Juliette Lewis

CHICAGO – Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It” is the kind of fun, girl-power driven comedy that I honestly expected would find a huge word-of-mouth audience in theaters. Its absolutely dismal box office ($13 million) was one of the biggest financial surprises of 2009. People are likely to catch up with the Ellen Page comedy on Blu-ray and DVD.

CHICAGO – Does the fact that “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” is receiving a lavish 20th anniversary edition Blu-Ray release make anyone else feel old? Just me? Whether you’re old enough to remember the first “Vacation” or young enough to know Chevy Chase as “that old guy on Community,” this is a lavish collector’s set for a great holiday film timed for holiday shopping.

CHICAGO – Oliver Stone’s “Natural Born Killers” is easily one of the best films of the ’90s, an experimental, daring, visually mesmerizing study of not just violence but America’s obsession with it. At the peak of his directorial abilities, one of the best filmmakers of the ’80s and ’90s turned his lens on the way we turn evil people into tabloid heroes and he did it with such vibrant style that “NBK” has just as much resonance as it did fifteen years ago.

CHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two run-of-engagement Chicago passes up for grabs to the new film “Whip It,” which is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut!