April 2013

Terrence Malick’s ‘To the Wonder’ Nearly Drowns in its Own Beauty

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.0/5.0
Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Deservedly renowned as one of our greatest living filmmakers, Terrence Malick has a reputation for taking his time with each project. He won’t make a picture unless he feels a burning desire to make it, and will put directing on the back burner for two decades, if necessary, in order to pursue other interests. He’s never made what could be conceivably considered a minor work—until now.

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Free Movie Tix to ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Best of Both Worlds’

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 25 pairs of one-night-only, guaranteed passes up for grabs for “Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Best of Both Worlds,” which is widely considered one of the finest episodes of the series ever!

Interview: Director Kevin Hanna on Film Fundraising for ‘Rose’s Colored Glasses’

Rose's Colored Glasses

CHICAGO – The ‘mumblecore’ movement, an early post-millennium film style, is now termed more accurately as movies on a “micro budget.” These films take advantage of today’s cheaper and more accessible technology for creating projects, and then finance them for less money. A new source in underwriting filmmaking costs is “crowdfunding,” and director Kevin Hanna is using that technique to subsidize his new film, “Rose’s Colored Glasses.”

DVD Review: ‘Best of Warner Bros. 20 Film Collection: Romance’

20 Film Collection: Romance

CHICAGO – With Mother’s Day around the corner, Warner Bros. has released another one of their stellar DVD box sets built around their 100th anniversary — “Best of Warner Bros. 20 Film Collection: Romance.” It may not be the best gift set for everyone but it does offer a strong package for those who like a little emotional manipulation with their popcorn. There are some undeniable classics in this set (along with some questionable choices) but it’s the sheer “something for everyone” quality of the release that makes it memorable.

DHD Review: Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe in Entertaining ‘Broken City’

Broken City with Mark Wahlberg

CHICAGO – This may be the first “DHD Review” on HollywoodChicago.com but it’s unlikely to be the last. Just this past weekend, the great William Friedkin spoke at the Chicago Critics Film Festival about how the future of film is not celluloid or even disc but streaming. And now you can watch Allen Hughes’ “Broken City” before it’s out on Blu-ray or DVD and you can do so anywhere you can access your iTunes account.

TV Review: Riveting ‘The Central Park Five’ Debuts on PBS

CHICAGO – Almost exactly 24 years ago (on April 19, 1989), Trisha Meili was raped and brutally assaulted in Central Park in New York City. Known in the press as “The Central Park Jogger,” she lay near death as the city let out a wail for justice. Five young men who had been in the park that night were arrested and sent to jail for a crime that they clearly did not commit.

Blu-ray Review: ‘The Sorcerer and the White Snake’ Succumbs to Silliness

The Sorcerer and the White Snake Blu-ray

CHICAGO – “The Sorcerer and the White Snake” is a title that suggests the sort of tall tale that would entrance a crowd of scouts around a camp fire. It’s chockfull of fantastical creatures and action-packed setpieces, but its shoddy special effects cause it to fall short of pure enchantment. As for the story itself, it’s pure silliness.

Film News: Week One of the 2013 Chicago Latino Film Festival

Chicago Latino Film Festival 2013

CHICAGO – The 29th Annual Chicago Latino Film Festival (CLFF) kicked off last week with the premiere of Rafa Lara’s “Cinco de Mayo: La Batalla” on April 11th, 2013, and exhibited its first weekend of films, all at the AMC-Loews Theatres at 600 N. Michigan in Chicago. The festival runs through Wednesday, April 25th, and many film and special appearances are scheduled for Week One.

Film News: Patrick McDonald Hosts Screenplay Reading of ‘The Other One’ on April 15, 2013

The Other One

CHICAGO – The pre-production period, right before a film is about to go into principle photography, is one of the most important steps in the overall creation of a new work of cinema. On Monday, April 15th, Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com will moderate a screenplay reading of “The Other One,” a new film written and directed by Joe Steiff, and featuring Grace McPhillips in a lead role. The reading will take place at the Uncommon Ground, 1401 W. Devon, Chicago, beginning at 6:30pm.

