October, 2011

CHICAGO – When I heard that Johnny Depp had been sucked back into the cash cow that was the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise so shortly after everyone agreed that the series had run its course with the original trilogy, I was more than a little sad. Depp is still one of our most interesting actors and I’m not alone in wishing he would show a bit more of his range in recent years instead of taking easy roles (and, yes, Jack Sparrow is fun but this is not challenging work for the movie star). And the mediocre reviews caused a bit of dread when the Blu-ray showed up on my desk. So, consider it faint praise when I tell you that “On Stranger Tides” is, well, okay.

CHICAGO – Everyone who told me about “Red State” prefaced it with the disclaimer that I would be stunned that it was directed by Kevin Smith. Sure, it’s a departure from his indie comedies like “Clerks” and “Mallrats” but I feel like people who are amazed he made a dark thriller like “Red State” must have never really given the writer/director enough credit. I have some serious issues with how Smith behaved regarding critics after “Cop Out” but I was a fan of every single one of his works before then and I’m happy that he chose to do something different with his talent. I think the result is a bit more sloppy than it needs to be but there’s a lot to like here, including a stellar performance from Michael Parks.

CHICAGO – Too many critics have casually dismissed Richard Ayoade’s directorial debut, “Submarine,” as a mere Wes Anderson imitation. Yes, the picture is chockfull of arty hipster posturing: chapter breaks, deadpan cutaway gags and hapless adults viewed by a sullen 15-year-old protagonist forever cloaked in a large black toggle coat. He’s like Bud Cort fused with the hyper-articulate eccentricity of Max Fischer.

CHICAGO – Last February at the Academy Awards, Tom Hooper won Best Director for “The King’s Speech,” Anne Hathaway hosted the Oscar ceremony, and she sang a song during the show to Hugh Jackman to the tune of ‘On My Own’ from the musical “Les Miserables.” Little did we know this was going to be a preview of a highly anticipated film for 2012.

CHICAGO – Zombie skulls were not the only thing being bashed in on this past Sunday evening. Rick didn’t have to use a big rock to knock ratings out of the park, as the second season premiere of “The Walking Dead” brought in a staggering 11 million total viewers for the premiere and the two replays of the episode that followed at 10: 30 and 12 EST. The total was the largest for a drama series in basic cable history.

CHICAGO – “The Lion King” is one of the most important and influential films ever made. It is more than a box office hit, more than a Broadway phenomenon, more than a cultural icon. The film is one of those rare instances in which a cinema classic can be recognized in its own time as such. People don’t just love “The Lion King” like they love the new multiplex flavor of the week.

CHICAGO – The differences between the series premiere and the second-season premiere of AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” airing tonight on what has become the most critically-acclaimed network on basic cable, are striking. Frank Darabont brought an old-fashioned horror showman’s sensibility to the first episode, but that season had a different purpose.

CHICAGO – In our latest action/romance edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 35 admit-two movie passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated advance Chicago screening of “The Three Musketeers” starring Milla Jovovich and Orlando Bloom!

CHICAGO – “The Big Year” is advertised as a comedy. The subject is bird watching, or as the new film likes to express the proper term, “birding.” It stars comic legend Steve Martin, and funnymen Jack Black and Owen Wilson. It is both not funny and is ACTUALLY, seriously about birding. Time to fly away.

CHICAGO – With Halloween approaching, what will truly scare us at the cinema this month? One strong entry is this weekend’s “The Thing,” the third remake of a wild and mysterious monster movie. It combines a European-style approach to paranoia with some truly unique monster effects.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Raymond Huffman and Peter Haskett were viral before that word meant anything other than an adjective for pneumonia. Perhaps you’ve heard of Peter and Ray, a pair of irascible roommates in San Francisco who became audio tape icons after their neighbors recorded their drunken exchanges and started circulating them among their friends. “Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure” documents the phenomenon that started when two hipster kids moved in next door to a pair of fascinating drunks.

CHICAGO – Going back to his roots is what director Prashant Bhargava accomplished with his new film “Patang.” The starkly beautiful, highly symbolic film centers on one of India’s largest kite festivals in the old city of Ahmedabad. The film centers on family and the clash of new and old traditions.

CHICAGO – Well, that didn’t take long. Joining “The Playboy Club,” “Free Agents,” and “How to Be a Gentleman” in the hallowed halls of cancellation is ABC’s “Charlie’s Angels,” a show that never found an audience and watched the few who did sample it turn away in the week’s after its premiere. ABC followed their full-season orders for “Revenge” and “Suburgatory” yesterday with the announcement of the cancellation of “Charlie’s Angels” today.