October, 2011

Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – There’s something about “Puncture” that feels like it should work. It’s easy to see why someone thought this true tale of a troubled man who realizes he has been presented with immense responsibility would make an engaging film, but the fact is that having an interesting true story doesn’t always translate to riveting drama.

CHICAGO – You’ve got to give some designer somewhere credit: he or she has managed to come up with a better, more shocking poster for a film than the film itself. You’ve just got to check out the new poster for “The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence),” which is being painfully panned by critics everywhere (including ours who calls the film “completely worthless”).

Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – George Clooney’s “The Ides of March” is a star-studded political thriller of the variety that was made much more commonly in the ‘70s and would therefore seem like a perfect vehicle to restart for today’s controversial times. We could use more political thrillers with complex dialogue aimed at adults to offset the fact that a vast majority of motion pictures are aimed at children.

CHICAGO – It starts with a clap of thunder. Fierce winds cause the once serene landscape to shiver with unease. When the rain comes, it’s the color of motor oil. All it takes is a single glance at the looming gray clouds overhead to realize that the impending storm could be capable of anything. It’s enough to rock a level-headed man to his very foundation.

CHICAGO – The red carpet was put to good use on the opening night of the 2011 Chicago International Film Festival on October 6th. The 47th annual edition of the two week festival featured stars Dennis Farina, Gary Cole and Jamie Anne Allman walking the carpet before the showing of their film “The Last Rites of Joe May.”

CHICAGO – I’d love to be in a meeting when video game companies are trying to come up with the titles for their latest shooters. What’s something that strikes a chord in the guts of men who want to spend their free time shooting mutants or upgrading their rocket-powered vehicles? “Adrenalin”? “Power”? “Aaaarrrgggghhhh!”?

CHICAGO – FX’s “The League” is one of the most consistently inventive and clever comedies on TV right now. It’s also remarkably dirty and only getting more so. With a season premiere in which Seth Rogen plays a porno director named Dirty Randy, “The League” seems to be pushing even more envelopes as other comedies on the network (“Louie,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) take their own boundaries further and further.

CHICAGO – At this year’s MTV Movie Awards, Djo Tunda Wa Munga’s “Viva Riva!” had the distinction of winning the first ever “Best African Movie” award, thus equating it with such cinematic masterworks as “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.” Luckily, that’s not the only claim to fame for Munga’s slick neo-noir, which also garnered six African Academy Awards and single-handedly revitalized the film industry in Congo.

CHICAGO – Damn, last year’s Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language Film were a dark, dark bunch. I thought “Biutiful,” “Dogtooth” and “In a Better World” had their brutal edges but I hadn’t yet seen the incredibly intense “Incendies,” a historical drama wrapped in a very personal story. The film is a bit more flawed than some of the critical praise had led me to believe but it’s definitely worth a look, especially for renters looking for international drama.

CHICAGO – I fall a bit more in love with “Raising Hope” every week. I went as far as to suggest that the series deserved Emmy nominations for Best Comedy Series, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (Martha Plimpton), and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Garrett Dillahunt) — one out of three came true as Plimpton actually made a run at the trophy. This show just kept getting better as the first season progressed. Check it out now on DVD and see what the growing buzz is about.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The story of Sean Flynn – son of the legendary Errol Flynn, perpetrator of B-movies in the early 1960s, game warden in Kenya and finally war correspondent during the Vietnam conflict – would rate enough material for a 10-hour mini-series. Only his disappearance is covered in “The Road to Freedom.”

CHICAGO – Don’t call her Hannah Montana anymore, Miley Cyrus has broken out on her own and is forging a more personal music and performance career. Recently, she came to Chicago to promote the grand opening of The Topshop here.

CHICAGO – Here is some news that shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. With the success of the re-release of “The Lion King” to theaters, enhanced with 3D, Disney and Disney-Pixar have decided to bring back four more classics to the theaters. Of course, what would be a re-release in this day and age if it didn’t include a third dimension for your theater going experience?