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.
September 2009
Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Informant!’ Puts Matt Damon on a Wire
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 18, 2009 - 7:16amCHICAGO – Behind every great fortune lies a great crime, as the saying goes. In director Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant!,” he and Matt Damon carve out a satire where the “crime” becomes entangled with the larger issues of “justice.”
Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Informant!’ Puts Matt Damon on a Wire
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 18, 2009 - 7:09am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Behind every great fortune lies a great crime, as the saying goes. In director Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant!,” he and Matt Damon carve out a satire where the “crime” becomes entangled with the larger issues of “justice.”
‘Jennifer’s Body’ a Bloody, Out-of-Body Dud For Oscar-Winning ‘Juno’ Scribe Diablo Cody
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 18, 2009 - 1:01amCHICAGO – For Oscar-winning “Juno” writer Diablo Cody, writing “Jennifer’s Body” with “Transformers” star Megan Fox and “Mamma Mia!” star Amanda Seyfried as the two lead women was as much of an out-of-body experience as Charlize Theron’s against-type role in 2003’s “Monster”.
‘Jennifer’s Body’ a Bloody, Out-of-Body Dud For Oscar-Winning ‘Juno’ Scribe Diablo Cody
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 18, 2009 - 1:01am Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – For Oscar-winning “Juno” writer Diablo Cody, writing “Jennifer’s Body” with “Transformers” star Megan Fox and “Mamma Mia!” star Amanda Seyfried as the two lead women was as much of an out-of-body experience as Charlize Theron’s against-type role in 2003’s “Monster”.
Blu-Ray, TV Review: ‘Fringe’ Returns With Riveting Episode, Great Season Set
Submitted by BrianTT on September 17, 2009 - 4:45pmCHICAGO – If any show is going to go from mildly popular to breakout hit in its second season, I expect it will be “Fringe”.
TV Review: ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Deserves Growing Buzz
Submitted by BrianTT on September 17, 2009 - 12:18pmCHICAGO – Thanks in part to extreme popularity online at sites like Hulu and a few great season box sets, FX Networks’ “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” has become a cult comedy hit. People who love the misanthropic freaks of “Philly” truly LOVE this show and they won’t be disappointed by a great season premiere.
Blu-Ray, TV Review: ‘The Office’ Never Better With Amazing Blu-Ray, Season Premiere
Submitted by BrianTT on September 17, 2009 - 11:22amCHICAGO – The Blu-Ray release of the fifth season of “The Office” is a thing of beauty. It is one of the best comedy on Blu-Ray releases to date, not only because the show has arguably never been better but because everything about the season set has been crafted with the fan’s best interests in mind. After you watch the very funny season premiere tonight, go back and pick up a must-own Blu-Ray set.
TV Review: Think Carefully Before Enrolling in ‘Community’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 17, 2009 - 10:48amCHICAGO – The deadpan wit of Joel McHale works brilliantly on “The Soup” and he delivers excellent work in the “The Informant!,” but there’s something about it that doesn’t translate to sitcom television.
DVD, TV Review: ‘Parks and Recreation’ Delivers on Early Promise With Great Premiere
Submitted by BrianTT on September 17, 2009 - 9:35amCHICAGO – Improving with every episode of its short first season, now available on DVD, “Parks and Recreation” returns tonight with the best episode of comedy in tonight’s much-hyped cavalcade of premieres. Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Paul Schneider, and the rest of the cast and writers of “Parks and Recreation” are doing everything they can to turn their comedy into the next NBC must-see show. Do your part and tune in.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 35 Passes to ‘I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell’ Screening in Chicago
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 16, 2009 - 6:40pmCHICAGO – In our latest comedy edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 35 admit-two passes up for grabs to the Chicago screening of the new film “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell” based on a true story and the best-selling book by Tucker Max!
