August 2012

CHICAGO – Graphic violence is a double-edged sword. It can shock viewers into acknowledging the tragic nature of carnage so often belittled in mainstream cinema, yet it can also repel viewers straight out of the theater before the end credits roll. Ben Wheatley’s “Kill List” is far from the most violent film in recent memory, but its few instances of onscreen bloodshed are unbearably savage.

CHICAGO – “The Bourne Legacy” may have under-performed a bit but the Jeremy Renner “side-quel” to the Matt Damon series brought in enough cash to push “The Dark Knight Rises” from the top spot at the box office while Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis had a strong debut with the political comedy “The Campaign.” Finally, “Hope Springs” had a reasonable opening although the story here is more likely to be in the coming weeks as films with older-skewing audiences usually hang around the top ten much longer.

CHICAGO – There’s a reason why the terms “Christian” and “filmmaker” don’t seem to go together. Pictures that push religious agendas tend to sacrifice complex plots and characters in favor of amplifying its message. These films fail not only as entertainment but as quality storytelling. Whenever an aspiring artist attempts to speak for a group rather than oneself, it’s almost always a recipe for tediously preachy dreck.

CHICAGO – Evil doesn’t take a break for Brenda Leigh Johnson to leave the Major Crimes Unit and Kyra Sedgwick to say goodbye to the show that turned her into one of the bigger TV stars of the last decade. TNT’s “The Closer” ends tonight, August 13, 2012 with a very strong series finale.

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 5 free DVDs up for grabs for “The Expendables” in support of the sequel “The Expendables 2,” which hits theatres on Aug. 17, 2012!

CHICAGO – Will Ferrell makes several new proclamations loud and clear: he’s a comic dream-team duo with Zach Galifianakis in “The Campaign,” punching a baby and then a dog are seriously funny and real-life politics should take a lesson from this over-the-top smear campaign.

CHICAGO – Through their ownership of Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures, Disney has released a stellar wave of catalog titles this week, including at least three comedies that I would call great, two of John Cusack’s best performances, and an ’80s comedy that many people point to as one of the faves of their childhood. Pick your favorite.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Rashida Jones has been a reliable co-star for years in films like “I Love You, Man” and TV shows like “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation” but she gets her most notable role to date in a film she co-wrote, the romantic dramedy “Celeste and Jesse Forever,” opening this weekend in Chicago. Jones’ complex performance is the best thing about a film that ultimately feels a bit too unfocused, almost as if Jones and her co-writer Will McCormack took the opportunity to use every idea they had about the art of the break-up without streamlining their concepts into something more coherent and entertaining.

CHICAGO – The old axiom “truth is stranger than fiction” is proved again in the unique story of a pop troubadour from the 1970s named Rodriguez, who produced two searing albums and then disappeared into oblivion. Unknown to the artist, he became huge in South Africa. The odd hope of Rodriguez is chronicled in “Searching for Sugar Man.”

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 30 admit-two movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of “Sparkle” starring Whitney Houston, Jordin Sparks and Cee Lo Green!

CHICAGO – By the age of 15, actress Hanna Hall had delivered iconic lines in two of the most acclaimed films of the ’90s. After famously yelling, “Run, Forrest, run!” in Robert Zemeckis’s Oscar-winner, “Forrest Gump,” Hall nailed the unforgettable line, “Obviously, doctor, you’ve never been a 13-year-old girl,” in Sofia Coppola’s directorial debut, “The Virgin Suicides.”

Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Tony Gilroy’s world of double crosses, super spies, and covert government programs returns in the writer/director’s clever expansion of the world he created as the writer of “The Bourne Identity,” “The Bourne Supremacy,” and “The Bourne Ultimatum.” The Oscar winner doesn’t just offer a traditional sequel, presenting a new leading man and a story that takes place in the same world of international espionage as its predecessors but feels more like a spin-off than a follow-up.

CHICAGO – Sometimes it’s difficult to determine why a film retains its cult status over the years. Jonathan Lynn’s adaptation of the Parker Brothers board game may be fondly remembered as a cult favorite simply because its source material was so unusual (at least back in 1985). Yet unlike “Battleship,” the game of “Clue” has a built-in plot and colorful ensemble that could easily inspire an entertaining script.

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Blu-ray with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 5 free Blu-rays up for grabs for the highly anticipated home entertainment release of 1975’s “Jaws” from Steven Spielberg!