Film Review: Contemporary Society is Caught Online in ‘Disconnect’

Disconnect

CHICAGO – “Disconnect” is a punch in the gut, the backlash of our current technology, and a film that could have happened yesterday. It is a trenchant cautionary tale, warning us about the excesses of every blinking screen and “smart” device that supposedly is making our lives easier, but can just as easily become instruments of destructive. It is about how we live now.

Contemporary Society is Caught Online in ‘Disconnect’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.0/5.0
Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “Disconnect” is a punch in the gut, the backlash of our current technology, and a film that could have happened yesterday. It is a trenchant cautionary tale, warning us about the excesses of every blinking screen and “smart” device that supposedly is making our lives easier, but can just as easily become instruments of destructive. It is about how we live now.

Film Review: Robert Redford Focuses on ‘The Company You Keep’

Company You Keep, The

CHICAGO – The golden age of the great Robert Redford occurred in the 1970s, when he participated in making passionate political statements with “All the President’s Men,” “The Candidate” and “Three Days of the Condor.” Redford stars in and directs a throwback to those times, the equally passionate yet softer-in-narrative “The Company You Keep.”

Robert Redford Focuses on ‘The Company You Keep’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The golden age of the great Robert Redford occurred in the 1970s, when he participated in making passionate political statements with “All the President’s Men,” “The Candidate” and “Three Days of the Condor.” Redford stars in and directs a throwback to those times, the equally passionate yet softer-in-narrative “The Company You Keep.”

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 25 Pairs of Passes to ‘Pain & Gain’ With Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 25 pairs of movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the highly recommended “Pain & Gain” (based on a true story!) with Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson!

Film Review: ‘42’ Celebrates Jackie Robinson, the Promise of America

CHICAGO – It took baseball, that noble sport, to recognize in 1947 what the universe had dictated since day one – all persons are equal and all deserve an equal chance. Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to break the “color line” in baseball, and the story of that achievement is magnificently told in “42.”

‘42’ Celebrates Jackie Robinson, the Promise of America

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.5/5.0
Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – It took baseball, that noble sport, to recognize in 1947 what the universe had dictated since day one – all persons are equal and all deserve an equal chance. Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to break the “color line” in baseball, and the story of that achievement is magnificently told in “42.”

Entertainment News: Comedian Jonathan Winters Dies at 87

Jonathan Winters

LOS ANGELES – Jonathan Winters, one of the most influential comedians of the past two generations, has died of natural causes on April 11th at his home in Montecito, California. His characteristic schizophrenic comic style inspired modern funnymen like Robin Williams, George Carlin and Jim Carrey. He was 87 years old.

Blu-ray Review: ‘Hyde Park on Hudson’ Wastes Audacious Turn by Bill Murray

Hyde Park on Hudson Blu-ray

CHICAGO – I’m always astonished when a filmmaker takes a fascinating figure immortalized in history and decides to explore one of the least interesting aspects of their life. “The Iron Lady” was so fixated on celebrating Margaret Thatcher’s gender that it ignored both her achievements and her controversies. “My Week with Marilyn” made the maddening decision to view its titular Hollywood icon through the perspective of a starry-eyed bore.

Blu-ray Review: Talented People Falter in ‘Killing Them Softly’

Killing Them Softly

CHICAGO – Andrew Dominik delivered one of the best movies of the ’00s the last time he worked with Brad Pitt when the two made “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” And so there was intense anticipation for their follow-up collaboration, “Killing Them Softly,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD. Call it a sophomore slump but “KTS” is a film with tons of style and some interesting ideas that nonetheless feels like a dirge and plays like a film twice as long as its running time.

Film Review: Danny Boyle Nearly Mesmerizes with ‘Trance’

CHICAGO – Danny Boyle’s “Trance” is an undeniably well-made thriller that works back in on itself a few too many times for disbelief to stay suspended but delivers enough escapist entertainment to be considered a success. It’s totally ridiculous and yet never boring, propelled by the quick-cut style of the man who brought similar momentum to “Shallow Grave,” “Trainspotting,” and “28 Days Later.”

