CHICAGO – There is no better time to take in a stage play that is based in U.S. history, depicting the battle between fact and religion. The old theater chestnut – first mounted in 1955 – is “Inherit the Wind,” now at the Goodman Theatre, completing it’s short run through October 20th. For tickets and more information, click INHERIT.
June 2010
Blu-Ray Review: Masterful ‘The White Ribbon’ Dissects Root of Evil
Submitted by BrianTT on June 30, 2010 - 9:18pmCHICAGO – Michael Haneke is one of our best living filmmakers, having already delivered at least one masterpiece in the amazing “Cache” and a few other notable works like “Funny Games,” “The Piano Teacher,” and “Code Unknown.” Those familiar with the quality of his filmography may be stunned to learn that “The White Ribbon” is arguably his best.
Slideshow: 21-Image Action Gallery of ‘The Last Airbender’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 30, 2010 - 6:12pmCHICAGO – The ancient martial arts get a workout with M. Night Shyamalan’s live action version of the anime “The Last Airbender.” Featuring Dev Patel – the contestant in the Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire” – and Aasif Mandvi of “The Daily Show,” Airbender uses special effects and action to tell its story.
Slideshow: Joan Cusack Introduces ‘Toy Story’ Jessie Doll in Chicago
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 30, 2010 - 4:27pmCHICAGO – “Toy Story 3” has held onto the top spot at the box office for two straight weekends, and Joan Cusack – the voice of Jessie in the film – lent her star power to the debut of the doll based on her character. She appeared at the Disney Store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, and was photographed by HollywoodChicago.com’s Joe Arce.
Film Review: New Director Finds Teeth in ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 30, 2010 - 2:25pmCHICAGO – Easily the best entry in the franchise, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” finally allows those of us unfamiliar with the books by Stephenie Meyer to understand why the saga of the vampire, the wolf, and the sullen girl in the middle has become an international phenomenon.
New Director Finds Teeth in ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 30, 2010 - 2:21pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Easily the best entry in the franchise, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” finally allows those of us unfamiliar with the books by Stephenie Meyer to understand why the saga of the vampire, the wolf, and the sullen girl in the middle has become an international phenomenon.
Interview: BooBoo Stewart, Tinsel Korey Talk ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 29, 2010 - 1:46pmCHICAGO – The latest movie chapter of the The Twilight series juggernaut opens tomorrow, June 30th, with the release of “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.” The film stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, and includes cast members BooBoo Stewart (Seth Clearwater) and Tinsel Korey (Emily Young).
TV Review: ‘Rescue Me’ Struggles to Keep Creative Fires Burning
Submitted by BrianTT on June 29, 2010 - 10:43amCHICAGO – When the first four episodes of the new season of “Rescue Me” allows the actors to merely live in the shoes of these characters they know so well after five seasons on the air then the show finds some of the magic that it produced more consistently in its superior early seasons. Sadly, the writers know they can’t just shoot a drama about guys hanging out in a firehouse and the scripted drama often doesn’t click.
TV Review: ‘Louie’ Starts Slowly, But Improves in Future Episodes
Submitted by BrianTT on June 29, 2010 - 9:53amCHICAGO – Comedian Louis C.K. is an undeniably talented and very funny man but can he carry his own show?
Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Eclipse’ Chills the Blood, Touches the Soul
Submitted by mattmovieman on June 29, 2010 - 7:58amCHICAGO – 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.”
Blu-Ray Review: Visionary ‘Red Desert’ Joins Criterion Collection
Submitted by BrianTT on June 28, 2010 - 5:58pmCHICAGO – The Criterion Collection recently inducted the great Michelangelo Antonioni’s first color film into their esteemed catalog with a Blu-ray transfer that stands next to the best HD pictures of the year to date. This striking visual composition has never looked better and the film remains as mesmerizing as it was almost a half-century ago, arguably more so.
Video Game Review: Frustrating Controls Mar ‘Planet Mini-Golf’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 28, 2010 - 5:55pmVideo Game Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Being hopelessly addicted to the great “Zen Pinball” and a fan of golf games from the realistic (“Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11”) to the cartoonish (“Hot Shots Golf”), I was more than a little excited for Zen Studios’ “Planet Mini-Golf.” If they could capture the creative fun of an old-fashioned game as they did with “Zen Pinball,” I figured my new summer obsession had arrived. Sadly, it turned into my summer frustration.
