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.
Aaron Eckhart
Tom Hanks is Solid, But ‘Sully’ Never Really Soars
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 9, 2016 - 1:15pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Sully” is a solid effort from Director Clint Eastwood, but it never really soars the way its supposed to. It’s a good story, helped immeasurably by Tom Hanks low key performance, but it feels unnecessary. The problem may be that the story of the pilot who pulled off the so-called “Miracle on the Hudson” is so well known, the movie can’t really add anything to it.
Aaron Eckhart Gets ‘Erased’ in ‘Bourne’-esque Thriller
Submitted by BrianTT on May 16, 2013 - 2:28pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Two talented stars – Aaron Eckhart & Liana Liberato (“Trust”) – do a remarkable job of finding the depth in paper-thin, clichéd dialogue and generic contrivances but they can’t quite pull “Erased,” now available On Demand and opening in Los Angeles tomorrow, from its B-movie trappings. If you’re a spy thriller fan or love the perpetually underrated (and in need of a better agent) Eckhart, you may be surprised. Everyone else has a better alternative this weekend.
Gerard Butler Stars in Violent, Stupid ‘Olympus Has Fallen’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 19, 2013 - 1:37pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Antoine Fuqua’s “Olympus Has Fallen” (or “Die Hard in the White House”) is a stupid, exploitative movie that wants to be “Call of Duty: Black Ops” in film form but ends up more like one of its countless, ineffective rip-offs. There are moments of goofy, B-movie fun (certainly more of them than in the much-worse “A Good Day to Die Hard”) but not enough to get over the brutal nonsense that makes up most of this action flick.
Johnny Depp is On, Story is Off in ‘The Rum Diary’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 27, 2011 - 4:55pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Johnny Depp has a Hunter S. Thompson obsession, that is career apparent. After playing the journalist’s alter-ego Raoul Duke in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” Depp gives a turn as Hunter’s younger self in a film based on Thompson’s 1998 novel, “The Rum Diary.”
Loud, Annoying ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ Fails in Spectacular Ways
Submitted by BrianTT on March 11, 2011 - 3:36pm Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It used to be an insult to say that a loud action movie reminded a critic of a video game. The fact is that most recent video games feature better storytelling and more entertainment value than the horrendous “Battle: Los Angeles,” an annoying movie with such inept direction that it’s not even fun on a visceral level. Even the explosions are boring.
Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart Avoid Melodrama in Moving ‘Rabbit Hole’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 23, 2010 - 3:52pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – John Cameron Mitchell’s “Rabbit Hole” tells a story not uncommon to cinema in its exploration of the emotional minefield that comes after the loss of a child but it does so with such restraint and humanity that it sets itself apart. With some of the best performances of the year from Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, and Dianne Wiest, this is one of the strongest dramas of the awards season.
‘The Dark Knight’ Bestows Role of a Lifetime For Heath Ledger, Epic Proportions For Itself
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 16, 2008 - 11:01pm Rating: 5.0/5.0 (rarely perfect) |
CHICAGO – With only three short words comprising the film’s enigmatic title, “The Dark Knight” also boasts three epic claims to fame: the role of a lifetime for the late Heath Ledger as the hauntingly deranged Joker, one of the best films of 2008 and one of the greatest superhero films of all time.
