CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the doc series “Charlie Hustle & the Matter of Pete Rose,” about the rise and bitter fall of the major league legend, the MLB’s all-time hits leader, only to be banned from the sport because of gambling. Streaming on MAX and on HBO since July 24th.
January 2012
TV on Blu-ray Round-Up: ‘The Borgias,’ ‘Archer,’ ‘Jersey Shore’
Submitted by BrianTT on January 5, 2012 - 3:49pmCHICAGO – A number of recent TV seasons hit DVD and Blu-ray right after Christmas, hoping to get a share of that gift card balance burning a hole in your wallet. If you have any left, we thought you might want to know the details so you can plan your assault of the local Best Buy or fill your Amazon cart. This is a Round-up feature that serves mostly as information, letting you know the synopsis, tech specs, special features, etc., but if we had to pick favorites, FX’s “Archer” rules. It’s the best of the bunch, but, honestly, all four should satisfy fans (even if “The Borgias” is annoyingly light on special features). Yes, even “Jersey Shore.”
Film News: Writers Guild of America Announces Award Nominees
Submitted by TimBMartens on January 5, 2012 - 3:27pmCHICAGO – The announcements have been made and the nominees for the Writers Guild Awards for 2011 are set. Featuring six categories, two in film and four in television, the WGA award nominees range from first timers to names we have definitely heard before.
Blu-ray Review: ‘Straw Dogs’ Remake Fails to Equal Power of Original Film
Submitted by mattmovieman on January 5, 2012 - 11:59amCHICAGO – The 2011 remake of Sam Peckinpah’s galvanizing 1971 classic is a film destined to appeal to no one. It’s not poorly made, and the writer/director Rod Lurie is gifted at crafting suspenseful morality tales (such as the under-appreciated “Nothing But the Truth”). But it’s difficult to understand why Lurie would bother putting his personal stamp on a picture that he considers repugnant.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 5 ‘Killer Elite’ Blu-rays With Robert De Niro, Jason Statham
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on January 4, 2012 - 6:15pmCHICAGO – In our latest action edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Blu-ray, we have 5 Blu-rays up for grabs for the home entertainment release of “Killer Elite”!
Blu-ray Review: ‘Dolphin Tale’ Surprisingly Delivers Quality Family Entertainment
Submitted by mattmovieman on January 4, 2012 - 8:19amCHICAGO – As a refreshing departure from the snarky, shrill and soulless time wasters passing for children’s entertainment these days, this wholesome, fact-based drama works perfectly well. It captures some of the innocence and warmth that characterized ’60s-era Disney fare, as well as the blandness and exceedingly high cheese factor.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 5 ‘The Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption’ Blu-rays
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on January 3, 2012 - 6:56pmCHICAGO – In our latest trilogy edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Blu-ray, we have 5 Blu-rays up for grabs for the home entertainment release of “The Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption”!
Film News: Producers Guild of America Announces Award Nominees
Submitted by TimBMartens on January 3, 2012 - 2:47pmCHICAGO – The Producers Guild of America announced their final nominees this morning for the Producers Guild Awards, celebrating the year of producing in film and television. While documentary film categories and multiple television categories had already been announced, the nominees for motion pictures, animated motion pictures, and long-form television were official this morning.
Interviews: Barry Bostwick, Patricia Quinn of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 3, 2012 - 1:03pmCHICAGO – Let’s do the time warp again. Never have those words been truer than at the “Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show,” where two of the prominent cast members of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” – Barry Bostwick (Brad) and Patricia Quinn (Magenta) – reunited 36 years after the film was made.
Blu-ray Review: Flawed ‘Blackthorn’ Bolstered By Superb Visuals, Extras
Submitted by mattmovieman on January 3, 2012 - 11:33amCHICAGO – I frankly can’t imagine how any moviegoer could favor Mateo Gil’s somber, low-key genre exercise, “Blackthorn,” over George Roy Hill’s marvelously entertaining 1969 classic, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” Sure, Western buffs have often criticized Hill’s film for romanticizing its subject matter, yet there was a dark edge and tragic poignance in William Goldman’s script that earned the film its shattering ending.
TV Review: ABC’s Lame ‘Work It’ is Insulting to Both Genders
Submitted by BrianTT on January 3, 2012 - 10:07amCHICAGO – I try to approach every new series as a blank slate. However, it would be naive to say that things like pedigree and incessant advertising don’t have the same impact on me as they do you. I’m a fan of J.J. Abrams and so I look forward to his work more than, say, the team behind “According to Jim.”
Interviews: TV Stars Paul Michael Glaser, Tracey Gold, Pat Priest
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 2, 2012 - 4:16pmCHICAGO – It is always a thrill to revisit the classic TV stars from the past, and there is no better place to do so than at the “Hollywood Celebrities and Memorabilia Show” in Chicago. Paul Michael Glaser (”Starsky and Hutch”), Tracey Gold (”Growing Pains’) and Pat Priest (”The Munsters”) were at the most recent show.
Slideshow: Victoria’s Secret Model, Leonardo DiCaprio Companion Erin Heatherton
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 2, 2012 - 12:36pm
Erin Heatherton was in the 2011 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show on CBS TVCHICAGO – The Internet has been abuzz in the last couple weeks with the news that Leonardo DiCaprio has been seen at many romantic locales with Victoria’s Secrets Supermodel Erin Heatherton. Heatherton was featured in the annual runway special that Victoria’s Secret does every December, and is locally from Skokie, Illinois.
Film News: ‘Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol’ Tops Box Office For Second Straight Week
Submitted by TimBMartens on January 1, 2012 - 10:15pmCHICAGO – For the second week in a row, Tom Cruise and the newest “Mission: Impossible” chapter reigned supreme. “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” came in at number one with an estimated $31.3 million at the box office, a total up 6% from its total last weekend.
