CHICAGO – In anticipation of the scariest week of the year, HollywoodChicago.com launches its 2024 Movie Gifts series, which will suggest DVDs and collections for holiday giving.
September 2009
TV Review: Promising ‘The Middle’ With Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn
Submitted by BrianTT on September 30, 2009 - 12:40pmCHICAGO – Just as Kelsey Grammer returns to familiarly snobby territory with “Hank,” his “Back to You” co-star Patricia Heaton returns to the life of the harried matriarch with “The Middle,” but the results are vastly different. Where “Hank” feels like a relic, “The Middle” updates the working mother for a new generation and mostly delivers.
TV Review: Kelsey Grammer Should Know Better Than ‘Hank’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 30, 2009 - 11:52amCHICAGO – Kelsey Grammer is such a TV veteran, a major part of two of the best sitcoms in the history of the medium in “Cheers” and “Frasier,” that it makes his decision to do something as generic, predictable, and unfunny as ABC’s “Hank” all the more disappointing. You would think he knew better by now.
Blu-Ray Review: Third Season of ‘The Universe’ Sparkles More Than Satisfies
Submitted by BrianTT on September 29, 2009 - 10:15pmCHICAGO – The History Channel has an unfortunate history of sensationalizing history for the sake of entertainment. Consider the promo for the network’s recent special on the Tate/LaBianca murders. It’s not enough that the program recounts the tragic events leading up to the Manson Family’s horrific crimes.
DVD Review: Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana Highlight Disney Channel Releases
Submitted by BrianTT on September 29, 2009 - 9:39pmCHICAGO – The Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana have a popularity that’s nearly unmatched in the world of pop culture. They’re not just superstars, they are undeniable phenomena. Just go to the mall this weekend and it won’t be hard to see what I mean. While you’re there, pick up the latest Disney DVDs, “Jonas Rockin’ The House” and “Wizards On Deck With Hannah Montana”.
Interview: Karen Allen and the Kingdom of Her Crystal Life
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 29, 2009 - 6:07pmCHICAGO – Actress Karen Allen, who made a debut smash in the 1978 film ‘Animal House,’ is most likely to be remembered as Marion in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and 2008’s ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.’
Video Game Review: Adaptation of ‘Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs’ Tastes Rancid
Submitted by BrianTT on September 29, 2009 - 12:24pmCHICAGO – Even with the long history of awful video game adaptation of hit films, shouldn’t “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” be a slam dunk? The clever family comedy plays like a video game already with a very fun story that should be easy to turn into something playable with a controller. But the video game version of “Cloudy” has already his stores well past its expiration date.
DVD Round Up, Sept. 29, 2009: ‘Deadgirl,’ ‘Nightwatching,’ ‘Next Day Air’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 29, 2009 - 10:29amCHICAGO – Horror, action, drama, and comedy - HollywoodChicago.com’s DVD Round-Up has it all. Where else can you read about the latest from internationally acclaimed auteur Peter Greenaway and the newest Mos Def comedy in one column?
Three New Character Posters Revealed For ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 29, 2009 - 12:09am
The new character poster for The Twilight Saga: New Moon with the Cullen family.CHICAGO – Three new character posters have just been released for the highly anticipated “Twilight” sequel “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”.
DVD Review: ‘Fear Itself’ Has a Few Highlights, But More Lowlights
Submitted by BrianTT on September 28, 2009 - 4:02pmCHICAGO – I am an unabashed junkie of anthology horror shows and will gladly debate with you why “The Twilight Zone” is the best show of all time before we get to discussing “The Outer Limits,” “Amazing Stories,” and “Tales From the Crypt.” Naturally, I was a big fan of Showtime’s “Masters of Horror” and was intrigued when a lot of that series’ major players jumped to NBC for “Fear Itself”.
DVD Review: ‘O’Horten’ Tells of One Odd Fellow
Submitted by BrianTT on September 28, 2009 - 3:27pmCHICAGO – The problem with defining yourself by your job, as anyone in this god-awful economy might tell you, is that you probably won’t work forever. Odd Horten, the kind yet unexcitable title character in a strange, little Norwegian comedy by Bent Hamer, has steered locomotives for 40 years, and if you were to take the trains out of this simple fellow’s life, there wouldn’t be much left.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Away We Go’ Proves Impossible to Resist
Submitted by BrianTT on September 28, 2009 - 3:10pmCHICAGO – Filmmaker Sam Mendes has always been drawn to telling stories set in a dysfunctional America where the sanctity of marriage is anything but “sanct.” For the past decade, he has specialized in brutally frank social satires about the deterioration of the American family. His work is nearly always riveting, but could never be described as “feel good”…until now.
TV Review: NBC Delivers Medical Action With Excellent ‘Trauma’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 28, 2009 - 2:07pmCHICAGO – The wave of new fall shows is coming to an end this week with so many shows having debuted to date that we’ve already had our first cancellation of the season (The CW’s horrible “The Beautiful Life). But NBC has saved one of the best for last in “Trauma,” an expertly produced and acted series that stands as the most promising of the three new medical series this season and arguably the show with the most long-term potential, period.
TV Review: Improved ‘Lie to Me’ Returns With Promising Season Premiere
Submitted by BrianTT on September 28, 2009 - 1:20pmCHICAGO – When “Lie to Me” premiered earlier this year, the show simply didn’t work. But a lot has happened since then.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 25 Passes to Drew Barrymore’s ‘Whip It’ in Chicago With Ellen Page
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 28, 2009 - 12:10amCHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two run-of-engagement Chicago passes up for grabs to the new film “Whip It,” which is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut!
