March 2018

CHICAGO – Just in time for Easter, there’s a film filled with enough Easter eggs to drown a small country. “Ready Player One” is a “Where’s Waldo” of mostly 80’s pop culture references that are meant to trigger our (and especially filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s) sentimental, nostalgic cores by bombarding us with reminders of our childhood. These trips down memory lane are fun until they’re not.

CHICAGO – The British artist Andy Goldsworthy is a true “outsider” artist, because many of his works are rooted in the grown-and-death cycles of the great outdoors. He is described as a sculptor, photographer and environmentalist, but many of his art creations use materials available in any wooded area, based on a connection to nature combined with a creative soul. This is profiled in the second film about him from the same director, “Leaning Into the Wind - Andy Goldsworthy.”

CHICAGO – Fans of director Wes Anderson will find plenty to love in his second stop motion animated feature (after “Fantastic Mr. Fox”), entitled “Isle Of Dogs.” It’s an immersive and intricately detailed story set in Japan, and features a dizzying array of visual gags, along with Anderson’s trademark whimsy.

CHICAGO – It is “Taiwan Cinema Days” for the next couple of weeks at Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema (APUC) series, and it will kick off on March 28th, 2018, with the stylish and tragic “The Last Verse.” The films features Taiwanese actor Fu Meng-po as a star-crossed character nicknamed Poet, and is directed by Tseng Ying-ting. For more details about the screening, click here.

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Chicago Tattoo Arts Convention, 1 of 12

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Chicago Tattoo Arts Convention at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center on March 24, 2018. HollywoodChicago.com photographer Jeff Doles brings you the photos! Click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through the gallery or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All photos © Jeff Doles for HollywoodChicago.com.

CHICAGO – The ballots were counted at the recent 54th Chicago International Television Festival – which has become a separate Spring event presented by Cinema/Chicago, the agency of the Chicago International Film Festival – and there were numerous honorees in the categories of Commercials and Television Production, given on Thursday, March 22th, 2018, at the AMC River East Theatre in Chicago. The highest award is the Gold Hugo, but also conferred were the Silver Hugo, Gold Plaque, Silver Plaque and Certificate of Merit.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – The giant robot film genre is in trouble. It wasn’t enough that “Transformers” has ground it to dust, but now the “Pacific Rim” sequel is going the same direction. There is action-a-plenty in the followup to Guillermo Del Toro’s fun and light first film, that lightness is missing in “Pacific Rim Uprising.”

Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – If you want a film to take your mind off the current American power structure, that at the same time provides some truth to the situation, you won’t do better than “The Death of Stalin.” A monster comedic cast – including Steve Buscemi and Jeffrey Tambor – is assembled for this hilarious farce.

CHICAGO – The rise of innovative and inclusive television programming, along with the expansion of the broadcast spectrum that includes digital and online options, has been the most important entertainment story of the last five years. The 54th Chicago Television Festival – an offshoot of the Chicago International Film Festival, and presented by their agency Cinema/Chicago – has grown in prestige and importance along with that evolution in TV, and will take place from Tuesday, March 20th through Thursday, March 22nd, 2018, at the AMC River East 21 Theater at 322 East Illinois, Chicago.

CHICAGO – Anyone who has ever held a big secret knows that the weight of it is usually worse than the secret itself. The only thing worse than that is when the secret you’re holding back is your true self. “Love, Simon” explores the all-too-familiar, high school coming of age story, but with the added complication of coming to terms with your sexuality and identity.

CHICAGO – What would you expect from an event subject that has been already rendered four times on film, and deals with terrorism, hijacking and government negotiation? “7 Days in Entebbe” contained all of this, and yet still maintained a separate energy and cinematic artistry. In many ways, it’s one of the most surprising films of the young year.

CHICAGO – Movies based on video games are almost never good… even the best ones only ascend to the level of “barely watchable.” By that measure, “Tomb Raider” can be considered a modest success since it didn’t make me want to claw my eyes out. I have to confess I never saw either of the first two films with Angelina Jolie, but after watching this I’m not actually clamoring at the bit to catch up.

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Stefanie Powers from TV’s ‘Hart to Hart.’

CHICAGO – The TV, movie and entertainment world is coming back to Chicagoland with The Hollywood Show on March 17th and 18th, 2018, at the Hyatt Rosemont/Chicago O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Ill. The event gives fans and admirers an opportunity to meet and get pictures with celebrities and take advantage of vendors offering show business memorabilia.

CHICAGO – The era of World War II, now close to 80 years in the past, seems ever so farther in the rear view mirror of history. Movies have done their part to keep the memories and the spirit alive, so joining such works as “Band of Brothers” and “Saving Private Ryan” is a new documentary in development, “The Girl Who Wore Freedom,” now in pre-production by filmmakers Christian Taylor and Terry Jun of Reverse Negative Studios in Skokie, Ill.