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
Blu-Ray Review: Sink Your Teeth Into One of the Best of 2008: ‘Let the Right One In’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 9, 2009 - 9:31am Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Tomas Alfredson’s “Let the Right One In” was one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2008, an arthouse sensation that has been so beloved by everyone who has seen it that it ranks among the best films of all time on IMDB based on user votes.
Blu-Ray Review: 70th Anniversary Two-Disc Edition of ‘Pinocchio’ One of the Best Releases Yet
Submitted by BrianTT on March 9, 2009 - 6:22am Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The Blu-Ray revolution seems stuck in neutral. It’s going to take a major title to push it over the edge as a must-have technology. Some of us thought it would be “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man,” or “The Godfather,” but the worsening economic times seem to have put the HD switch on hold.
TV Review: BBC’s Excellent ‘Ashes to Ashes’ Picks Up Where ‘Life on Mars’ Left Off
Submitted by BrianTT on March 7, 2009 - 8:13pm Television Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Ashes to Ashes” may be one of the most unusual choices for a TV sequel but sometimes the best series come from the most unexpected places. This may be the most pleasant surprise TV fans will get all year. The BBC’s brilliant “Life on Mars” has been dragged from the glitz and glamour of the ’70s to the turbulent ’80s in the as-good-and-arguably-better “Ashes to Ashes,” another notch in the belt of great BBC programming.
Dakota Fanning Will Play Jane in ‘Twilight’ Sequel ‘The Twilight Saga’s New Moon’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 7, 2009 - 1:32pmCHICAGO – It started as a rumor, but sources are reporting today that Summit Entertainment has officially announced that Dakota Fanning will play Jane in “The Twilight Saga’s New Moon,” the highly anticipated sequel to the blockbuster “Twilight”. The Chris Weitz-directed film based on the Stephenie Meyer book will start shooting in Canada soon.
Video Game Review: ‘Watchmen: The End is Nigh’ Feels Like Relic From Era of Book’s Publication
Submitted by BrianTT on March 6, 2009 - 2:56pm Video Game Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If Alan Moore still paid attention to the products based on his creations, the downloadable game “Watchmen: The End is Nigh” might make him give up once and for all. His book that so masterfully deconstructed the superhero genre has been turned into an old-fashioned brawler, in which the player is supposed to get thrills from beating up an endless stream of bad guys. “Watchmen” truly has become like any other superhero franchise, complete with a lame video game to accompany it.
DVD Review: ‘Wonder Woman’ Continues Series of Interesting DC Universe Releases
Submitted by BrianTT on March 6, 2009 - 1:20pm DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Even though I once had a weekly comic book addiction, I was never a big Wonder Woman fan. Maybe it was a trapping of my gender, but I always tended toward books with male heroes like Superman, Batman, and The X-Men. Having said that, I can still respect what the team behind DC Universe’s latest film have accomplished with “Wonder Woman,” another installment in an increasingly intriguing series of straight-to-DVD movies.
Zack Snyder Turns ‘Watchmen’ Into Loud, Disjointed, Brutal Mess
Submitted by BrianTT on March 6, 2009 - 12:29pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – For years, fans of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s masterful and influential “Watchmen” have been waiting for a filmmaker willing to faithfully and slavishly adapt their favorite graphic novel. Well, we got what we wanted in Zack Snyder’s frame-copying vision of this legendary book, but as someone once said - You should be careful what you ask for because you just might get it.
New ‘Star Trek’ Trailer Debuts on Apple.com From J.J. Abrams With Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on March 6, 2009 - 12:21pmCHICAGO – With the May 8, 2009 release date for the highly anticipated new “Star Trek” film quickly approaching, we just received word that another new trailer for the J.J. Abrams-directed film has been released on Apple.com.
Video Game Review: ‘Street Fighter IV’ Could Bring Fighting Genre Off the Mat With Nearly Perfect Game
Submitted by BrianTT on March 5, 2009 - 5:23pm Video Game Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – We are undeniably in a gaming era in which the first-person shooter is king, but players of a certain age can remember a time when fighting games ruled the day. “Street Fighter IV” has the potential to reverse the FPS trend.
Activision Announces ‘Guitar Hero Greatest Hits,’ ‘Guitar Hero on Tour: Modern Hits’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 5, 2009 - 1:03pmCHICAGO – Activision sent over the news today about two new titles that are sure to get music game fans excited - “Guitar Hero Greatest Hits” and “Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits”. The two new titles in the “Guitar Hero” family will debut in June and we have screenshots and details on these newly announced games below.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Australia’ Continues to Waste Talent of Cast, Crew on Blu-Ray
Submitted by BrianTT on March 5, 2009 - 12:03pm Blu-Ray Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Visionary director Baz Luhrmann would probably like people to watch his grandiose, old-fashioned, epic “Australia” on the big screen, but HD Blu-Ray seems made for this vibrant, colorful director. At first. This Luhrmann fan, like a lot of people who loved “Strictly Ballroom,” “Romeo + Juliet,” and “Moulin Rouge!” was let down by Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in theaters and the disappointment continues on Blu-Ray.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Role Models’ With Paul Rudd Good Movie, Great Blu-Ray
Submitted by BrianTT on March 5, 2009 - 10:36amBlu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – David Wain’s “Role Models” is far from a perfect comedy, but the Universal Blu-Ray release of it is one of the best of the year so far. The release of “Role Models” includes a great video transfer, entertaining series of special features, and a comedy that holds up pretty well on repeat viewing. What more do you want?
12th Annual EU Film Festival Highlights, Week One: ‘I’m All Good,’ ‘Zift,’ ‘Kisses,’ ‘Shall We Kiss’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 4, 2009 - 3:04pmCHICAGO – The Annual European Union Film Festival at the Siskel Film Center has become a calendar-clearing event for foreign film and arthouse movie lovers in the city of Chicago, but working your way through what to see of the five dozen films can be overwhelming. Let us guide the way.
