HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News

DVD Review: Gorgeous ‘Bright Star’ Only Available in Standard Form

Bright Star

CHICAGO – One of the most beautiful films of 2009 is only available in standard definition DVD with barely a special feature and a mediocre technical transfer. There are few recent releases that aggravate me as much as that of the great “Bright Star,” a spectacular film given unbelievably shoddy treatment by its studio.

DVD Round Up, Feb. 1, 2010: ‘B-Girl,’ ‘Wushu,’ ‘Fireball’

B-Girl

CHICAGO – The DVD Round-Up is back with a collection of foreign films, indie flicks, a documentary, and a Kathy Griffin stand-up special. The key word for 2010 is diversity and there’s no DVD column more embracing of the variety of titles at your local store than the Round-Up.

Blu-Ray Review: Incredibly Entertaining ‘Michael Jackson’s This Is It’

CHICAGO – My concerns that the documentary “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” would be nothing more than morbid exploitation of the death of a music legend were immediately proven unfounded by this mesmerizing document of what life was like behind the scenes with the king of pop, now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Soul Power’ Lacks Substance, Compensates With Soul

Soul Power Thumbnail

CHICAGO – What can you say about a documentary that lands in theaters thirty-five years too late? “Soul Power” consists of footage from the historic three-night music festival in Zaire, meant to coincide with the heavily hyped “Rumble in the Jungle” between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. The events took place in 1974, and were filmed in order to spread African culture to the masses.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Atonement,’ ‘Pride & Prejudice’ Perfect Fits For HD

Atonement BD

CHICAGO – Sometimes catalog titles are pulled from the vaults and given the HD upgrade for tie-in reasons that are obvious, but why now for Joe Wright’s “Pride & Prejudice” and “Atonement”? Is it because “Atonement” breakthrough star Saoirse Ronan is appearing in “The Lovely Bones”?

Blu-Ray Review: Snowbound Thriller ‘Whiteout’ Stinks Like a Dead Tauntaun

Whiteout Blu Ray

CHICAGO – Thrillers set in a frigid landscape are nothing new. Just look at “The Thing,” or “The Shining,” or heck, even “The Empire Strikes Back.” Like outer space, a frozen wasteland is an efficiently isolated location where there’s little hope of escape from whatever malevolent forces lurk there. In the case of “Whiteout,” the malevolent forces are the filmmakers and the helpless victims are us.

Blu-Ray Review: Pick Up ‘Smokin’ Aces,’ Ignore Lame ‘Smokin’ Aces 2’ Sequel

Smokin' Aces

CHICAGO – Does anyone else remember when crappy straight-to-DVD sequels were pretty much reserved for horror movies and kid’s flicks? Sure, we expected a new “Leprechaun” or “Air Bud” movie every now and then, but the action market has really gotten into this game recently and produced their share of junk. Take for example the awful “Smokin’ Aces 2,” a shoot-em-up that makes Joe Carnahan’s original look like a genre classic by comparison.

Video Game Review: ‘Dark Void’ Free Falls as First Disappointment of 2010

CHICAGO – There really is a void in the center of the first disappointment of 2010, a game that sucks in too much of its incredible potential into classic traps of the gaming world like thin storytelling, mediocre graphics, and, most damagingly, sketchy controls. “Dark Void” isn’t horrible but that’s faint praise indeed when one considers the expectations for this title and the cleverness of its concept.

DVD Review: ‘The Boys Are Back’ Annoys Rather Than Inspires

The Boys Are Back DVD

CHICAGO – Clive Owen is an immensely charismatic actor, though he seems to fare better in a world without children. His best roles either place him an ensemble of fellow adults (as in “Gosford Park” and “Sin City”) or require him to protect a baby too young to be much of a conversationalist (as in “Children of Men” or “Shoot ‘Em Up”).

Blu-Ray Review: Forgotten ‘Surrogates’ Worth Another Look

Surrogates Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – We have grown accustomed to experiencing the world through technology. One of the great gifts cinema grants us is the ability to experience the world vicariously through the lives of others. The reason why mainstream movie stars are unnaturally beautiful and glamorous is because they represent how we’d like to envision ourselves.

Blu-Ray Review: Criterion Version of Steven Soderbergh’s Riveting ‘Che’

Che

CHICAGO – Steven Soderbergh’s “Che” is one of the most underrated and misunderstood films of the ’00s. It features not only one of the best performances of the last several years from the great Benicio Del Toro but this challenging biopic should have been embraced by all the critics and audience members who are constantly lamenting the lack of filmmakers willing to take risks and provoke discussion.

HollywoodChicago.com’s Top 7 Interviews of 2009

CHICAGO – The celebrities do come to Chicago, sometimes to sit through the grinding interrogation of HollywoodChicago.com’s Patrick McDonald. The Lucky Seven of 2009 comprise the best of last year, interview-wise.

User Login

Free Giveaway Mailing

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.

Advertisement



HollywoodChicago.com on Twitter

archive

HollywoodChicago.com Top Ten Discussions
referendum
tracker