TV Review: Showtime’s ‘Dexter’ Opens Fourth Season With Amazing Episode
Submitted by BrianTT on September 27, 2009 - 11:25amCHICAGO – Everyone’s favorite serial killer and family man, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is back in tonight’s excellent fourth season premiere of the award-winning “Dexter”.
Hugh Laurie’s ‘House M.D.’ to Lose Jennifer Morrison as Dr. Allison Cameron; 2009 Premiere Delivers
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 27, 2009 - 2:45amCHICAGO – While FOX hasn’t yet confirmed the news, reputable publisher Entertainment Weekly has exclusively reported that Jennifer Morrison is leaving Hugh Laurie’s “House M.D.” with her final episode to air in Nov. 2009.
Exclusive Portrait: Craig Ferguson in Chicago For ‘America on Purpose’ Book Signing
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 26, 2009 - 7:23pmCHICAGO – Craig Ferguson (comedian, actor and host of “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson”) mugged for the HollywoodChicago.com lens before signing copies of his book “America on Purpose” on Sept. 23, 2009 at the Borders on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
‘I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell,’ Then Serve Up the Filmmakers
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 26, 2009 - 6:06pmCHICAGO – The main problem with “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell,” based on Tucker Max’s memoir about a hard partying, devil-may-care womanizer, is that the screenwriter (Max himself) didn’t have the cojones to go all the way.
‘I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell,’ Then Serve Up the Filmmakers
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 26, 2009 - 6:00pm Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The main problem with “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell,” based on Tucker Max’s memoir about a hard partying, devil-may-care womanizer, is that the screenwriter (Max himself) didn’t have the cojones to go all the way.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 15 ‘The Invention of Lying’ Chicago Passes With Jennifer Garner
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 26, 2009 - 4:14pmCHICAGO – In our latest comedy edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 15 admit-two passes up for grabs to the Chicago screening of “The Invention of Lying”!
John Malkovich and the Morality of South Africa in ‘Disgrace’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 26, 2009 - 7:04amCHICAGO – In a stark and compelling tale of naked vulnerability, John Malkovich becomes the centerpiece of the continuing battle for territory and humanity within the country of South Africa, in the newly released “Disgrace.”
John Malkovich and the Morality of South Africa in ‘Disgrace’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 26, 2009 - 6:59am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In a stark and compelling tale of naked vulnerability, John Malkovich becomes the centerpiece of the continuing battle for territory and humanity within the country of South Africa, in the newly released “Disgrace.”
Video Game Review: Ultra-Violent ‘Wet’ Provides Jolt That Wears Off With Repetition
Submitted by BrianTT on September 25, 2009 - 4:05pmCHICAGO – Bethesda Softworks’ “Wet” is a sloppy wet kiss to the cinema of the grindhouse as filtered through Quentin Tarantino’s love affair with it. The game plays not so much as an ode to B-movie thrills but to the way that QT interprets them. Clearly (and admittedly) inspired by “Kill Bill,” “Wet” is an often-fun but also often-frustrating shooter with style to spare but not as much substance as one would hope.
Neve Campbell to Star in ‘Scream 4,’ Wes Craven to Direct
Submitted by BrianTT on September 25, 2009 - 3:11pmCHICAGO – Filming for the fourth installment in the “Scream” franchise will start sometime in April or May as the first of a new trilogy, with Wes Craven as the director, Bob Weinstein has reported. In addition to Campbell’s return as Sidney Prescott, “Scream” regulars Courteney Cox and David Arquette will reprise their roles as Gale Weathers and Dwight “Dewey” Riley.
DVD Review: Forget the Movie Version; Catch Up With Original ‘Fame’ TV Series
Submitted by BrianTT on September 25, 2009 - 3:01pmCHICAGO – The 2009 movie version of “Fame” is getting almost nothing but pans from critics this weekend, so why not go back to the most popular incarnation of the concept, the TV series, recently released in a two-season box set that fans of classic television should consider a must-add to their collections.
TV Review: ‘Medium’ Jumps Networks, Still Delivers Thrills
Submitted by BrianTT on September 25, 2009 - 2:24pmCHICAGO – When NBC committed five hours a week to “The Jay Leno Show,” we knew a few corners would have to be cut when it came to scripted programming at the peacock network but no one really expected that the consistent (both creatively and in the ratings) “Medium” would get the axe.
TV Review: ‘Dollhouse’ Continues to Frustrate With Season-Two Premiere
Submitted by BrianTT on September 24, 2009 - 11:02pmCHICAGO – For its entire first season, “Dollhouse” fluctuated wildly in tone and style, never quite figuring itself out as a weekly series and remaining inconsistent in terms of quality.
TV Review: ABC’s ‘FlashForward’ Could Easily Be the Next ‘Lost’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 24, 2009 - 9:27amCHICAGO – Do you think that if the creators of “Lost” were allowed a glimpse at their futures when their hit show began that they would have seen a montage of all the series that it would inspire?
Exclusive Portrait: Dance Legend Mikhail Baryshnikov in Chicago For ‘Merce My Way’ Book Signing
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 23, 2009 - 11:44pmCHICAGO – Dance legend and actor Mikhail Baryshnikov stopped on point for the HollywoodChicago.com lens before meeting fans at the signing of his first book of dance photography entitled “Merce My Way” on Sept. 22, 2009 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
DVD Round Up: IFC Films Releases Wave of Interesting Art Films
Submitted by BrianTT on September 23, 2009 - 10:00pmCHICAGO – I love IFC Films. They release such a diverse, interesting slate of films every year that one never quite knows what they’re going to get with each individual offering. Five recent IFC titles are the subject of the latest DVD Round-Up, our regular column drawing attention to titles that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.
