HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News

‘Dancing Across Borders’ Documents a Man’s Bittersweet Triumph

Dancing Across Borders
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.0/5.0
Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – It’s rather serendipitous that the new film “Dancing Across Borders” will have it’s Chicago premiere at the Gene Siskel Film Center, which is literally around the corner from the Oriental Theater’s production of “Billy Elliot.” The true-life story in “Borders” has some striking similarities to that of the wildly hyped musical, since they both center on a young man whose passion for dance allows him to overcome the limitations of his underprivileged upbringing.

Wildly Entertaining ‘Kick-Ass’ Lives Up to Its Title

CHICAGO – With a half dozen superhero movies every year that feel as if they were created by a Hollywood blockbuster machine, it’s so refreshing to see one with its own distinct, subversive personality like Matthew Vaughn’s “Kick-Ass”.

David Duchovny, Demi Moore Can’t Keep Up With ‘The Joneses’

The Joneses

CHICAGO – Introduced with one of the easier movie pundit headlines ever, “The Joneses” indeed cannot keep up with itself, despite a sharp script and the plausible efforts of David Duchovny and Demi Moore.

Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence Are Stiff in Tepid ‘Death at a Funeral’

Death at a Funeral

CHICAGO – When some of the funniest comedians in the business – Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan – can’t deliver a absurdist comedy about family secrets, then there truly is “Death at a Funeral.”

Interview: Rising Star Aaron Johnson of ‘Kick-Ass’

CHICAGO – April 2010 is the month of Aaron Johnson. After a small role in “The Greatest” should have earned him a bit of exposure, this week’s “Kick-Ass” is about to make him a star.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Slammin’ Salmon’ Should Be Sent Back

The Slammin' Salmon

CHICAGO – The Broken Lizard Comedy Troupe (Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske) have made consistently funny, unique comedies since they broke through with “Super Troopers” and followed that with two films that are arguably better - “Club Dread” and “Beerfest”. They’ve made their first dud with the pretty bad “The Slammin’ Salmon,” now on Blu-ray and DVD.

‘The Eclipse’ Blends Human Drama With Spooky Horror

The Eclipse
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.0/5.0
Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – I often find that the most interesting characters in a ghost story are not the ghosts themselves, but the humans who encounter them. Ghosts are reflections of a past we are unwilling to depart from, even if it halts us from entering the future. It’s a consolation for us to believe that our departed loved ones view us as their “unfinished business.”

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 25 Chicago Passes to ‘The Losers’ With Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan

CHICAGO – In our latest action/adventure edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of “The Losers” starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“Watchmen”), Zoe Saldana (“Star Trek,” “Avatar”) and Chris Evans (“Fantastic Four”)!

TV Review: Will Ferrell, Tina Fey in ‘Saturday Night Live in the 2000s’

CHICAGO – When a TV show has been on since 1975, comparisons are bound to elicit debate regarding the different eras. “Saturday Night Live in the 2000s: Time and Again,” weighs in on the recent history of the late night legend. The two hour NBC special airs Thursday, April 15th, 9pm ET/8pm Central time.

Interview: TCM Host Robert Osborne on Their First Classic Film Festival

CHICAGO – Turner Classic Movies, the basic cable gift to film buffs everywhere, is launching their first TCM Classic Movie Festival in Hollywood, August 22nd-25th. TCM’s main movie host and face of the network, Robert Osborne, will be there.

Blu-Ray Reviews: ‘Sharpe’s Challenge,’ ‘Sharpe’s Peril’ Are Our Delight

sharpes_thumb.jpg

CHICAGO – Sean Bean is an actor who naturally exudes menace. His dark squinting eyes always seem to be up to something, and surely assisted him in getting cast as the bad guy in a variety of blockbusters. While American moviegoers know him primarily for roles such as Jack Ryan’s adversary in “Patriot Games,” British audiences view Bean as their equivalent to a heroic Jack Ryan-type everyman, thanks to his portrayal of swashbuckling soldier Richard Sharpe.

‘My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done’ Inspires Genuine Head-Scratching

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.5/5.0
Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – When David Lynch came to Chicago for an “Inland Empire” screening back in 2007, he offered memorable advice to a moviegoer baffled by his work. He said that his audience should meditate not on the “intellectual experience” provided by his films, but the emotional ideas that they conjure. Meditating on anything else would prove useless because, as Lynch put it, “If you meditate on buttermilk, you’ll end up going to the dairy.”

Video Game Review: ‘Prison Break: The Conspiracy’

Prison Break: The Conspiracy

CHICAGO – Movie tie-in games have a reputation for being subpar at best and sometimes downright horrendous but the legacy of the blockbuster companion is nothing compared to the cavalcade of gaming crap that has come with our favorite TV shows. Games based on great shows like “The X-Files,” “Lost,” “24,” and “The Sopranos” have been absolute disasters. We can now add “Prison Break” to that list.

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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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