Blu-Ray Review: Matt Damon Stumbles in ‘Green Zone’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 28, 2010 - 4:16pmCHICAGO – Paul Greengrass suffered the first failure of his career with the disappointing “Green Zone,” a film that flopped with both critics and audiences early in 2010. As Kathyrn Bigelow was winning awards for her realistic examination of life behind enemy lines in the Middle East with “The Hurt Locker,” people dismissed Matt Damon’s long-delayed take on the failure of the war in Iraq.
Blu-Ray Review: Disappointing Raunch of ‘She’s Out of My League’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 28, 2010 - 11:10amCHICAGO – Proving that what Judd Apatow has brought to the comedy genre in the last decade is much harder than it looks, “She’s Out of My League” has an extremely likable cast but writers and a director who mistake gross-out humor for genuine laughs. It’s one of those disappointing comedies for people who can’t say the word ejaculation without laughing like Beavis.
Film Review: ‘The Killer Inside Me’ a Study in Sociopathic Blandness
Submitted by BrianTT on June 27, 2010 - 10:09amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Michael Winterbottom’s ’50s-era neo-noir “The Killer Inside Me” creeps up on you in the creepiest possible way. Just as I was ready to write it off, I ended up caving in to its charms, or lack thereof. This film often seems as utterly cuckoo as its central antihero, and that’s what makes it so darn mesmerizing. Sure, it’s sort of a mess, but boy is it engrossing, with a strong emphasis on the gross.
‘The Killer Inside Me’ a Study in Sociopathic Blandness
Submitted by BrianTT on June 27, 2010 - 10:06amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Michael Winterbottom’s ’50s-era neo-noir “The Killer Inside Me” creeps up on you in the creepiest possible way. Just as I was ready to write it off, I ended up caving in to its charms, or lack thereof. This film often seems as utterly cuckoo as its central antihero, and that’s what makes it so darn mesmerizing. Sure, it’s sort of a mess, but boy is it engrossing, with a strong emphasis on the gross.
TV Review: HBO’s ‘Hung’ Hopes Viewers Are Ready For Second Date
Submitted by BrianTT on June 27, 2010 - 9:50amCHICAGO – Male prostitute Ray Drecker (Thomas Jane) and his pimp Tanya Skagle (Jane Adams) are back in the second season premiere of “Hung,” a show that improved drastically over its first year (check out our Blu-ray review here) and seems primed for continued growth in its sophomore outing. Shows like “Hung” often fine-tune their characters and themes between the first and second year and this unusual comedy is primed for breakout success.
TV Review: HBO’s ‘Entourage’ Returns With Renewed Energy
Submitted by BrianTT on June 27, 2010 - 9:06amCHICAGO – How does one of the trendiest shows on television stay hot in its seventh season? It’s a question that the writers of “Entourage” must answer as cable’s beloved bad boys return tonight for another season of celebrity cameos and insider drama.
17th-Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival, Day Four: ‘Scrappers,’ ‘Putty Hill’
Submitted by mattmovieman on June 27, 2010 - 7:46amCHICAGO – In Chicago, they are out and about on a daily basis. It is a simple pick-up truck, often bent and rusted with age. Most of the hauling areas in the back cabs of these trucks are outfitted with plywood extensions, increasing their ability to get more stuff in the back. They are the “Scrappers.”
Music Review: Newcomer Sahara Smith is More of What Music Today Needs
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 26, 2010 - 2:36pmCHICAGO – We dig discovering sprouting artists at the phase where they’re just talented enough to keep their humility. That’s where we found 21-year-old singer, songwriter and guitarist Sahara Smith on Friday night at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall.
17th-Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival, Day Three: ‘American Jihadist’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 26, 2010 - 4:36amCHICAGO – What makes a person willing to kill and die for their religion? Day Three of the Chicago Underground Film Festival kicks off with a compelling documentary called “American Jihadist,” the story of Isa Abdullah Ali, a citizen of the USA who became an enemy of the state.
Theater Review: Our Sins, Joys Are Exposed in Rodez’s ‘The Big Funk’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 26, 2010 - 3:38amCHICAGO – There are moments of true clarity in John Patrick Shanley’s “The Big Funk,” presented by Rodez Productions at the Red Tape Theater in Chicago. Characters who find themselves trapped in a metaphoric morass work through the issues that bind them, and expose themselves to a bigger sense of life’s intention.
