Neil Patrick Harris

CHICAGO – The main problem with “Beastly,” a modern high schooler retelling of “Beauty and the Beast,” is that the outcome is known (Beast will learn lessons, become handsome again). That leaves only the way it gets to that end for creating story. This film cannot find its way.

CHICAGO – At its rare best, “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” recalls Looney Tunes productions with their brilliant blend of slapstick humor, wordplay, and breakneck pace. And the odd collection of TV-caliber guest stars including Fred Armisen (“Saturday Night Live”), Jack McBrayer (“30 Rock”), and Chris O’Donnell (“NCIS: Los Angeles”) along with a truly weird group of vocal performances that include Bette Midler and Nick Nolte of all people make for a film that sometimes resembles “Looney Tunes: Back in Action.” Sadly, resembling a funny movie does not make a comedy and this half-assed attempt at family entertainment should be sent to the pound.

CHICAGO – With easily the darkest subject matter and most intense level of violence to date in the DC Universe series of PG-13 animated film, “Batman: Under the Red Hood” is far from your typical Saturday morning cartoon. This is morally complex material much closed to “The Dark Knight” than “Batman & Robin,” and it’s a smash success for the franchise, resulting in easily the best installment in years.

CHICAGO – Watching the inspired “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” again on Blu-ray with the wife, the word she kept using to describe it was “creative”. It’s an appropriate word for a very funny comedy with one of the best voice casts in years, an enjoyable visual aesthetic, a heartwarming message that doesn’t come off over-cooked, and a gorgeously transferred Blu-ray release. It’s a great way to start the HD decade.

CHICAGO – Even with the long history of awful video game adaptation of hit films, shouldn’t “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” be a slam dunk? The clever family comedy plays like a video game already with a very fun story that should be easy to turn into something playable with a controller. But the video game version of “Cloudy” has already his stores well past its expiration date.

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Jeff Probst on the Red Carpet at the 61st Primetime Emmy® Awards, broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles Sunday, Sept. 20 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.

CHICAGO – This 19-image slideshow contains the official CBS press images from “The 2009 Emmy Awards” including images from the stage and the red carpet. Celebrities snapped include Glenn Close, Tina Fey, Neil Patrick Harris, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Eva La Rue, Kaley Cuoco, Samantha Harris, LL Cool J, Alyson Hanigan, Cobie Smulders, Jon Cryer, Jeff Probst, Simon Baker, Bryan Cranston, Heidi Klum, and many more.

CHICAGO – CBS’ “How I Met Your Mother” reached a creative and cultural peak last season shooting up twenty-one places in the ratings and an average of 1.2 million viewers a week - a virtual tsunami of TV watchers in an era of constant erosion with broadcast TV ratings.

CHICAGO – Neil Patrick Harris hosted a joyful edition of the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday night, September 20th, 2009, at which AMC’s “Mad Men” and NBC’s “30 Rock” were the big winners with Alec Baldwin, Jon Cryer, Kristin Chenoweth, Toni Collette, Cherry Jones, Michael Emerson, Glenn Close, and Bryan Cranston walking away with the major acting awards.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Proving that you should never judge an animated film by its cover or its typically predictable brethren, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is a very funny comedy with one of the best voice casts in years, an enjoyable visual aesthetic, and even a heartwarming message that doesn’t come off over-cooked.

CHICAGO – I know I’m the last person with internet access to catch up with “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” but I am now officially one of the converted masses. Joss Whedon’s incredibly clever, award-winning internet phenomenon starring Neil Patrick Harris (“How I Met Your Mother”) and Nathan Fillion (“Firefly,” “Castle”) has now been widely released on DVD.