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 Arts & Entertainment News
DVD Review: Greg Kinnear’s Feel-Good ‘Flash of Genius’ Not Great
Submitted by BrianTT on February 16, 2009 - 2:17pm DVD 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.
Blu-Ray Review: Shockingly High Levels of Melodrama Sink ‘Nights in Rodanthe’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 16, 2009 - 1:15pm Blu-Ray Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I have a very high threshold for melodramatic romance. I was raised on cheesy musicals and will admit to pausing on the underrated “The Notebook” more than once when I pass it on cable.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 75 Admit-Two Passes to Chicago Screening of ‘Fired Up’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on February 15, 2009 - 2:35amCHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 75 admit-two passes up for grabs to the Chicago screening of “Fired Up,” which stars Nicholas D’Agosto, Eric Christian Olsen, Sarah Roemer, AnnaLynne McCord (who auditioned for the “Twilight” sequel “New Moon”) and Molly Sims.
TV Review: ‘The Amazing Race’ on CBS Begins 14th Race Around the World
Submitted by BrianTT on February 13, 2009 - 3:46pm Television Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – For six years there has been an Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Competition Program and for every one of those years the same show has walked home with the trophy, beating series like “Project Runway,” “Survivor,” and “American Idol”. That show is “The Amazing Race”. Based on the strength of the premiere, it seems likely the producers of this CBS mainstay should probably make room for Emmy #7.
TV Review: Premiere of Joss Whedon’s ‘Dollhouse’ Imperfect But Intriguing
Submitted by BrianTT on February 13, 2009 - 2:27pm Television Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – A friend of mine suggested that I need to be patient regarding Joss Whedon’s highly anticipated “Dollhouse,” starring Eliza Dushku, Olivia Williams, Amy Acker, and Harry Lennix. Watching the so-so premiere, “Ghost,” airing Friday, February 13th, 2009 at 8pm CST, it’s easy to see why. All the ingredients are there for a riveting, fantastic series, but it feels like a show still finding its way.
Lack of Originality, Actual Scares Render Marcus Nispel’s ‘Friday the 13th’ Ineffective
Submitted by BrianTT on February 12, 2009 - 11:56pmCHICAGO – Your reaction to Marcus Nispel’s “Friday the 13th” is likely to depend on how nostalgically you remember the original and how you reacted to producer Michael Bay’s “remakes” of “The Amityville Horror,” “The Hitcher,” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”.
Clive Owen, Naomi Watts Fail to Save Deadly Dull ‘The International’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 12, 2009 - 11:54pmCHICAGO – Tom Tykwer’s “The International,” an alleged thriller starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, is one of the most surprisingly inert films so far this year, an awfully written conspiracy flick that never gets out of neutral and is only remotely worth someday seeing for one fantastic action sequence.
TV Review: Danny McBride Delivers Comedy Heat With HBO’s ‘Eastbound & Down’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 12, 2009 - 7:40pmTelevision Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Danny McBride had an amazing 2008, stealing scenes in “Tropic Thunder” and finding comic gold with director David Gordon Green in the great “Pineapple Express”. McBride, Green, director Jody Hill, and producer Will Ferrell have teamed up for the six-episode HBO comedy series “Eastbound & Down,” one of the most laugh-out-loud, promising comedy premieres in a long time.
Blu-Ray Review: Clint Eastwood’s ‘Changeling’ Features Great Performance By Angelina Jolie
Submitted by BrianTT on February 12, 2009 - 1:49pm Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I usually don’t agree with suggestions that certain movies need to be seen twice to be appreciated. If a movie doesn’t work on first viewing, then it simply doesn’t work. Having said that, watching Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling” a second time on Blu-Ray made me appreciate the final product significantly more than my disappointed reaction to it in theaters.
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.
TV Review: One of the Best Reality Shows Returns With ‘Survivor: Tocantins’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 12, 2009 - 11:53amTelevision Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The 18th installment of the show that really started it all with reality television, “Survivor,” debuts Thursday, February 12th, 2009 with the promise of another season of backstabbing, infighting, and immunity challenges.
Reasons For Director’s Departure From ‘Twilight’ Sequel ‘New Moon’ Revealed
Submitted by BrianTT on February 12, 2009 - 10:41amCHICAGO – Catherine Hardwicke, the director of the original “Twilight,” revealed to Entertainment Weekly this week that she walked away from the highly anticipated sequel “New Moon” because the film was going to be shot under too short a deadline and with too many budget constraints.
Blu-Ray Review: Cult of ‘Donnie Darko’ Extends to Two-Disc Director’s Cut
Submitted by BrianTT on February 11, 2009 - 6:53pm Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Most movies come and go. Even some of the most critically and commercially acclaimed films of the last few years have essentially been forgotten already. I knew Richard Kelly’s “Donnie Darko” was a film that was not going to go away quickly the first time I saw it and the Blu-Ray “Director’s Cut” simply extends the shelf life of this riveting cult classic.
