Bruce Willis

CHICAGO – Like most instances in Hollywood these days, one gun-filled, explosive, action-packed film is never enough; not when a sequel can be made that promises the same exciting sequences and macho heroes. That is why it is no surprise that Lionsgate has given the green light to a sequel for the 2010 film “The Expendables,” titled “The Expendables 2,” and two of the biggest action stars of all time will join the fun.

CHICAGO – A few beloved films from the ’90s are making their debut on Blu-ray…and “Hostage.” We can’t really find the tie between the Bruce Willis action flick and “Rounders,” “Swingers,” and “Good Will Hunting” but it actually is an underrated flick and it’s hitting HD this month from the same company (Lionsgate releasing Miramax titles) and we didn’t want to discriminate. The best of the bunch is probably the Gus Van Sant Oscar-winner but the movie that introduced the world to Vince Vaughn & Jon Favreau isn’t far behind. Pick up your favorite.

CHICAGO – After 2010, the Golden Globes should officially retire the category of “Best Musical or Comedy” for two reasons: 1. A staggeringly small percentage of American films annually fall under the category of “musical,” and 2. This year’s nominees were so embarrassingly awful that they instantly drained the category of any future credibility.

CHICAGO – They say you can learn as much from a bad movie as you can from a good one. If that’s true, what’s the lesson to be taken from the extremely boring and misguided “Red”?

CHICAGO – In our latest action/comedy edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 35 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the new film “Red” with Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and Mary-Louise Parker!

CHICAGO – The bright star named Bruno, Bruce Willis himself, was recently in Chicago at a benefit event for the Foundation for Retinal Research. In his role as Global Brand Ambassador for Sobeski Vodka, Willis offered a toast for the foundation, in the same week as his cameo appearance in “The Expendables.”

CHICAGO – Seeing them all together was fun. Enduring some macho joshing, even in the form of stiff dialogue, was tolerable. But doing a bad, boring action movie with Sylvester Stallone trying to prop up his “legacy” was sadly too much to bear.

CHICAGO – Perhaps “Cop Out” wouldn’t have tarnished Kevin Smith’s reputation so much if he had simply changed his name in the credits to “Kevin Smithee.” This is the dreariest comedy made by a gifted filmmaker since “Year One.” It’s an entirely derivative picture from one of the most distinctive and original voices in modern movies. To quote Fred Willard in “A Mighty Wind,” “Wha’ happened?”

CHICAGO – Universal Home Video is releasing an impressive wave of catalog titles in HD for the first time this month and we have a preview of them just for you, including a great 15th Anniversary Edition of “Apollo 13,” and HD transfers of four movies that have little in common but the studio that released them: “Dune,” “The Jackal,” “Out of Africa,” and “Traffic”.

CHICAGO – We have grown accustomed to experiencing the world through technology. One of the great gifts cinema grants us is the ability to experience the world vicariously through the lives of others. The reason why mainstream movie stars are unnaturally beautiful and glamorous is because they represent how we’d like to envision ourselves.