12:47pmCHICAGO – This six-image slideshow is for production stills from “Lookingglass Alice,” which is a new Chicago play at the Lookingglass Theatre. Our full review of the play by critic Alissa Norby can be found here.
‘Lookingglass Alice’ a Proud Chicago Work of Jibber Jabber, Nonsensical Wonderment
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 16, 2008 - 12:43pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – On the fourth of July in 1862, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson rowed a boat up the River Thames with 10-year-old Alice Liddell. Alice was the daughter of the new dean of Christ Church where Dodgson was employed as a lecturer in mathematics.
French Film ‘Tell No One’ a Journey of Mystery Down Road of Twists, Turns
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 15, 2008 - 12:55amCHICAGO – The most perfect description for the new French suspense film “Tell No One” comes from the most unlikely source: a 1957 American film called “Sweet Smell of Success”.
French Film ‘Tell No One’ a Journey of Mystery Down Road of Twists, Turns
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 15, 2008 - 12:42am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The most perfect description for the new French suspense film “Tell No One” comes from the most unlikely source: a 1957 American film called “Sweet Smell of Success”.
Describing one of the characters in that film, one line observes that he has “more twists than a barrel of pretzels”. Take that barrel and put it through the zigzag of a taffy-pulling machine and those results might be able to straighten out the labyrinth of circumstances in “Tell No One”.
Interview: After Three Decades of Acting, G.W. Bailey Finds Home in Kyra Sedgwick’s ‘The Closer’ on TNT
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 14, 2008 - 9:49pmCHICAGO – After being born and bred in Texas, G.W. Bailey scoffs at the notion of “humidity” in Chicago.
Bailey – who has a renowned career in film, TV and the stage that spans three decades – has been seen in seminal roles in “M.A.S.H.,” “Police Academy,” “Short Circuit,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “St. Elsewhere,” “The Jeff Foxworthy Show,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Mannequin,” “Happy Days,” “CHiPs,” “Newhart,” “Benson” and many more.
It’s Eddie Murphy Inside Eddie Murphy in Made-For-Children Sci-Fi Comedy ‘Meet Dave’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 14, 2008 - 3:42pmCHICAGO – The longtime career of Eddie Murphy has lately taken an interesting turn.
After a meteoric career with huge box-office comedies, Murphy has steered toward more family oriented fare (“Daddy Day Care,” the “Shrek” movies, etc.) before his Oscar-nominated performance in “Dreamgirls”. After the stumble of 2007’s “Norbit,” Murphy has again returned this summer in kid-friendly mode with “Meet Dave”.
It’s Eddie Murphy Inside Eddie Murphy in Made-For-Children Sci-Fi Comedy ‘Meet Dave’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 14, 2008 - 3:27pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The longtime career of Eddie Murphy has lately taken an interesting turn.
After a meteoric career with huge box-office comedies, Murphy has steered toward more family oriented fare (“Daddy Day Care,” the “Shrek” movies, etc.) before his Oscar-nominated performance in “Dreamgirls”. After the stumble of 2007’s “Norbit,” Murphy has again returned this summer in kid-friendly mode with “Meet Dave”.
Jules Verne’s ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ With Brendan Fraser Stars Film’s 3-D Effects
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 13, 2008 - 11:15pmCHICAGO – Jules Verne’s classic 1864 science-fiction novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth” has been adapted well in excess of a dozen times into films, radio and stage plays along with several made-for-TV movies and video games. It has even been adapted into two amusement-park rides.
Jules Verne’s ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ With Brendan Fraser Stars Film’s 3-D Effects
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 13, 2008 - 10:59pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Jules Verne’s classic 1864 science-fiction novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth” has been adapted well in excess of a dozen times into films, radio and stage plays along with several made-for-TV movies and video games. It has even been adapted into two amusement-park rides.
Interview: ‘Nickelodeon’ Star Josh Peck Grows Up, Director Jonathan Levine Speaks Out on ‘The Wackness’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 11, 2008 - 5:05pmCHICAGO – It’s 1994 in New York City. In an age before mobile phones, terrorist threats and a grown-up Olsen twin, there is “The Wackness”. This is the debut film of writer and director Jonathan Levine and a coming-out role of sorts for the child star Josh Peck of the popular Nickelodeon series “Drake & Josh”.
HollywoodChicago.com Podcast, Episode 3: ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army,’ DC Comics vs. Marvel Comics, Oscar Talk
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 11, 2008 - 2:27amCHICAGO – In episode three of the HollywoodChicago.com podcast, staffers Adam Fendelman, Dustin Levell, Patrick McDonald and Lauren Fendelman discuss “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (which opened on Friday), DC Comics
Following ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,’ ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ Regresses From Best to Worst For Guillermo del Toro
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 11, 2008 - 12:01amCHICAGO – Hellboy is plugged as the world’s brawniest, kitten-loving superhero. While that paradox is supposed to be both funny and action packed, “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” from famed writer and director Guillermo del Toro falls flat on the funny front and instead winds up on the funny farm.
Following ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,’ ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ Regresses From Best to Worst For Guillermo del Toro
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 11, 2008 - 12:01amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Hellboy is plugged as the world’s brawniest, kitten-loving superhero. While that paradox is supposed to be both funny and action packed, “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” from famed writer and director Guillermo del Toro falls flat on the funny front and instead winds up on the funny farm.
