Carla Gugino

Blu-Ray Review: Catch Up With ‘Spy Kids’ Trilogy in HD Before Upcoming Sequel

Spy Kids

CHICAGO – Before you spend your hard-earned cash taking the entire family to see “Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World,” you might as well catch up with the original “trilogy,” the very-popular series of films that most of us assumed were the end of this mediocre franchise. Don’t get me wrong — the first “Spy Kids” is actually a very fun movie and totally worth owning for Blu-ray buyers with kids of the right age but the two sequels are mediocre and annoying, respectively. Still, kids like to have complete collections and all of the films are hitting Blu-ray this week extras-packed HD editions with digital copies. Now you can take these precocious mini-Bonds anywhere.

Blu-Ray Review: Extended Cut of Controversial ‘Sucker Punch’

Sucker Punch

CHICAGO – We’ve seen a lot of overly stylized films based on video games and comic books but rarely has there been a movie more derivative of other mediums yet not actually based on one than Zack Snyder’s “Sucker Punch,” a movie loathed by dozens of major critics (and defended by our very own Patrick McDonald) and recently released on Blu-ray and DVD in a 17-minute longer extended cut.

Film Review: Nature is Abused By Jim Carrey in ‘Mr Popper’s Penguins’

CHICAGO – Pity the poor penguin making pictures. Their wings cannot fly, they have no script approval or agents, just a trainer bribing them with food to hit the mark. Their presence, their cuteness, even their flightlessness are exploited for a dreadful Jim Carrey film called “Mr Popper’s Penguins.” Somebody call PETA.

Film Review: ‘Sucker Punch’ Has Dazzling Imagery, Wham-Bam

CHICAGO – It’s a pleasure to see the comic book film done right, especially with the visionary guidance of director Zach Snyder (”300”). “Sucker Punch” is an amazing treat, a feast of eye candy and incredible adventure.

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 30 Pairs of Chicago Passes to Zack Snyder’s ‘Sucker Punch’ With Vanessa Hudgens

Sucker Punch from Zack Snyder with Vanessa Hudgens

CHICAGO – In our latest fantasy/action edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 30 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the new film “Sucker Punch” from “Watchmen” and “300” director Zack Snyder!

DVD Review: Dwayne Johnson Wastes Talent on Dull ‘Faster’

Faster, Dwayne Johnson

CHICAGO – After his underrated breakthrough from wrestling into acting, “The Rundown,” we all expected Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to be the next macho action stars like the icons we grew up with — Sly, Ahnuld, Bruce Willis, and more. But the action market shifted to more average-looking heroes (like Nic Cage & Shia LaBeouf) and The Rock took a left turn into family fare like “The Tooth Fairy” and “Race to Witch Mountain.” “Faster” looked like a return to the genre in which he would have been a mega-star in 1988. Sadly, the result is a dull, boring affair that’s nowhere near as much fun as its title or premise might suggest.

Film Review: ‘Elektra Luxx’ Offers Middling Showcase For Carla Gugino

Elektra Luxx review

CHICAGO – Sebastian Gutierrez is the sort of filmmaker who thrives best on the festival circuit. His work is just quirky and distinctive enough to garner overenthusiastic praise from jaded festival goers in the mood for markedly lighter fare. Yet when screened out of the celebratory atmosphere at SXSW, Gutierrez’s films fail to register as anything more than mediocre trifles.

Film Review: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton Are Redemptive in ‘Faster’

Faster, Dwayne Johnson

CHICAGO – The Action Film is getting a bit creaky, relying more on computer generated eye candy than character or plot. It is refreshing to experience a film like “Faster,” featuring Dwayne Johnson and Billy Bob Thornton, because it is an action film that means something, and puts its inhabitants on a path to their own salvation.

Blu-Ray Review: Unfunny ‘Women in Trouble’ Confuses Vulgarity With Insight

Women in Trouble Blu Ray

CHICAGO – The best thing about this alleged comedy is its title, evocative of David Lynch’s signature premise: “A woman in trouble.” Yet while Lynch has been accused of misogyny by some filmgoers, Sebastian Gutierrez’s “Women in Trouble” purports itself to be an empowering portrait of strong female characters. Their strength is often demonstrated by their ability to cuss and talk about sex. Boy, how far we have come.

Preview: The Best of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival, Week One

CHICAGO – We’ve been working our way through the schedule for the upcoming 45th Annual Chicago International Film Festival, kicking off tonight with the premiere of “Motherhood,” starring Uma Thurman, Anthony Edwards, and Minnie Driver.

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  • Manhunt

    CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

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