Brian De Palma

LIVINGSTON, Mont.– Actress Margot Kidder had a roller coaster ride of a life, which ended in Montana on May 13, 2018, at the age of 69. From her modest beginnings as a Canadian performer in TV and B-movies, to her work with Brian De Palma, and her peak as Lois Lane in the first set of “Superman” movies, Kidder forged her own path. That path included a bipolar disorder that plagued her later years.

CHICAGO – Another week of a hodge podge of new Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming releases that we call What to Watch. Looking for something new? Something very old? Something rare? Something from TV? There’s a little bit of everything and even a story about porn too. Check it out, ranked in how interesting I find them.

CHICAGO – Director Kimberly Peirce (“Boys Don’t Cry”) doesn’t convey the dread or atmosphere of Stephen King’s “Carrie” to a degree that elevates it to the source material’s true potential but she does handle performance in a way that’s rare in the genre, making this remake one of the best horror films of the season.

Chloe Grace Moretz is only 16 and already has 50 credits to her name, including “(500) Days of Summer,” “Kick-Ass,” and “Let Me In.” She filmed “The Amityville Horror” remake on the North side of the city when she was only 5 and returned this week to talk about starring in her first lead role, the title part in Kimberly Peirce’s remake of the Stephen King classic, “Carrie.”

CHICAGO – Brian De Palma returns to what he does best after a few notable failures in the last decade, producing his best work since 2002’s “Femme Fatale” and arguably returning to form in the surprisingly effective thriller “Passion.”

CHICAGO – I wonder when Brian De Palma and Al Pacino were making “Scarface” if they had any idea how much of a phenomenon they were about to unleash on the world. “Scarface” is no mere movie. It has had more of a shelf life than most of the superhero, fantasy, and typically fan-centric films of its day.

CHICAGO – At first glance, Brian De Palma’s “Dressed to Kill” and Sam Peckinpah’s “Straw Dogs” may seem to have little in common beyond a studio and a need to be on Blu-ray. It’s common for that to the be the ONLY link (such as when “Scary Movie 2” and “Trainspotting” hit the format next week…come back for coverage). But these two actually have more in common than just a company and a spiffy new transfer. They’re a pair of controversial thrillers from two of the most interesting directors of their era. And with the remake of “Straw Dogs” about to open on Friday, perhaps it’s time we revisit them.

CHICAGO – We’re heading into that time of year when people buy gifts for loved ones of things they already have. Sorta. As we get closer to the holidays, catalog titles get the upgrade with new transfers and special features to make the fact that you already own your favorite movie on a now-useless DVD easier to bear.

CHICAGO – In our latest gangster classic edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Blu-ray, we have 5 Blu-rays up for grabs to the highly anticipated home entertainment release of one of the most influential gangster films ever: “Scarface” with Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer!

CHICAGO – When Brian De Palma was at his peak in the ’70s and ’80s, he was simply one of the best living directors. Some wanted to write him off as nothing more than an Alfred Hitchcock wannabe, but that was a criticism that I never understood.