Robert Rodriguez

Blu-ray Review: ‘Spy Kids: All the Time in the World’ Proves Utterly Wasteful

Spy Kids All the Time in the World Blu-ray

CHICAGO – If this fourth “Spy Kids” installment proves anything at all, it’s that time has clearly run out on the franchise. While the original film was playfully inventive and preached resonant messages about family unity and the importance of teamwork, the series has followed the usual pattern of diminishing returns. After an eight-year hiatus, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez tried and failed to reboot the franchise with this soulless retread.

Interviews: Alexa Vega, Latest Spy Kids on ‘Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D’

CHICAGO – It’s fun espionage time at the movies this week, as “Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D” introduces some new young adventurers to the popular series, Mason Cook and Rowan Blanchard. Former kid Alexa Vega also appears in the film.

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: Robert Rodriguez’s ‘Machete’ With Jessica Alba, Robert De Niro

Machete

CHICAGO – “Machete” may be one of the most wonderfully-conceived films of 2010. The idea that one of the fake trailers from “Grindhouse” could ever become a full-length film is a movie lover’s dream come true (and it’s so ironic that “Machete” grossed more domestically than the movie that spawned it). While I love the very existence of “Machete,” the movie itself is something of a disappointment, and it’s not helped by a mediocre Blu-ray that barely has any special features.

Film Review: Adrien Brody’s ‘Predators’ Unmemorably Lulls Through the Expected Motions

CHICAGO – Good films deliver on their promise. Great films up the ante even more. In this version of the long “Predators” franchise from director Nimrod Antal (“Control,” “Armored,” “Vacancy”) and more-known producer Robert Rodriguez (“Grindhouse,” “Sin City”), we merely see more of the same: just enough to get us by but not nearly enough to make us care.

Slideshow: 10-Image Gallery For ‘Predators’ Starring Adrien Brody

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Academy Award® winner Adrien Brody portrays Royce, a mercenary whose skills are put to the ultimate test when he faces alien Predators.

CHICAGO – This 10-image slideshow contains all of the official press images for the highly anticipated “Predators,” starring Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburne, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, and Walton Goggins. The film was written by Alex Litvak and Michael Finch, produced by Robert Rodriguez, and directed by Nimrod Antal. It will be released on July 9th, 2010.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Shorts’ Long on Comic Chaos, Short on Charm

Shorts

CHICAGO – Robert Rodriguez is a one-man moviemaking machine. He’s always looking for the fastest and most cost-effective ways for getting his work out to the public. His success story, memorably chronicled in the book “Rebel Without a Crew,” is genuinely inspiring, yet his films often fail to resonate as anything other than exercises in design.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Sin City’ Exceeds Expectations With Flawless Release

Sin City
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “Sin City - Recut, Extended, Unrated” was one of the best DVD box sets in the history of the format. Most collectors interested in the Blu-Ray upgrade of the title will probably already own the box set that came with an entire graphic novel and is currently anchoring many a respectable DVD shelf. The Blu-Ray release features two new special features and, of course, HD picture and sound. Should you upgrade?

News: ‘Once’ Soundtrack, ‘Ocean’s Thirteen’ Premiere Events, Robert Rodriguez to Direct ‘Barbarella’

The soundtrack album for “Once” has been released by Canvasback, Columbia Records and Sony Music Soundtrax.

New Line Records will release the soundtrack to the upcoming New Line Cinema film “Hairspray” on July 10.

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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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