HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News

Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Lord of the Rings Trilogy’ Exhilarates on Blu-Ray

Lord of the Rings Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – The first words we hear are those of the beguiling elf Galadriel, whose ethereal voice haunts an empty screen while declaring, “The world is changed.” And so it had in December 2001, when Americans were reeling from 9/11, and more eager than ever to escape into a fantasy where moral certainty was never in doubt, and pure-hearted heroes clung to the belief that there was still good in the world, and it was worth fighting for.

Blu-Ray Review: Nicolas Cage Rocks ‘Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans’

Bad Lieutenant Port of Call New Orleans

CHICAGO – 2010 is clearly the year of New Orleans with a Saints Superbowl victory, HBO’s highly acclaimed “Treme” debuting this Sunday and the highly underrated and somewhat excellent “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” starring Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes, debuting on Blu-ray and DVD tomorrow, April 6th, 2010.

Exclusive Portrait: Eva Marie Saint at ‘North by Northwest’ Screening

CHICAGO – The TCM Classic Film Festival, in Hollywood from April 22nd to the 25th, made a stop in Chicago during their “Road to Hollywood” fest promotion. Legendary star Eva Marie Saint introduced the film “North by Northwest.”

Blu-Ray Review: Theatrical Cut of ‘Red Cliff’ Plays Like a Trailer For a Terrific Film

Red Cliff Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – When moviegoers think of John Woo, the first image that comes to mind isn’t legions of ancient armies fighting each other with bows and arrows, but rather two men holding each other at gunpoint (as in his 1992 classic “Hard-Boiled”). His best action set-pieces are the most intimate, with gunplay and bloodshed taking on an almost balletic grandeur.

Blu-Ray Review: Spectacular ‘Bigger Than Life’ Joins Criterion Collection

Bigger Than Life

CHICAGO – “God was wrong!” This line, spoken by the legendary James Mason in the remarkable “Bigger Than Life,” must have sent shockwaves through the audiences that heard it in 1956 and it’s not surprising that the film was shunned, buried, and only recently unearthed as a classic of its era. Directed by Nicholas Ray (“Rebel Without a Cause”), the film is the latest addition to the Criterion Collection and it’s stunningly good.

TV Review: Manipulative, Messy ‘Miami Medical’

Miami Medical

CHICAGO – Television drama is usually a formulaic proposition but rarely has a show been more blatantly derivative of other programs currently on the air than CBS’s new hospital drama, “Miami Medical,” a bizarre, ineffective hybrid of “CSI: Miami” and “Trauma”. Buried in the ratings nether regions of Friday nights, this Jerry Bruckheimer-produced show might just barely deliver for viewers exhausted after a long week of work, but they’ll have forgotten it by Saturday morning.

‘Clash of the Titans’ Bores More Often Than Thrills

CHICAGO – The unjustified remake of the ’80s camp-fest “Clash of the Titans” may have been re-purposed for the trend of 3-D but its performances are still tragically 2-D and its plot practically see-through.

‘Mid-August Lunch’ Pleasant, Tenderly Tasty Trifle

Mid-August Lunch
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.0/5.0
Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Not much happens in “Mid-August Lunch.” It’s as uneventful and often benign as the title suggests, though that’s not to say it’s dull. Some films are primarily about plot, while others are about behavior, and this quietly observant international crowd-pleaser certainly fits in the latter category.

Nothing is Real With Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies on ‘City Island’

CHICAGO – A blue collar worker father who has a secret Marlon Brando obsession (gasp!), a son with an improbable fetish and a daughter who quits college to…strip, this is a normal day-in-the-life in the new film “City Island.”

Blu-Ray Review: Marvelous Release For Mediocre ‘Sherlock Holmes’

Sherlock Holmes

CHICAGO – Guy Ritchie’s wildly successful “Sherlock Holmes” looks and sounds amazing on Blu-ray but the flaws of the blockbuster film remain. Viewed purely as escapist entertainment, “Sherlock” is a reasonably tasty piece of popcorn and the technical treatment and bonus material that accompany the film are unimpeachable but there’s still something not quite right about Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law’s take on Holmes and Watson.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ is Sure to Delight Adults of All Ages

Fantastic Mr. Fox Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – It’s taken me longer than most film buffs to warm up to the cinema of Wes Anderson. He’s a designer at heart, and his obsessive eye for intricate visual detail makes the medium of animation an ideal one for him to inhabit. With an army of stop-motion wizards at his command, he has finally come into his own. And unlike Tim Burton, whose “Nightmare Before Christmas” was directed by Henry Selick, “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is wholly the vision of one singular artist.

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 50 Chicago Passes to ‘After.Life’ With Christina Ricci, Liam Neeson

CHICAGO – In our latest horror/thriller edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of “After.Life” starring Christina Ricci, Liam Neeson and Justin Long!

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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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