CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
HollywoodChicago.com DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Two John Cassavetes Classics Are Inducted Into Criterion Collection
Submitted by BrianTT on February 26, 2009 - 4:16pmDVD Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Entries number 251 and number 252 in the most important and impressive series of DVDs in the history of the format, The Criterion Collection, come from the same influential writer/director, one of the godfathers of the independent film industry, John Cassavetes. Both are worthwhile additions to any serious film collector’s shelf.
DVD Round Up, Feb. 22, 2009: ‘Alien Raiders,’ ‘Dead Like Me,’ ‘Religulous’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 22, 2009 - 6:44pmCHICAGO – Oscar madness has left the Round Up a little weary of high profile, award-bait movies. We need a break from the Oscars and what better way to do that than with a few titles that might have slipped through the cracks while everyone was singing “Jai Ho”.
DVD Review: ‘How to Lose Friends and Alienate People’ Deserves to Lose Viewers Too
Submitted by BrianTT on February 19, 2009 - 4:37pmDVD Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Considering the talent on display, “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People” is jaw-droppingly, shockingly bad. If this was just another straight-to-video National Lampoon comedy, it might be easier to forgive, but how so many funny people got involved in a project so misguided will remain one of the biggest movie mysteries of 2008.
DVD Review: ‘Clint Eastwood: American Icon Collection’ Includes Four Diverse Films
Submitted by BrianTT on February 16, 2009 - 4:00pmDVD Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – With the $130 million gross and counting for “Gran Torino,” Clint Eastwood has proven that his star power has not diminished in the slightest even with 50 years in show business under his belt.
DVD Review: Greg Kinnear’s Feel-Good ‘Flash of Genius’ Not Great
Submitted by BrianTT on February 16, 2009 - 2:17pmDVD Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Greg Kinnear does solidly entertaining work in “Flash of Genius” and director Marc Abraham understands the basics of the inspirational crowd-pleaser, but the film ultimately feels like a missed opportunity to tell a more riveting version of the same story.
DVD Review: ‘Blindness’ With Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo Should Not Be Widely Seen
Submitted by BrianTT on February 12, 2009 - 12:51pmDVD Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Blindness” is one of the bleakest cinematic experiences of the last few years, shocking, violent, dirty, headache-inducing proof that what works on the page doesn’t always on the big or small screen and that even the most talented actors and director can sometimes stumble.
DVD Review: ‘60 Minutes Presents Obama: All Access - Barack Obama’s Road to the White House’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 11, 2009 - 4:04pmDVD Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The first “60 Minutes”-branded DVD from CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment is the surprisingly comprehensive account of the last two years of President Barack Obama’s life, “Obama: All Access - Barack Obama’s Road to the White House,” a great DVD for political junkies, historians, news fans, and everyone in between.
DVD Review: Disney Quietly Releases Underrated ‘Oliver and Company’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 5, 2009 - 1:51pmDVD Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Maybe it’s because I was still young when it came out, but it seems like “Oliver and Company” has been unjustly forgotten by the Disney machine and family audiences in general. The 20th anniversary edition, newly released on DVD, might bring this lost comedy to a new audience.
DVD Review: All-Time Greats Packaged in Four-Movie Sets
Submitted by BrianTT on February 3, 2009 - 10:47amBlu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO –Some of the best movies ever made are being released this week in a wave of four-movie sets distributed by Warner Brothers Home Video and under the label of “Turner Classic Movies: Greatest Classic Films Collection”.
DVD Review: ‘Natalie Wood Collection’ Offers Glimpse at Movie Legend
Submitted by BrianTT on February 3, 2009 - 10:43amBlu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When I hear phrases like “screen icon” or “Hollywood legend,” one of the first people that I think of is Natalie Wood. Six of the famous star’s films have been compiled for the “Natalie Wood Collection,” a great starter set for classic movie buffs intrigued by this timeless star or collector’s looking to enhance their catalog.