17th-Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival, Day Two: ‘Modus Operandi’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 25, 2010 - 7:12pmCHICAGO – Day Two of the Chicago Underground Film Festival saves one of its most underground features for the appropriately late 10:30pm time slot. “Modus Operandi” is an indescribable James Bondage spoof (pun intended) that puts the “Be-Be-Be” in the bonnet of an underground B-Movie blast.
Film Review: ‘I Am Love’ Offers Scintillating Showcase For Tilda Swinton
Submitted by BrianTT on June 25, 2010 - 11:26amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “I Am Love” is the type of visceral tone poem that requires its audience to feel more than think. As the end credits roll, viewers may find themselves going over the plot in their heads, and discovering its inherent shallowness. It’s only after we wake up from a dream that we discover just how silly or inexplicable it all was.
‘I Am Love’ Offers Scintillating Showcase For Tilda Swinton
Submitted by BrianTT on June 25, 2010 - 11:18amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “I Am Love” is the type of visceral tone poem that requires its audience to feel more than think. As the end credits roll, viewers may find themselves going over the plot in their heads, and discovering its inherent shallowness. It’s only after we wake up from a dream that we discover just how silly or inexplicable it all was.
Film Review: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock Act Like Children in ‘Grown Ups’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 25, 2010 - 11:01amCHICAGO – It may be called “Grown Ups,” but too much of the new Adam Sandler ensemble comedy feels like it was written by an eight-year-old boy. The believable friendship chemistry that Sandler has with co-stars Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider significantly ups the entertainment value, but “Grown Ups” could have and should have been much better.
Adam Sandler, Kevin James Act Like Children in ‘Grown Ups’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 25, 2010 - 10:56amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It may be called “Grown Ups,” but too much of the new Adam Sandler ensemble comedy feels like it was written by an eight-year-old boy. The believable friendship chemistry that Sandler has with co-stars Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider significantly ups the entertainment value, but “Grown Ups” could have and should have been much better.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Hung: The Complete First Season’ Developed Right Chemistry
Submitted by BrianTT on June 25, 2010 - 9:55amCHICAGO – HBO’s “Hung” doesn’t quite live up to the incredibly high standards of the best network on television but the sporadic writing on the show and very strong ensemble did produce enough interesting dramatic and comedic moments to warrant a look on the excellent Blu-ray release of the first season, timed to coincide with the premiere of season two on Sunday, June 27th, 2010.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Free ‘I Am Love’ Signed Poster, Magnolia DVDs to ‘Julia,’ ‘Two Lovers,’ ‘The Answer Man’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 24, 2010 - 9:39pmCHICAGO – In this edition of the HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, two lucky winners will clean up with three DVDs from Magnolia Pictures for “Julia,” “Two Lovers” and “The Answer Man” plus a full-size poster for “I Am Love” signed by Oscar-winning star Tilda Swinton and an “I Am Love” soundtrack!
Theater Interview: Going Mad With ‘Lookingglass Alice’ Director David Catlin
Submitted by Alissa Norby on June 24, 2010 - 9:30pmCHICAGO – Most adolescent boys do away with their freshly-acquired Bar Mitzvah money before you can say “Haftorah”. But not David Schwimmer. Instead, the Lookingglass Theatre Company co-founder and “Friends” superstar mounted what was to become his theatre company’s most illustrious and withstanding production, “Lookingglass Alice”, based on the cherished novels of Lewis Carroll. The company’s Artistic Director David Catlin recently caught up with HollywoodChicago.com to discuss the adaptation and production process for Alice’s latest journey (now playing through August 1, 2010 at the Water Tower), and why this fourth trip down the rabbit hole just may be the best yet.
TV Review: ‘Futurama’ Returns From Black Hole of Cancellation
Submitted by BrianTT on June 24, 2010 - 1:13pmCHICAGO – Fry, Leela, Bender, and the rest of the gang of “Futurama” take a major step forward in their return from the other side of the TV schedule with the first brand new hour of television debuting tonight on Comedy Central. Fans are understandably nervous that something may have been lost during the show’s time off. Fear not space travellers.