CHICAGO – There is no better time to take in a stage play that is based in U.S. history, depicting the battle between fact and religion. The old theater chestnut – first mounted in 1955 – is “Inherit the Wind,” now at the Goodman Theatre, completing it’s short run through October 20th. For tickets and more information, click INHERIT.
HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News
DVD Review: Helen Mirren Delivers One of TV’s Best Performances in ‘Prime Suspect’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 13, 2010 - 5:27pmCHICAGO – She is amply assisted by a who’s who of some of the best supporting actors Britain has produced in the last two decades but “Prime Suspect,” which recently saw its complete 7-series run released in one box set for the first time from Acorn Media, belongs to the amazing Helen Mirren.
Blu-Ray Review: Ridiculous ‘MacGruber’ Wears Out Repetitive Routine
Submitted by BrianTT on September 13, 2010 - 3:05pmCHICAGO – Is anyone surprised that a 20-second sketch from “Saturday Night Live” literally comes apart at the seams when it’s stretched into a feature film? Wouldn’t you have been more surprised if “MacGruber,” recently released on DVD and Blu-ray, had actually worked?
Blu-Ray Review: Adam Green’s ‘Hatchet’ Continues to Divide Audiences
Submitted by BrianTT on September 13, 2010 - 1:39pmCHICAGO – Is Adam Green the next great horror director? There are many fans of the genre who love to make the case of the current-and-future importance of Green, pointing to films like “Frozen,” “Spiral,” and, most of all, “Hatchet” as their evidence. To some, including this horror junkie, the jury is still out. Watching Green’s breakthrough film, now available on Blu-ray, it’s easy to see what people adore about Green and what he still needs to work on.
Video Game Review: Daring, Innovative ‘Metroid: Other M’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 13, 2010 - 1:11pmCHICAGO – In many circles, Samus Aran is as iconic as Pac-Man, Mario, Link, and whichever video game character turned you into a hopeless addict. I can vividly remember experiencing the ending of the first “Metroid” game so, SO many years ago and the legendary franchise is still going strong with the accomplished and innovative “Metroid: Other M.”
Blu-Ray Reviews: Sci-Fi Catalog Releases Including ‘Matrix Reloaded,’ ‘THX 1138’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 13, 2010 - 12:15pmCHICAGO – Warner Brothers recently unveiled a slate of science fiction films, many of which are making their debut on Blu-ray or are being made available on their own for the first time. Check out the HD releases of “Forbidden Planet,” “Lost in Space,” “Mars Attacks!,” “The Matrix Reloaded,” “A Scanner Darkly,” and “THX 1138: Director’s Cut.”
Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond’ Revives Lost Play
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 13, 2010 - 9:56amCHICAGO – Ever since Tommy Wiseau declared that his masterpiece of ineptitude, “The Room,” was “filmed with the passion of Tennessee Williams,” I’ve become considerably more weary of any film that makes such an inflated claim. Of course, “The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond” has a better defense, since it’s actually the adaptation of a long-forgotten work from the legendary playwright.
Alison Arngrim Interview: Nasty Nellie on ‘Little House on the Prairie’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 11, 2010 - 5:58amCHICAGO – For every nice girl on the prairie, there needed to be an evil opposite who wasn’t so nice. Nellie Oleson was that nasty girl on the NBC-TV legend “Little House on the Prairie, and Alison Arngrim portrayed her. She has parlayed that long ago child actor part into a stand-up routine and new memoir about her experiences.
Film Review: Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck Annoy in Worthless ‘I’m Still Here’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 10, 2010 - 5:42pmCHICAGO – Is “I’m Still Here,” the story of Joaquin Phoenix’s attempts to leave behind his acting career and try to make it as a hip-hop star, an elaborate piece of performance art or a documentary about an identity crisis of a man committing professional suicide? The problem is that the answer is irrelevant. Either way, “I’m Still Here” is grating, boring, and completely without value.
Famed Chicago Film Critic Roger Ebert Announces New Weekly Movie Review Show on Public TV
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 10, 2010 - 3:14pmCHICAGO – “Roger Ebert Presents at the Movies,” which is a weekly, 30-minute film review program, was announced on Friday by producers Chaz Ebert and Roger Ebert. The program continues its 35-year run of a show first co-hosted by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert and later by Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper and others at Buena Vista Television/Disney.
Chicago Casting Call on Sept. 25, 2010 Announced For Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Contagion’ With Matt Damon
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 10, 2010 - 2:05pmCHICAGO – Chicago is keeping Hollywood busy. Along with recent filming in the Windy City for Ron Howard’s “The Dilemma,” “Transformers 3” and FOX’s “Ride-Along” from the creator of “The Shield,” HollywoodChicago.com has just learned that Steven Soderbergh’s new film “Contagion” will be filming in Chicago and holding a local casting call here later this month.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 40 Chicago Passes to Ben Affleck’s ‘The Town’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 9, 2010 - 3:15pmCHICAGO – In our latest crime/drama edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the new film “The Town”!
Blu-Ray Review: Robert Altman’s ‘The Player’ Has Lost None of Its Power
Submitted by BrianTT on September 9, 2010 - 1:58pmCHICAGO – Robert Altman’s “The Player” is one of the more important and influential films in the life of this film critic. It came out at a time when the film industry was in a bit of a slump and stood out as an original, creative, mesmerizing vision that I feel helped usher in a period of such productivity in the ’90s. It is a brilliant masterpiece that has lost none of its power almost twenty years after its release.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 9, 2010 - 1:42pmCHICAGO – Tyler Perry’s films have been steadily improving but the ones that work still rely heavily on their leading ladies – for example, Taraji P. Henson in “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” and Angela Bassett in “Meet the Browns.” The quartet of women in “Why Did I Get Married Too?” can’t elevate the substandard writing and cheap cliche in the same way and the dramedy ends up one of Perry’s worst in years.