HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News

TV Review: Drew Barrymore, Jessica Lange Give Color to ‘Grey Gardens’

Grey Gardens
HollywoodChicago.com Television Rating: 4.0/5.0
Television Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – One of the best films of 2009 is currently playing on HBO in the original “Grey Gardens”. The film itself doesn’t quite stand up to recent accomplishments of the network like “John Adams” or “Recount” but it undeniably features the best performance of the year, including theatrical releases, in the revelatory, career-best work from Drew Barrymore.

First Official Photo Surfaces From ‘The Twilight Saga’s New Moon’

New Moon Wolfpack

CHICAGOUSA Today has published the first official photo from the highly anticipated sequel to “Twilight,” “The Twilight Saga’s New Moon”. Captured in the photo are Paul (Alex Meraz), Sam (Chaske Spencer), Jared (Bronson Pelletier), and Embry (Kiowa Gordon), otherwise known as “The Wolfpack”.

Video Game Review: ‘The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena’

Dark Athena
HollywoodChicago.com Video Game Rating: 4.0/5.0
Video Game Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGOVin Diesel should stick to making video games. After headlining last month’s “Wheelman” and this month’s “The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena,” I have to admit that I like the actor more as a video game hero than I do as a movie star. “Athena” gives fans the most bang for their buck of anything the actor has been involved with in years.

DVD Review: 1980s Cult Movies Make Up ‘The Lost Collection’

Hiding Out
HollywoodChicago.com DVD Rating: 2.5/5.0
DVD Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Let’s be honest. Most ‘lost’ films are not found for a reason. It’s so funny to me that movies that were probably ignored for a good reason can suddenly become cult hits just because they’re unavailable for a few years. Having said that, there are one or two movies worth re-finding in Lionsgate’s ’80s-themed “The Lost Collection,” but there are also six to seven that should stay lost.

Blu-Ray Review: Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes Shine in ‘The Reader’

The Reader
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The rollercoaster of reaction to Stephen Daldry’s “The Reader” has somewhat diminished the questionable quality of the actual film.

DVD Round Up, April 21, 2009: ‘Skins,’ ‘Squidbillies,’ ‘The Burrowers’

Burrowers

CHICAGO – Things are a little light in the world of the DVD Round-Up, HollywoodChicago.com’s popular feature that grabs titles that may have fallen through the cracks while you were busy refreshing your Netflix queue to see if “The Reader,” “Frost/Nixon,” and “The Wrestler” are going to ever be shipped your way.

Video Game Review: ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ Will Entertain Fans of Film

Monsters vs. Aliens Game
HollywoodChicago.com Video Game Rating: 3.5/5.0
Video Game Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Even part-time game players have a movie tie-in horror story to share. Show me one blockbuster that produced a quality video game companion and I’ll show you ten that failed to do so. So no one’s more surprised than this writer at how enjoyable Activision’s “Monsters vs. Aliens” is from start and nearly to finish.

Exclusive Portrait: Oscar-Winning Actress Marlee Matlin of ‘Dancing With the Stars’

CHICAGOOscar-winning actress and former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Marlee Matlin posed for the HollywoodChicago.com lens before meeting her hometown Chicago fans at the signing of her new memoir “I’ll Scream Later” on April 17, 2009 at Borders in Oak Brook, Ill.

Video: Movie Trailer For ‘How to Be’ With Robert Pattinson of ‘Twilight,’ ‘New Moon’

Robert Pattinson of Twilight, New Moon in British indie How to Be

CHICAGO – After we released information on Thursday about the British indie film “How to Be,” which stars Robert Pattinson of “Twilight” and “The Twilight Saga’s New Moon,” we thought you’d want more than to just know about the fact that the film is screening on one night only in Chicago at 8 p.m. on April 22, 2009 at the Music Box Theatre.

Interview: Writer Bill Haney, Regina Kelly on the Struggle, Uplift in ‘American Violet’

CHICAGO – In a previous interview, director Tim Disney of the new film ‘American Violet’ called his film one where “change begins, and change is possible, when individuals make choices and stand behind them.”

Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck Bring Spark to Mediocre ‘State of Play’

State of Play
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.0/5.0
Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – I’ll be the first critic to tell you that they don’t make adult thrillers often enough. I was very disappointed by the lackluster box office take of Tony Gilroy’s ” Duplicity”. But does that mean that we should give all intellectual mysteries a pass? Of course not. And while I want to love Kevin Macdonald’s “State of Play,” a few poor decisions during production keep it back from being the excellent film it could have been.

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