Danny Boyle Nearly Mesmerizes with ‘Trance’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Danny Boyle’s “Trance” is an undeniably well-made thriller that works back in on itself a few too many times for disbelief to stay suspended but delivers enough escapist entertainment to be considered a success. It’s totally ridiculous and yet never boring, propelled by the quick-cut style of the man who brought similar momentum to “Shallow Grave,” “Trainspotting,” and “28 Days Later.”

Blu-ray Review: Naggingly Hollow ‘Hemingway and Gellhorn’ Falls Flat

Hemingway and Gellhorn blu-ray

CHICAGO – It doesn’t sound like a particularly bad idea. In exploring the globe-trotting adventures of author Ernest Hemingway and war correspondent Martha Gellhorn, why not use archival footage of the actual sights and sounds that they encountered, while nesting the actors into the frame, a la “Forrest Gump”? I didn’t think it was a bad idea at all until roughly three minutes into the movie.

Film Review: Shane Carruth Challenges Perception with ‘Upstream Color’

CHICAGO – Can a film be more poetry than prose? We’ve certainly seen masterpieces that defy easy plot recap like Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life” and David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” but Shane Carruth takes the concept a step further with his daring, mesmerizing “Upstream Color,” a work of art that will infuriate as many as it enraptures.

Shane Carruth Challenges Perception with ‘Upstream Color’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.5/5.0
Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Can a film be more poetry than prose? We’ve certainly seen masterpieces that defy easy plot recap like Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life” and David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” but Shane Carruth takes the concept a step further with his daring, mesmerizing “Upstream Color,” a work of art that will infuriate as many as it enraptures.

Film Feature: Highlights of the 2013 Chicago Critics Film Festival

CHICAGO – The first annual Chicago Critics Film Festival, presented by the Chicago Film Critics Association and dedicated to Roger Ebert, will take place this weekend, April 12-14, 2013 at the Muvico Rosemont 18. With over 20 films programmed, this will be your first chance to see many of the biggest films of the year, and some of these films may never play again in Chicago.

Blu-ray Review: Strong Performances, Passionate Production Carry ‘A Royal Affair’

A Royal Affair

CHICAGO – A bit exhausted from the general air of seriousness that permeates awards season while also just tired of mediocre period dramas in general, I approached my screener of “A Royal Affair” with a serious degree of doubt. Nikolaj Arcel’s film is a pleasant surprise, a passionate piece about a love triangle that helped start a revolution. With spectacular production values and a trio of strong performances, Arcel’s film was recently released on Blu-ray and DVD and I’d advise you to be more optimistic than I was upon its arrival.

Blu-ray Review: Deftly Absurd ‘John Dies at the End’ Never Runs Out of Steam

John Dies at the End Blu-ray

CHICAGO – About ten minutes into “John Dies at the End,” a doorknob suddenly transforms into a large flaccid penis. It earns a laugh of sheer incredulity from an audience delighted by writer/director Don Coscarelli’s willingness to do literally anything for a laugh. Not since the ZAZ team tackled “Airplane” and “The Naked Gun” has a film been packed wall-to-wall with so many absurdist gags.

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 30 Pairs of IMAX Passes to ‘Oblivion’ With Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 30 pairs of IMAX movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the highly anticipated “Oblivion” with Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman!

Blu-ray Review: ‘The Sandlot’ Still Charms, But Rerelease Disappoints

1645207h.jpg

CHICAGO – 1993 will be nostalgically remembered by many members of my generation as the summer of “Jurassic Park” and the spring of “The Sandlot.” If you were a movie-loving kid during this year, it’s highly likely both of these films occupied a corner of your imagination. I clearly remember how the junkyard dog, dubbed by neighborhood pals in “The Sandlot” as “the Beast,” seemed as terrifying as any T-Rex.

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 100+ Tickets Valued at $1,500 to Chicago Critics Film Festival

CHICAGOExclusive massive Hookup! Nearly $1,500 in free tickets! In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 100+ movie passes valued at $1,500 up for grabs to the Chicago Critics Film Festival, which runs from April 12 to 14, 2013!

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TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • Manhunt

    CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

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