CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News
TV Review: Gut-Wrenching Start to Fifth Season of Showtime’s ‘Dexter’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 26, 2010 - 10:21amCHICAGO – “Dexter” returns tonight, September 26th, 2010, for what promises to be a turning point for the series after the breathtaking season four finale. In the final moments of the show’s best season, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) came home to find his wife Rita (Julie Benz) murdered by The Trinity Killer.
TV Review: ‘Bored to Death’ is Consistently Quirky, Funny
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 26, 2010 - 8:19amCHICAGO – The ability of HBO to launch a series and let it develop is one of the true advantages of their subscription system. Of course that and no censorship issues. The series “Bored to Death” begins its second season on September 26th at 9pm CST, featuring Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis.
TV Review: New Season of ‘The Amazing Race’ Hardly a Game-Changer
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 25, 2010 - 3:06pmCHICAGO – There is absolutely nothing amazing about “The Amazing Race.” There’s also nothing that’s exciting, innovative, insightful or original about this long-running reality contest, despite the fact that it’s garnered twelve Primetime Emmys.
Theater Review: ‘Rock of Ages’ Ain’t Nothin’ But a Good Time
Submitted by Alissa Norby on September 25, 2010 - 2:46pmCHICAGO – “I wanted to explore deep, thoughtful theatre,” deadpans a giddily vitriolic narrator, played here in a last minute swap-out by Mitchell Jarvis, during the eleventh hour of “Rock of Ages”. Although referring to any aspect of this rollicking, trenchantly self-aware jukebox ride in classical terms may either be mawkishly generous or downright offensive to its recalcitrant intent.
Blu-Ray Review: FX TV Hits Including ‘Sons of Anarchy,’ ‘The League’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 25, 2010 - 1:33pmCHICAGO – Twentieth Century Fox has released a number of the best shows of their FX channel in the last month and we thought we’d cover them all in one review for one simple reason — you should get all three. FX continues to break new ground in television with “Sons of Anarchy,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” and “The League” and the most recent season of each is now available in beautiful HD.
TV on DVD Round-Up: ‘C.S.I.,’ ‘Desperate Housewives,’ ‘Scrubs’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 25, 2010 - 11:19amCHICAGO – With most TV on DVD releases now scheduled for August and September, how does one buyer work through all of the options? We’ve covered a number of the choices in recent weeks (and have a few more planned next week) along reviews of every new series, but it’s easy for some titles to fall through the cracks, especially for shows that might not have the cultural cachet they once did.
Interviews: TV Stars at the Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 25, 2010 - 12:06amCHICAGO – The Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show is back in Chicago this weekend, September 25th and 26th, and the last time it came around some popular TV stars of the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s participated. Dawn Wells, Willie Aames, James MacArthur and Ken Kercheval were there.
Film Review: Whole Truth Becomes a Modern-Era Reality in ‘Catfish’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 24, 2010 - 7:13pmCHICAGO – “Catfish” is a real oddball of a film, set in the Twilight Zone of our own virtual cyberspace. Three twentysomething men navigate through the mysterious rigors of a journey they never expected to take. Nev Schulman is the main subject and directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost provide the video exposition in this true story.
TV Review: Tom Selleck’s Epic ‘Blue Bloods’ Has Some Potential
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 24, 2010 - 5:34pmCHICAGO – Tom Selleck is back on series television, portraying the patriarch of a New York City cop dynasty in “Blue Bloods” (not a bad pun), but this time he is the Chief of Police over the whole city. He still has time for Sunday dinner with the family, and he’s inviting TV fans to the table.
Film Review: Philip Seymour Hoffman Stars in Directorial Debut ‘Jack Goes Boating’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 24, 2010 - 11:03amCHICAGO – One of the best working actors takes his skills behind camera in Philip Seymour Hoffman’s “Jack Goes Boating,” a character drama about one couple forming as another relationship falls apart at the same time. This gentle story of modern relationships is a subtle, slow-moving drama of moments and repercussions that works due to the talents of its cast and quality of its source material despite a few notable flaws.
Film Review: Shia LaBeouf, Michael Douglas Drive Energetic ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 24, 2010 - 9:32amCHICAGO – After a string of disappointments that include “Alexander,” “World Trade Center” and “W,” one of the best directors of the 1980s and 1990s at least draws closer to form with the entertaining “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”.
Film Review: ‘Enter the Void’ Takes Viewers on the Next Ultimate Trip
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 24, 2010 - 8:34amCHICAGO – “Dying would be the ultimate trip.” This line is uttered early on in “Enter the Void,” the extraordinary new film from Gaspar Noé, a director who enjoys referencing his previous work almost as much as his hero, Stanley Kubrick. This line pays subtle homage to the “2001: A Space Odyssey” poster prominently framed toward the end of Noé’s previous film, “Irreversible.”
Film Review: Ryan Reynolds Gets Beneath it in Tense Thriller ‘Buried’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 24, 2010 - 7:29amCHICAGO – In one of the most unusual settings for a film, actor Ryan Reynolds performs as a one-man tour de force as the only on-screen character in the new film “Buried.” Set in a coffin buried beneath the sands of Iraq, Reynolds conveys the panic, hope and inevitable outcome of a man buried alive and fighting for his very existence.