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.
HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News
TV on DVD Round-Up: ‘C.S.I.,’ ‘Desperate Housewives,’ ‘Scrubs’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 25, 2010 - 11:19amCHICAGO – With most TV on DVD releases now scheduled for August and September, how does one buyer work through all of the options? We’ve covered a number of the choices in recent weeks (and have a few more planned next week) along reviews of every new series, but it’s easy for some titles to fall through the cracks, especially for shows that might not have the cultural cachet they once did.
Interviews: TV Stars at the Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 25, 2010 - 12:06amCHICAGO – The Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show is back in Chicago this weekend, September 25th and 26th, and the last time it came around some popular TV stars of the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s participated. Dawn Wells, Willie Aames, James MacArthur and Ken Kercheval were there.
Film Review: Whole Truth Becomes a Modern-Era Reality in ‘Catfish’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 24, 2010 - 7:13pmCHICAGO – “Catfish” is a real oddball of a film, set in the Twilight Zone of our own virtual cyberspace. Three twentysomething men navigate through the mysterious rigors of a journey they never expected to take. Nev Schulman is the main subject and directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost provide the video exposition in this true story.
TV Review: Tom Selleck’s Epic ‘Blue Bloods’ Has Some Potential
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 24, 2010 - 5:34pmCHICAGO – Tom Selleck is back on series television, portraying the patriarch of a New York City cop dynasty in “Blue Bloods” (not a bad pun), but this time he is the Chief of Police over the whole city. He still has time for Sunday dinner with the family, and he’s inviting TV fans to the table.
Film Review: Philip Seymour Hoffman Stars in Directorial Debut ‘Jack Goes Boating’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 24, 2010 - 11:03amCHICAGO – One of the best working actors takes his skills behind camera in Philip Seymour Hoffman’s “Jack Goes Boating,” a character drama about one couple forming as another relationship falls apart at the same time. This gentle story of modern relationships is a subtle, slow-moving drama of moments and repercussions that works due to the talents of its cast and quality of its source material despite a few notable flaws.
Film Review: Shia LaBeouf, Michael Douglas Drive Energetic ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 24, 2010 - 9:32amCHICAGO – After a string of disappointments that include “Alexander,” “World Trade Center” and “W,” one of the best directors of the 1980s and 1990s at least draws closer to form with the entertaining “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”.
Film Review: ‘Enter the Void’ Takes Viewers on the Next Ultimate Trip
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 24, 2010 - 8:34amCHICAGO – “Dying would be the ultimate trip.” This line is uttered early on in “Enter the Void,” the extraordinary new film from Gaspar Noé, a director who enjoys referencing his previous work almost as much as his hero, Stanley Kubrick. This line pays subtle homage to the “2001: A Space Odyssey” poster prominently framed toward the end of Noé’s previous film, “Irreversible.”
Film Review: Ryan Reynolds Gets Beneath it in Tense Thriller ‘Buried’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 24, 2010 - 7:29amCHICAGO – In one of the most unusual settings for a film, actor Ryan Reynolds performs as a one-man tour de force as the only on-screen character in the new film “Buried.” Set in a coffin buried beneath the sands of Iraq, Reynolds conveys the panic, hope and inevitable outcome of a man buried alive and fighting for his very existence.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 1 DVD, 1 Soundtrack For ‘Stomp the Yard: Homecoming’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 24, 2010 - 1:03amCHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, we have 1 DVD and 1 soundtrack up for grabs to the new film “Stomp the Yard: Homecoming”!
Interviews: Nev Schulman, Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost of ‘Catfish’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 24, 2010 - 12:27amCHICAGO – One of the most provocative new films of 2010 is the strange and beautiful “Catfish.” As a testament to the current age of on-camera exploration, the true story focuses on New York photographer Nev Schulman, as he receives a package in the mail, which begins a journey that takes him to a relationship he thought he’d never have. Brother Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost are the “directors.”
TV Review: ‘Outsourced’ is Latest 5-Star Addition to NBC Thursday
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 23, 2010 - 5:41pmCHICAGO – It seems that NBC is getting some of their “Must See TV” mojo back, after adding the hilarious “Community” to the Thursday night comedy line-up last year and debuting the equally stellar “Outsourced’ this year, which premieres September 23rd at 8:30pm CST.
Interview: Ryan Reynolds, Director Rodrigo Cortés Uncover ‘Buried’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 23, 2010 - 3:54pmCHICAGO – “Buried” is an unconventional film, a so-called (by director Rodrigo Cortés) impossible film to make. Ryan Reynolds is the only actor on-screen in the whole film, and he plays a man buried alive somewhere in the war zone of Iraq. The story takes place within the coffin underneath the ground, and Reynolds had to convey both the desperation and hope.
TV Review: ABC’s ‘My Generation’ Wastes Talented Cast on Cliche
Submitted by BrianTT on September 23, 2010 - 11:28amCHICAGO – The new ABC dramedy “My Generation” is all concept and no execution. Creator Noah Hawley (the vastly-superior “The Unusuals”) came up with an idea and found a talented cast and the creativity died shortly thereafter. The foundation is a clever and inspired one but the writing staff adds nothing more than cliche to it, piling on characters who feel barely two-dimensional and rarely finding a genuine moment in the lackluster and bloated series premiere.