TV Review: ‘Bones’ Returns to Start Fifth Season With Disappointing Episode
Submitted by BrianTT on September 16, 2009 - 5:04pmCHICAGO – If you’re like a lot of “Bones” fans you were disappointed and angry about the bait-and-switch in place during the season four finale, which promised to feature the inevitable hook-up between Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) but turned out to be nothing more than a dream episode. Sadly, the bitter taste left by the finale continues into the start of season five with the worst premiere episode the often-excellent program has provided to date.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Fall of Fear’ HD Titles Including ‘Army of Darkness,’ ‘Shaun of the Dead,’ More
Submitted by BrianTT on September 16, 2009 - 3:03pmCHICAGO – Universal is getting an early jump on the annual wave of horror-themed titles that usually hit stores in the week before Halloween with new Blu-Ray editions of three horror-comedy classics and, well, one stinker that surely looks good in HD if nothing else. Add “An American Werewolf in London,” “Army of Darkness,” “Shaun of the Dead,” and “Van Helsing” to your collection.
Harry Potter Theme Park Set to Open in 2010 in Orlando
Submitted by BrianTT on September 16, 2009 - 1:35pmCHICAGO – “Twilight” may have their own makeup line, but do they have their own theme park? Nope, but Harry Potter will. Universal Orlando Resorts and Warner Brothers announced that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will open in spring of 2010 in Orlando, FL, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
Interview: Film Director Jeremy Kruse on the Screening of ‘Flüffenhaus’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 16, 2009 - 10:18amCHICAGO – Jeremy Kruse is a major part of Chicago’s vibrant film scene. The actor and writer has made a big splash with his short films, and now directs Emily Skyle’s “Fluffenhaus: The Comeback of a Pop Icon,” with an screening here September 17th.
DVD Review: ‘Silent Light’ Rewards Those With Patience
Submitted by BrianTT on September 16, 2009 - 9:23amCHICAGO – Proving that its title is at least partially appropriate, “Silent Light” is loaded with torturous durations of quiet. The cinematographer shoots a landscape. A clock ticks and tocks.
Video Game Review: ‘Cursed Mountain’ Brings Survival Horror to the Wii
Submitted by BrianTT on September 15, 2009 - 5:03pmCHICAGO – The Nintendo Wii has never really been a system designed for atmosphere. It’s a party console, a machine built around social experiences that usually involve making fun of how silly your relative looks waving a controller around the room like he’s actually holding a tennis racket.
Video Game Review: ‘Guitar Hero 5’ Places Emphasis on Quantity Over Quality
Submitted by BrianTT on September 15, 2009 - 4:51pmCHICAGO – Perhaps you’ve seen the clever commercials for “Guitar Hero 5,” in which a dozen or so hot women dance around with plastic guitars and Hugh Hefner extols the virtues of “variety”? There has arguably never been more truth in advertising. Like a roomful of Playboy Playmates, “Guitar Hero 5” gives fans all the variety they could ask for, but truly falling in love with any individual part of the title is a little more difficult.
DVD Review: Catch Up With Hit ABC Shows ‘Castle,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ More
Submitted by BrianTT on September 15, 2009 - 3:05pmCHICAGO – Before the new fall season really gets underway, we thought we’d take a look back at several of the shows recently released or about to be released on DVD in season sets from ABC Studios and Buena Vista Home Video including the first season of “Castle,” the third season of “Ugly Betty,” the second season of “Private Practice,” and the fifth season of “Grey’s Anatomy”.
DVD Review: Delightful ‘Bedknobs and Broomsticks’ is Timeless
Submitted by BrianTT on September 15, 2009 - 1:33pmCHICAGO – When it was announced that Disney would be releasing a new special edition of “Bedknobs and Broomsticks,” the little kid in me woke up and started pounding on my memory banks. I have such vivid memories of watching the film as a child, mouth agape, eyes wide, and falling in love with the blend of animation and live-action that looked so revolutionary to this future critic’s young mind. Pick up the DVD and inspire a child you know.
Patrick Swayze Dies at 57 of Pancreatic Cancer, Defies Odds in 1.5-Year Public Battle
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 14, 2009 - 10:29pmCHICAGO – “Dirty Dancing,” “Ghost,” film, TV and dance icon Patrick Swayze died on Sept. 14, 2009 at 57 after a 1.5-year public battle with pancreatic cancer. He was in his Los Angeles home beside friends and family.
