CHICAGO – In anticipation of the scariest week of the year, HollywoodChicago.com launches its 2024 Movie Gifts series, which will suggest DVDs and collections for holiday giving.
HollywoodChicago.com DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Sophie Okonedo Gives Glow to Fact-Based Drama ‘Skin’
Submitted by mattmovieman on February 15, 2011 - 9:43amCHICAGO – It’s difficult to think of a more appropriate film to be released on the first day of Black History Month 2011 than Anthony Fabian’s under-appreciated gem, “Skin.” First screened on the festival circuit in 2008 before being rolled out for a super-limited theatrical run in Fall 2009, this moving and important fact-based drama never got the exposure it so richly deserved.
DVD Review: Adam Green Misses Mark With Ugly ‘Hatchet II’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 9, 2011 - 1:12pmCHICAGO – There are many who would like horror fans to believe that writer/director Adam Green is the nest great voice in the genre, the guy who we should all be watching. After the promising “Hatchet” and superior “Frozen,” I thought the potential was still there. I’m not sure any more after the boring, bloated, stupid “Hatchet II.”
TV Review: Hysterical ‘Archer’ Returns For Stellar Second Season
Submitted by BrianTT on January 27, 2011 - 8:30amCHICAGO – The second season premiere of “Archer” opens with a hysterical scene that ends with a suave super-spy saying “Look at me, I am the perfect gentleman.”
DVD Review: Excellent ‘Animal Kingdom’ Features Oscar-Nominated Performance
Submitted by BrianTT on January 25, 2011 - 5:28pmCHICAGO – One of the most wonderful nominations on Oscar morning this year was that of the great Jacki Weaver for the movie that most “E!”-watchers probably had never even heard of — “Animal Kingdom.” This searing crime thriller barely found an audience when it was released in art houses but should get a nice boost from the Academy and was just released on DVD last week, Jan. 18, 2011.
DVD Review: Philip Seymour Hoffman Directs ‘Jack Goes Boating’
Submitted by mattmovieman on January 21, 2011 - 7:46amCHICAGO – There are few character actors in the history of cinema more mesmerizing and fearless than Philip Seymour Hoffman. He’s created some of the most memorable characters ever to grace the screen: from the sexually arrested Allen in “Happiness” and the obsessed playwright Caden Cotard in “Synecdoche, New York” to the electrifying title role in “Capote.”
DVD Review: Patrick Stewart Delivers Towering Portrayal of ‘Macbeth’
Submitted by mattmovieman on January 18, 2011 - 10:34amCHICAGO – There are few things more excruciating to sit through than a botched adaptation of Shakespeare. The Bard’s language is so intricately textured and poetically structured that it must be fully understood in order to be adequately delivered. An audacious mess like Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo and Juliet” recalls memories of amateur high school productions where students raced through the dialogue in order to sound naturalistic.
TV Review: Stunning Premiere of ‘Big Love’ Returns Show to Prime Form
Submitted by BrianTT on January 15, 2011 - 10:33amCHICAGO – As the credits for the premiere of the fifth and final season of “Big Love” started, I wondered exactly what I wanted from this year. Like Chloe Sevigny and most fans of the show, I agreed that season four was a serious disappointment, especially after the spectacular third outing.
DVD Review: Talented Cast Deserves Better Than ‘Hot in Cleveland’
Submitted by BrianTT on January 13, 2011 - 8:02pmCHICAGO – Who would have guessed that the network to jump on the Betty White phenomenon (and who would have guessed that would ever be a viable phrase) would be TV Land? It makes a certain kind of twisted sense that a sitcom featuring stars who made it big on other shows would reunite on network built around reruns but “Hot in Cleveland” should have and could have been much better and one wonders if it wasn’t fate but that no one else would have this lackluster comedy.
DVD Review: Hysterical Animation of HBO’s ‘The Ricky Gervais Show’
Submitted by BrianTT on January 12, 2011 - 2:36pmCHICAGO – Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are two of the funniest men alive. Their work on “The Office” and “Extras” stills stands up as brilliant, clever, and consistently hysterical. Their quick wit made them a perfect fit for the world of the podcast and it’s simply spectacular that they hold the Guinness title for the most-downloaded audio recordings. The smash hit podcasts have been turned into an animated HBO series, returning to the network on Friday, January 14th, 2011, shortly after the DVD release of the first season.
DVD Review: Ridiculous Yet Fascinating ‘Jersey Shore Uncensored: Season Two’
Submitted by BrianTT on January 3, 2011 - 9:09amCHICAGO – There’s something about “Jersey Shore” that makes it unbelievably watchable. I’ll never understand why people have taken to the oversaturated “Real Housewives” franchise or the draw of “Hoarders,” but I totally get “Jersey Shore.” It’s difficult not to be entertained by personalities this larger-than-life and the bonus is that they feel as close to real as reality television has been in years. “Jersey Shore” never seems nearly as scripted as “The Hills,” reminding viewers of my generation of the “Real World” dramatics of the show’s first few years — back when it felt, you know, real.
