October, 2011

CHICAGO – Most movies about awkward teens feel like they’re mocking them as much as embracing them. I’m exhausted by the subgenre because of this fact — there’s a deep hypocrisy in so many of these movies that wants to make fun of their subjects and then tell you how bad it is to make fun of them. Imagine my surprise at the charming, wonderful, incredibly well-written “Terri,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD. This is a hidden gem.

CHICAGO – Does ABC actually have a pair of new hits on their hands? Unable to find a freshman success last year with disasters like “The Whole Truth” and “My Generation,” the network has a much happier story to tell this year as a a few of their programs have not exactly set the TV world on fire but delivered solid numbers. Two such programs are on Wednesday nights as the net gave full-season orders to sitcom “Suburgatory” and guilty pleasure “Revenge” after this week’s ratings.

Rating: 1.0/5.0

CHICAGO – It’s always risky for a screenwriter to craft a film about a family of writers in that when the result is a script so generically awful as that for “Fireflies in the Garden” it’s going to stick out even more prominently. After sitting on the shelf for years (it played festivals in 2008 and was supposed to be released that year) and reportedly undergoing some reshoots, this stale drama is finally getting a limited release and will prove just how limited it is to the poor saps who pay to see it.

Rating: 1.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Joel Schumacher’s “Trespass” represents a new low for the often divisive and (lately) horrendous director of such gems as “The Number 23,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Bad Company,” “8MM,” “Batman & Robin,” and “Batman Forever.” The film is getting a very-brief theatrical release before essentially going straight-to-DVD, leading a few industry watchers to question if perhaps one of the stars had it in his or her contract that the film had to run in movie houses. Unless you have a similar contract requiring you see it, avoid at all costs.

CHICAGO – Western buffs have often criticized George Roy Hill’s 1969 classic, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” for romanticizing its subject matter to the point where it felt less concerned about its titular criminals and more interested in the friendship between stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Yet for all of the charm in William Goldman’s script, there was an underlying darkness and tragic poignance that allowed the final act to pack an unforgettable punch.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – When Lucky McKee’s “The Woman” played at Sundance earlier this year it caused quite a stir, mostly thanks to the reports of an altercation that happened shortly after the screening in which someone questioned how something so extreme even got to Park City. While some midnight screenings at the fest have pushed boundaries before (“Saw,” “Haute Tension”), there is something so brutally in your face about the repulsive acts on display that it’s easy to see why buttons were pushed.

CHICAGO – If you’re gonna cut loose, “Footloose,” it is best to do what the production team and cast did in cutting this remake of the 1980s kitschy classic – pay deep homage to the source and modify it with a energetic and contemporary spin on the dance floor.

CHICAGO – One of the exciting events at the Chicago International Film Festival is the “City & State” Short Film Spotlight, highlighting local filmmakers presenting new or emerging short films. Two notable directors from the October 10th screening are Anna Musso (”L Train”) and Alaric S. Rocha (”Winter”).

CHICAGO – None are doing well by traditional ratings scales but The CW doesn’t have the same expectations as other networks and so they not-too-surprisingly gave full-season orders to new shows “Hart of Dixie,” “Ringer,” and “The Secret Circle” this week, ending speculation that one might be canceled. Given the low ratings for all of them, especially “Secret,” one can safely assume that they had nothing interesting waiting in the wings to replace them.

CHICAGO – One of the easiest ways for a creatively starved studio to manufacture a box office hit is to bank on the nostalgia of a beloved cult classic. A remake will not only attract old fans but inspire new moviegoers to rent the deluxe edition of the original, now carrying the self important label of, “The Film That Defined a Generation.”

CHICAGO – Only two episodes into the second season of the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire” and the network has seen enough to order up a third season of the show. After critical appeal from the first season and even more praise from the second season debut, HBO is ready to get behind the 1920s series for what could be a long ride.

CHICAGO – How do you make an open-world racing game? “Burnout Paradise” made a reasonable effort by presenting a city in which stop lights led to races, but the developers of “Driver: San Francisco” take it a step further with one of the most unique driving game dynamics in the history of the subgenre. The result is an original twist on an old favorite that gives it a little bit of juice even if it can’t quite win the race.

CHICAGO – Critics may have been cruel but audiences were curious enough to see what Tim Allen’s “Home Improvement” schtick looks like in 2011, sampling the series premiere of ABC’s “Last Man Standing” to the tune of a solid 3.5 rating in the key 18-49 demo. Last year, “No Ordinary Family” opened in the time slot with a 3.2 rating and it’s worth nothing that the baseball game on FOX ate into every other network, especially with younger viewers, so there’s reason to believe that the numbers would have otherwise been higher.