CHICAGO – It began with a boy and his dream (nightmare?). John LaFlamboy, to be exact, as he took an idea he had in college and made it his life’s work. He owns and operates the HellsGate Haunted House in Lockport (Illinois), which was designed, built and put together by Haunted House experts expressly for the spookiest month of the year. For info on how to purchase tickets, click HellsGate.
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Reviews
Blu-ray Review: Criterion Assembles Great Package For Landmark ‘Breaking the Waves’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 30, 2014 - 4:17pmIt’s hard to overstate the shock waves that Lars Von Trier’s “Breaking the Waves” made when it was released in 1996. It’s not as if LVT was a completely unknown commodity but this was a new level for the filmmaker in the way he both played with his form and embraced larger-than-life imagery. “Breaking the Waves” was both grounded in classic themes and felt like the coming-out party for Dogme, the movement founded by LVT that embraced natural filmmaking techniques like handheld cameras and sunlight.
Blu-ray Review: Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin Sweeten Domestic Thriller ‘Labor Day’
Submitted by NickHC on April 29, 2014 - 7:24pmCHICAGO – “Labor Day” is certainly a change of shade for writer/director Jason Reitman, who previously unearthed the humor in his American character dramas, however dark their content (such as with the dark but funny soul erosion of Charlize Theron’s non-matured mean girl in “Young Adult”). In this tale of an unexpected family unit, he doesn’t find humor but instead a thoroughly gray compassion.
Blu-ray Review: ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’
Submitted by DaveHC on April 28, 2014 - 1:55pmCHICAGO – Ben Stiller plays Walter Mitty: a man whose constant daydreams about life are interrupted by a series of real-life adventures that may or may not help him find love and save his job. This is a sweet-tempered and often visually spectacular film. It has the guts to be really weird at times as well. The end result? The film is entertaining, but it’s just too scattered to really imprint on the average viewer. That’s too bad because Ben Stiller distinguishes himself here in way that real cineastes will appreciate.
Blu-ray Review: ‘Ride Along’ is Just Another Generic Buddy Cop Comedy
Submitted by NickHC on April 21, 2014 - 8:58pmCHICAGO – Few figures have had less of an exciting domination of the world than Kevin Hart. In the past few years, the comedian has skyrocketed to leading fixture in the comedy scene, creating hit scripts out of films like “Think Like A Man” and “About Last Night,” while taking victory laps in his lacking stand-up features like “Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain”. The big problem is that these projects don’t justify his comic potential.
Blu-ray Review: ‘Grudge Match’ is Strictly Lightweight
Submitted by DaveHC on April 21, 2014 - 4:10pmCHICAGO – This forgettable time waster is mildly amusing as long as you don’t let yourself go into mourning over Robert Deniro’s career. But then again that almost goes without saying these days. Likewise Stallone who has had far more interesting career choices in the last decade than this. The pair play retired boxers who comes out of retirement for one last fight. One for the paycheck. The other to settle an old score.
Blu-ray Review: ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’
Submitted by DaveHC on April 21, 2014 - 3:55pmCHICAGO – It seems mean to pick on a movie for being merely entertaining. But when that film is part of the Lord of the Rings canon such criticism is fair. Peter Jackson manages to thrill here via some stunning action, and a truly memorable CGI Smaug. But Bilbo’s point of view seems lost in all the action, other characters and subplots. Clearly Jackson and Fran Walsh want The Hobbit to feel connected to their breathtaking Lord of the Rings trilogy but The Hobbit just doesn’t feel intimate enough. The second film in the trilogy is more entertaining but only marginally more moving.
Blu-ray Review: Martin Scorsese’s ‘The King of Comedy’ Crosses Generations
Submitted by BrianTT on April 17, 2014 - 11:36amSomething always felt a bit out of place for me in Martin Scorsese’s brilliant “The King of Comedy”, just released on Blu-ray for the first time. I couldn’t put my finger on it but chalked it up to it being thematically ahead of its time in its investigation of the cult of personality that defines modern entertainment.
Blu-ray Review: 2013 Hollywood Disaster ‘47 Ronin’ Rescued by Mediocrity
Submitted by NickHC on April 9, 2014 - 1:28pmCHICAGO – If you’ve ever wondered what the difference is between a director and a producer, let “47 Ronin” explain how the hierarchy of creativity hinders the evolution of even the most straightforward-sounding pitches. “47 Ronin” is the type of samurai movie set in Japan that features native actors speaking only English, while Keanu Reeves stars as an outsider clearly plunked into the picture for stateside star power.
Blu-Ray Review: Worth Getting Lost in ‘A Field in England’
Submitted by DaveHC on April 8, 2014 - 9:50amCHICAGO – I can’t recommend this more. “A Field in England” is a flashback and a flash forward all at once. It’s impossible to watch without thinking of great counter culture cinema. In fact when I saw it at Fantastic Fest 2013 it played as part of a double bill with Ken Russell’s “The Devils” (1971). They made perfect cinematic companion pieces. Russell’s film concerned a wayward priest desperate to protect his 17th century city from corruption in the Church only to fall victim to group hysteria when he is, ironically, accused of witchcraft by a jealous nun.
Blu-ray Review: Criterion Inducts Bergman’s ‘Persona’ Into Collection
Submitted by BrianTT on April 1, 2014 - 1:07pmFew films have ever been as dissected and analyze as Ingmar Bergman’s “Persona”, recently released on Criterion Blu-ray for the first time with new special features. It’s somewhat ironic that so many people have spent so much intellectual energy on a film that Bergman admits came to him at a point of low health almost in a dream. In fact, “Persona” somewhat becomes less interesting to me as it’s dissected, much like Lynch’s “Mulholland Dr.” or Malick’s “Tree of Life”. They are distinctly emotional, symbolic pieces and perhaps they should just be appreciated as such instead of such analysis of “what they mean.” However you choose to appreciate one of Bergman’s most influential films, you should do so with the Criterion edition from this day forward.