Video: Clip From DC Universe’s ‘Superman Batman: Public Enemies’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 14, 2009 - 6:13pmCHICAGO – All of you fans of “The Dark Knight” and the amazing new game “Batman: Arkham Asylum” should mark your calendar for the next promising release in the legacy of Bruce Wayne, DC Universe’s latest straight-to-DVD release, the highly anticipated “Superman/Batman: Public Enemies,” landing in stores on September 29th, 2009.
DVD Review: Criterion Edition of David Mamet’s Great ‘Homicide’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 14, 2009 - 6:01pmCHICAGO – I am an unabashed defender of nearly everything that David Mamet has ever made and the arrival of another one of his films under the Criterion banner makes for a special occasion in this critic’s household. The new release of Mamet’s “Homicide” (1991) is a must-own for fans of one of the most important playwrights of the last fifty years and an underrated filmmaker as well.
Blu-Ray Review: Season Three of ‘Heroes’ Designed to Please Fans
Submitted by BrianTT on September 14, 2009 - 4:19pmCHICAGO – I’m one of many fans burned by the fizzling out of “Heroes,” a show that started incredibly strong and went from “must-see” to “meh” in just a few seasons. Despite the show’s overall dip in quality, the Blu-Ray releases have been heralded as leaders in the format, filled with special features designed to please hardcore fans.
Disney Teaming Up With Guillermo del Toro For New Disney Double Dare You Label
Submitted by BrianTT on September 14, 2009 - 3:04pmCHICAGO – The Walt Disney Studios is teaming up with acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth,” “The Hobbit”) to launch a new production label called Disney Double Dare You. With the new production company they will create new animated movies that are full of “chills and thrills” for people of all ages, announced at D23 Expo last week by Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios.
HD Version of Third Official ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’ Trailer With Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 14, 2009 - 10:28amCHICAGO – Did you think we’d just leave you watching that leaked version of the third “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” trailer two days ago in crappy quality? No way, kind sirs and maams! We just got our hands on the HD version and it’s below for your viewing pleasure now!
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 10 ‘All Star Comedy Jam’ DVDs With Cedric the Entertainer
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 12, 2009 - 7:35pmCHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, we have 10 DVDs up for grabs to the hilarious Showtime comedy “All Star Comedy Jam,” which is hosted by Cedric the Entertainer. Directed by Leslie Small, this also features Shaquille O’Neal, Shaunie O’Neal, DeRay Davis, Tommy Davidson, Kevin Hart and Aries Spears. The DVD’s street date is Sept. 8, 2009.
Video: New Official ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’ Trailer Leaks With Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 12, 2009 - 6:59pmCHICAGO – A new official trailer has leaked for “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” with Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner! Don’t delay another second. Watch it now on HollywoodChicago.com!
TV Review: BBC America’s ‘Robin Hood’ Returns Darker, More Mature
Submitted by BrianTT on September 12, 2009 - 9:02amCHICAGO – BBC America’s excellent “Robin Hood” returns tonight, September 12th, with the start of what looks to be a much darker, more intense season of the hit show. Continuing to update the legend for a new generation, the writers of this edition of “Robin Hood” find clever ways to keep the spirit of classic incarnations of the timeless hero intact while making it feel fresh and new at the same time.
Fan-Made, Fake Posters For ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ or ‘Untitled Batman Project’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 12, 2009 - 3:50amCHICAGO – There was talk of a sequel even before “The Dark Knight” hit theaters and obliterated box-office records. That’s all we still have at this point, but we also have a pair of decent, fan-made posters for “The Dark Knight” sequel.
Video: ‘Inception’ Teaser Trailer From ‘The Dark Knight’ Director Christopher Nolan With Leonardo DiCaprio
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 12, 2009 - 3:10amCHICAGO – Riding off the ravenous wave of the explosively successful “The Dark Knight,” Warner Bros. has released a new teaser trailer you’ve got to see.
