HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News

Interview: Comedian Robert Klein Gets a Leg Up on Latest HBO Special

CHICAGO – “I can’t stop my leg” is the lyric to Robert Klein’s most famous comedy song, and the venerable stand-up comedian still keeps the laughs coming with his brand of observational hilarity. With a career spanning over 45 years, Klein still knocks ‘em dead on his latest HBO Special, “Unfair and Unbalanced.”

Interview: Actress Morgan Fairchild Highlights Her Career, Activism

CHICAGO – Morgan Fairchild was a memorable presence during her early career in various appearances on 1970s and 1980s TV screens. She and also starred in a couple of nighttime soap operas including “Flamingo Road” and “Falcon Crest”.

DVD Review: ‘Collapse’ Paints Unsettling Portrait of Approaching Doom

Collapse DVD

CHICAGO – Doomsday prophecies are a dime a dozen at the movies these days. We’ve become all too complacent in staring at visions of our planet’s fragility, and the preventable threats to our survival. Most apocalyptic thrillers are pitched at the level of B-movie fantasies that make credible issues like global warming seem as frighteningly real as Godzilla.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Book of Eli’ Offers Solid B-Movie Entertainment

The Book of Eli Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – If there’s one cinematic trope more tired and overused than the apocalypse, it’s the Bible-quoting badass. Everyone from Jules Winnfield to the Boondock Saints have memorably demonstrated that nothing justifies mass-murder quite like the word of the Lord. Yet Eli, the mysterious hero of the Hughes Brothers’ long-awaited thriller, isn’t just armed with a few scriptural quotes. He’s got the whole book.

Blu-Ray Review: Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Paints the Roses Red

Alice in Wonderland

CHICAGO – In so many ways, Tim Burton’s entire career has been building to “Alice in Wonderland”. The mega-hit (it’s still the #1 film of the year at the domestic box office although will likely be passed, just barely, by “Iron Man 2”) contains so many of Burton’s themes of individuality through a fantasy film lens while it also came under criticism for displaying the shallow lack of dramatic weight of his recent output. With a lovely Disney Blu-ray release, it’s easy to see both sides of one of the most critically divisive films of the year to date.

Video Game Review: Addictive ‘Blur’ Tests More Than Driving Ability

Blur
HollywoodChicago.com Video Game Rating: 4.0/5.0
Video Game Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – May 2010 has seen a trio of racing games that might blur together for casual players but that all come with their own unique identities. Sony’s “ModNation Racers” (which we will review later this week) is about the customizable experience and plays closer to something like “Super Mario Kart” meets “Little Big Planet”. Disney’s “Split/Second” is a car chase scene from a Michael Bay movie brought to life. The most traditional and arguably most addictive is Activision’s “Blur,” a thrill ride that moves at such a high rate of speed that decisions need to made in the blink of an eye.

DVD Review: Brilliant Seventh Season of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’

Curb Your Enthusiasm

CHICAGO – The last year in television will be remembered as a very funny one as hit new comedies like “Glee,” “Modern Family,” and “Community” joined seasoned veterans like “30 Rock,” “The Office,” and “How I Met Your Mother” on lists of the best laugh-fests on the tube. Arguably the best of them all was also the oldest — the amazing seventh season of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” now available on DVD and simply spectacular.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘From Paris With Love’ a Cinematic Royale With Cheese

From Paris With Love Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – John Travolta always seems to be in a perpetual state of “coming back.” His various attempts at reinventing his screen persona seem to be driven less by artistic integrity than commercial desperation. The more macho and foul-mouthed he tries to be, the less convincing he is.

Video Game Review: ‘Red Dead Redemption’ is Early Frontrunner For Game of the Year

Red Dead Redemption
HollywoodChicago.com Video Game Rating: 5.0/5.0
Video Game Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Rarely has a game lived up to the advance hype as completely as “Red Dead Redemption,” the very unique title that will be influential in so many ways that they’re almost hard to count. There have been titles that pushed the gaming world forward in terms of single-player campaigns or multi-player experiences or gameplay or graphics, but “Red Dead Redemption” is a masterpiece on every discernable level. It’s doubtful you’ll play anything better all year.

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: $800 Value! Two Free Ultra-VIP Tickets For Ron Howard’s Awards Gala

CHICAGOThis is an exclusive, $800 value! HollywoodChicago.com is one of the only places where you can get it. In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, one lucky winner (plus one guest) will win a ticket to the ultra-VIP party for Ron Howard’s upcoming awards gala!

TV Review: FOX Drama ‘Lie to Me’ Gets More Entertaining Every Week

Lie to Me

CHICAGO – The great television creator Shawn Ryan (“The Shield”) has taken over “Lie to Me” and turned what was a pretty generic mystery-of-the-week show into something that’s deserving of your attention. Taking the great Tim Roth and making him much more than just a cog in the serial machine, the two new episodes of “Lie to Me” that air tonight and next week make for intense, excellent television.

TV Review: NBC Mystery Series ‘Persons Unknown’ is Worth Meeting

CHICAGO – Written by the man who gave the world Keyser Soze in his Oscar-winning script for “The Usual Suspects,” NBC’s “Persons Unknown” is a summer mystery mini-series not unlike last year’s “Harper’s Island” or a mini-“Lost” in that the team behind it want people talking about the questions of the show over summer barbecues.

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TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • 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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