CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Ken Howard
Film Review: Inauthentic ‘The Judge’ Guilty of a Stale Confrontation
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 11, 2014 - 6:20pmCHICAGO – Here comes “The Judge,” here comes “The Judge.” That 1960s catchphrase gets new meaning in the film featuring Robert Downey Jr. and veteran Robert Duvall, in a angry generational face-off that makes little sense and provides a stiff courtroom drama that felt like bad TV.
Film Review: Hilarious Cast Elevates Mediocre ‘A.C.O.D.’
Submitted by BrianTT on October 10, 2013 - 5:37pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The incredibly talented men and women who make up the cast of “A.C.O.D.” make the relative failure of its script easier to bear. Just hearing brilliant actors like Richard Jenkins and Catherine O’Hara at each other’s throats or watching remarkably likable stars like Adam Scott and Mary Elizabeth Winstead figure out their relationship has enough charm to get one from lights down to credits roll. And the first hour of “A.C.O.D.” is pretty damn funny, allowing one to hope that it will develop into something truly memorable. For some reason, the theme of Sundance comedies this year (“In a World…,” “Afternoon Delight,” and this one) is non-endings as “A.C.O.D.” can’t follow through on its clever set-up.
Film Review: Leonardo DiCaprio Embodies the G-Man in ‘J. Edgar’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 9, 2011 - 11:07amCHICAGO – Much of history is determined by the petty quirks and strange psychosis of “great leaders.” J. Edgar Hoover, FBI director for 48 years, worked hard to hide his very nature by squelching the nature of others – enemies, friends and perceived enemies. Leonardo DiCaprio is Hoover in “J. Edgar.”
TV Review: Drew Barrymore, Jessica Lange Give Color to ‘Grey Gardens’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 22, 2009 - 1:57pmTelevision Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of the best films of 2009 is currently playing on HBO in the original “Grey Gardens”. The film itself doesn’t quite stand up to recent accomplishments of the network like “John Adams” or “Recount” but it undeniably features the best performance of the year, including theatrical releases, in the revelatory, career-best work from Drew Barrymore.