John Turturro

CHICAGO – When a New York subway dispatcher finds himself locked in a tense battle of the wits with a deranged criminal onboard Pelham 123, he’s offered this bit of advice from a seasoned hostage negotiator: don’t enter his world. The same warning could be issued to viewers intent on entering the world of Tony Scott.

CHICAGO – Our wonderful DreamWorks contact just sent over the DVD and Blu-Ray details, along with the cover art, for the biggest movie of the year, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”. The Michael Bay blockbuster with Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, and Tyrese Gibson will land in exactly two months, on October 20th, 2009.

CHICAGO – I can still vividly remember seeing Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing”. For a teenager just becoming interested in the world of film, it was life-changing. And it still resonates as one of the best films of the ’80s and a searing commentary on the state of race relations in the big city. The 20th Anniversary Blu-Ray Edition of Lee’s amazing film is a must-own.

CHICAGO – There are often many reasons sequels should not be made. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is one of them. Seeking that “Allspark” exhilaration pumped into many of us from the original “Transformers,” moviegoers will flock to the sequel with anticipation.

CHICAGO – “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, opening June 24th, is the second film in the series based on the Hasbro toy/cartoon. Scott Farrar, whose long career has roots in the first “Star Wars”, supervised all the complex visual effects.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Tony Scott’s remake of “The Taking of Pelham 123,” starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta, is likely to meet sun-drained audience expectations for a straight-forward, adult-driven action film this season but the overly stylized and not-so-thrilling train ride is ultimately merely average at best and will disappoint fans looking for anything more.

CHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 20 admit-one tickets to the one and only advance Chicago screening of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” starring Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf!

CHICAGO – For those stoked to see “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” after “Transformers” in 2007 with Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf smashed box offices, its release date of June 24, 2009 might still feel like light-years away.

CHICAGO – Activision recently released a teaser trailer for their movie tie-in, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” video game.

Blu-Ray Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – They made a movie about Bruce Willis’ beard. “What Just Happened” is yet another head-scratcher from one of the more acclaimed directors of the ’80s and ’90s, Barry Levinson. Like “Envy” and “Man of the Year” before it, Levinson has spit out yet another inert comedy with a great ensemble but no passion, creativity or life to it. A mediocre Blu-Ray presentation does nothing to enhance the film.