CHICAGO – The late playwright August Wilson left a gift to the world in the form of his “American Century Cycle,” a series of plays each individually set in a decade of the 20th Century, focusing on the black experience. Chicago’s Goodman Theatre presents Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” now through May 19th, 2024 (click here).
Movie Review
Fun, Brilliant ‘ParaNorman’ Delivers For All Audiences
Submitted by BrianTT on August 16, 2012 - 9:57am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “ParaNorman” is not only the best animated film of 2012 by a large margin but it’s better than anything that came out last year as well. The latest stop-motion gem from LAIKA (who made another one of the best animated films of the last several years in “Coraline”) is smart, funny, scary, imaginative, and, most surprisingly of all, moving. Don’t miss it.
‘The Odd Life of Timothy Green’ Misses Emotional Connection
Submitted by BrianTT on August 15, 2012 - 11:04am Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Peter Hedges’ “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” has a warm, gooey center that’s admirable in a family movie way but what’s around it can’t hold together as the lack of focus in the narrative and the rather grating performance from the young man playing its title character causes it to annoy more than entertain.
Predictable ‘The Campaign’ Hinges on Hilarious Newlyweds Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 10, 2012 - 10:36pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Will Ferrell makes five new proclamations loud and clear: he’s a comic dream-team duo with Zach Galifianakis in “The Campaign,” punching a baby and then a dog are seriously funny, real-life politics should take a lesson from this over-the-top smear campaign, you need one supporting Korean weapon and there’s nearly no such thing as a 100% comedy that delivers on 100% of its comedy.
Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg in ‘Celeste and Jesse Forever’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 10, 2012 - 11:44am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Rashida Jones has been a reliable co-star for years in films like “I Love You, Man” and TV shows like “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation” but she gets her most notable role to date in a film she co-wrote, the romantic dramedy “Celeste and Jesse Forever,” opening this weekend in Chicago.
Truth Trumps Fiction Again in ‘Searching for Sugar Man’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 10, 2012 - 8:42amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The old axiom “truth is stranger than fiction” is proved again in the unique story of a pop troubadour from the 1970s named Rodriguez, who produced two searing albums and then disappeared into oblivion. Unknown to the artist, he became huge in South Africa. The odd hope of Rodriguez is chronicled in “Searching for Sugar Man.”
Jeremy Renner Propels Clever ‘The Bourne Legacy’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 9, 2012 - 10:18am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Tony Gilroy’s world of double crosses, super spies, and covert government programs returns in the writer/director’s clever expansion of the world he created as the writer of “The Bourne Identity,” “The Bourne Supremacy,” and “The Bourne Ultimatum.” The Oscar winner doesn’t just offer a traditional sequel, presenting a new leading man and a story that takes place in the same world of international espionage as its predecessors but feels more like a spin-off than a follow-up.
Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones Elevate ‘Hope Springs’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 6, 2012 - 9:29amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It can be argued that Meryl Streep is in the most fruitful period in her long and illustrious career, at least as far as the variety of character parts she has undertaken. She co-stars in “Hope Springs” with Tommy Lee Jones, as a mousy Omaha wife who is looking for a change in her marriage.
Total Retread for ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 3, 2012 - 10:45pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The month of August contain the “dog days” of summer, when the season lumbers to a hazy and hot conclusion. How appropriate that the third film of a popular series would be called ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days,’ because like summer’s end it feels lethargic. Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron and Steve Zahn star.
‘Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry’ Stands as One of 2012’s Most Important Films
Submitted by mattmovieman on August 3, 2012 - 9:56amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Every person who was mystified by the meaning of the “Free Ai Weiwei” shirts and petitions that in were vogue last year owe it to themselves to see Alison Klayman’s excellent documentary. Moviegoers will be hard-pressed to find a more riveting and vital film in theaters this year. It may not have a satisfying ending, but that’s because its real-life tale has (thankfully) yet to reach a conclusion.
‘Total Recall’ Remake Should Be Wiped From Your Memory
Submitted by BrianTT on August 3, 2012 - 9:23amRating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Paul Verhoeven’s “Total Recall” has been run through a machine and turned into a personality-less, numbing exercise in CGI action with a complete lack of any characters worth giving a damn about and a totally wasted opportunity at social commentary. Sure, seeing Jessica Biel fight Kate Beckinsale while Colin Farrell punches a robot in a speeding space elevator has something inherent that appeals to the 12-year-old boy in me but that doesn’t make it filmmaking. No, filmmaking and Len Wiseman are two things that don’t really go together.
