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.
Brian Tallerico
Streaming Feature: Best of New to Netflix January 2014
Submitted by BrianTT on January 3, 2014 - 11:45amWelcome to 2014! It’s freezing in most of the United States. It’s almost the weekend. You NEED a full Netflix queue! This is one of our favorite “New to Netflix” columns to date with an even 5x5 — 5 new films that you may have missed and 5 old films that you might not have seen yet. Add all ten. Now with previews!
Film Feature: The 10 Worst Films of 2013
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 31, 2013 - 11:49amCHICAGO – Why are those three Oscar winners – Susan Sarandon, Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton – laughing on that fourth poster below? Because they managed to cash a paycheck on the way to participating in one of the Worst Films of 2013.
TV Feature: The 10 Best TV Shows of 2013
Submitted by BrianTT on December 30, 2013 - 3:37pm- Boardwalk Empire
- Breaking Bad
- Brian Tallerico
- Broadchurch
- Enlightened
- Game of Thrones
- Hannibal
- Hello Ladies
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- House of Cards
- Justified
- List
- Masters of Sex
- Orange is the New Black
- Parks and Recreation
- Ray Donovan
- Rectify
- Television
- The Americans
- The Killing
- The Middle
- The Returned
- The Walking Dead
- Veep
I’ve avoided saying it outright for a few years as it seems like an overwritten headline but one thing is too clear to ignore when looking back at this past year in television — we are currently in the most creatively vital time in the history of the form.
Blu-ray Review: Spend New Year’s with the Beales of ‘Grey Gardens’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 29, 2013 - 6:48pmDo you think Albert and David Maysles knew they were creating not just a documentary but launching cultural icons when they filmed the mesmerizing “Grey Gardens,” now available in a Criterion Blu-ray edition? The film about “Little Edie” and “Big Edie,” relatives of American royalty in Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, became a cult phenomenon, inspiring a follow-up (which is included in this release), an award-winning fictionalized version of their story with Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange, and even a full-length musical.
Blu-ray Review: Fantastic Set For Altman’s Beloved ‘Nashville’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 29, 2013 - 2:42pmWhen I expressed excitement over the fact that Robert Altman’s stunning “Nashville” was being released in a Criterion Collection Blu-ray edition a few months back, a colleague asked me why I loved the film and I had trouble verbalizing my feelings about Altman’s sprawling, brilliant tapestry of characters. Watching the excellent new documentary about the making-of the film on the Criterion release makes it clear that I’m not alone.
What to Watch: Dec. 17-31, 2013
Submitted by BrianTT on December 23, 2013 - 9:55pmAnd so 2013 ends with one final What to Watch to carry you through to 2014. Have some gift card money burning a hole in your wallet? Want something to stream while your family bickers over the holiday? Just need a break from it all? Here are the latest and greatest new releases, listed in the order we’d put ‘em on an Amazon wish list.
Blu-ray Review: Great Release of ‘Mary Poppins’ Tied to ‘Saving Mr. Banks’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 21, 2013 - 6:55pmDisney knows how to cross-promote better than anyone in the business. With “Saving Mr. Banks” hitting theaters and earning Oscar buzz for Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, it makes total sense to re-release “Mary Poppins” on Blu-ray. If you’re not familiar, “Banks” is the story of the making of “Poppins” and fans of the new film will love the opportunity to check out what resulted from this mostly true story.
Blu-ray Review: Fascinating Satire of ‘Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 21, 2013 - 6:54pmElio Petri’s “Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion,” winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and Grand Prize at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival, has been inducted into the Criterion Collection, the most important series of Blu-ray releases on the market. This is such a unique, bizarre film, one that I wasn’t familiar with until this release, which continues to prove that Criterion isn’t just a great company for known classics like Robert Altman’s “Nashville” but some films that may have fallen through the cracks of cinema history as well.
Film Review: Spike Jonze’s ‘Her’ is Masterful Commentary on Connection
Submitted by BrianTT on December 19, 2013 - 2:19pmHow do we connect with other people? Why do we often push away those we need and stay with those we don’t? Why do we hold on to relationships long after they have stopped working? Is a physical relationship with no intellectual or emotional component somehow more valuable than one that can never be person-to-person but engages on a deeper level? And how do the ways we deal with love and loss impact the way we look at the rest of the world? And why aren’t more movies as good as “Her”?
Film Review: ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ Resonates Like Long-Lost Folk Masterpiece
Submitted by BrianTT on December 19, 2013 - 11:29amFilms about musicians are remarkably common. Artists from one medium have always loved to put themselves in the well-worn shoes of craftsmen from another. Most of them are stories of an underrated talent rising to the top of his profession, designed for both audience and filmmaker to live vicariously through the protagonist’s success.