CHICAGO – The Steppenwolf Theatre of Chicago continues to provide different viewpoints on the American stage, and their latest “Little Bear Ridge Road” is no exception. Featuring ensemble member Laurie Metcalf, it’s the resonate story of a family at the crossroads. For tickets/details, click LITTLE BEAR.
HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News
Health of ‘Scrubs’ Improves With Transition to ABC
Submitted by BrianTT on January 5, 2009 - 3:15pmCHICAGO – The medical staff at Sacred Heart have picked up their surgical tools and switched networks from NBC to ABC with the eighth season premiere of “Scrubs” as two episodes of the Zach Braff comedy air back-to-back on Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 at 8pm CST.
Great Performances Wasted in Sterile ‘Revolutionary Road’
Submitted by BrianTT on January 2, 2009 - 10:56amCHICAGO – Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April Wheeler (Kate Winslet) refuse to believe that they’re like everyone else in the 1950’s suburbia of Sam Mendes’ frustrating “Revolutionary Road”. They may go to the same jobs and travel in the same social circles, but, unlike the bored housewives and husbands around them, they haven’t given up on their dreams.
DVD Review: Fifth Installment of ‘Nip/Tuck’ an Imperfect Season, DVD
Submitted by BrianTT on December 31, 2008 - 12:18pmCHICAGO – “Tell me what you don’t like about yourself.” Doctors, I don’t like what you’ve done to a once-fascinating show. Ryan Murphy and the team behind “Nip/Tuck” missed a great opportunity with the fifth season of their cult hit show, now on DVD, and continued their series’ soapy decline.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Resident Evil: Degeneration’ Dead on Arrival
Submitted by BrianTT on December 31, 2008 - 12:15pmCHICAGO – Instead of playing one of the most anticipated games of the last few years, “Resident Evil 5,” fans of one of gamings most influential franchises are being asked to watch what is essentially a 96-minute cut scene that serves as a prequel or appetizer for what is to come in 2009.
2009 Mid-Season TV Preview: ‘Lost,’ ‘Damages,’ ‘Nip/Tuck,’ ‘24,’ More
Submitted by BrianTT on December 31, 2008 - 12:08pmCHICAGO – Be honest, TV fans. Fall 2008 was lackluster at best. The TV season really starts now.
With the strike delaying production on established series and the development of new ones, many more programs are returning or premiering in Jan. 2009 than the average mid-season. It couldn’t have come at a more important time for the medium, too.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Eagle Eye’ Makes Modern Paranoia Ridiculous
Submitted by BrianTT on December 30, 2008 - 12:20pmCHICAGO – “Eagle Eye,” the second collaboration between new star Shia LaBeouf and director D.J. Caruso after the surprise success of “Disturbia,” isn’t nearly as successful a diversion, stretching the very concept of suspension of disbelief to the breaking point.
Blu-Ray Review: Cult of ‘Serenity’ Will Grow With Great Release
Submitted by BrianTT on December 30, 2008 - 10:10amCHICAGO – The regular flow of imports from standard DVD and HD-DVD to the champion of the format war, Blu-Ray, continues with this week’s release of an HD-DVD hit, Joss Whedon’s excellent “Serenity”.
Blu-Ray Review: Romantic Comedy Lives in ‘Ghost Town’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 29, 2008 - 8:07pmCHICAGO – With three of the most charming and enjoyable leads in any romantic comedy released in 2008, David Koepp’s “Ghost Town” should find a steady and satisfied audience on Blu-Ray this winter.
Blu-Ray Round Up: ‘Ghost,’ ‘The Truman Show,’ ‘Event Horizon,’ More
Submitted by BrianTT on December 29, 2008 - 7:30pmCHICAGO – The second wave of catalog titles from Paramount Home Video hits this week, just in time for buyers to put their gift cards to use. HollywoodChicago.com covered the first wave, including “Into the Wild” and “Old School,” a few weeks ago.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Duchess’ Looks Great, Ultimately Hollow
Submitted by BrianTT on December 26, 2008 - 12:05pmCHICAGO – Every year produces a movie or two that dazzles with beautiful costumes and lavishly recreated period settings but falls flat when it comes to character.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Death Race’ Movie Loses, Blu-Ray Wins
Submitted by BrianTT on December 26, 2008 - 12:00pmCHICAGO – The Blu-Ray release of “Death Race” with Jason Statham and Tyrese Gibson tests the critical concept of reviewing the movie itself or purely its home presentation.
Bryan Singer’s ‘Valkyrie’ With Tom Cruise Mistakes Morose For Intense
Submitted by BrianTT on December 25, 2008 - 11:07amCHICAGO – Tom Cruise can be a powerfully vibrant actor in the right material but he’s horrendously miscast in Bryan Singer’s “Valkyrie,” a casting decision amplified by poor direction that drains this true story of an assassination attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler of its inherent power.
Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes Make ‘The Reader’ a Worthwhile Adaptation
Submitted by BrianTT on December 25, 2008 - 10:56amCHICAGO – Two of the best actors working in film today, Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet, offer enough to make “The Reader” a cinematic book worth reading, even if it’s not the masterpiece it could have been with a few different choices by its director and writer.
