Cary Elwes

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Nichelle Nichols, Uhura of the original TV ‘Star Trek.’

CHICAGO – It’s baaaaack! One of the best annual pop culture entertainment and comic book gatherings returns to Chicagoland once again, as the Wizard World Comic Con will make its yearly visit to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill., the weekend of August 22th through the 25th, 2019. Besides the fan costumes, vendor booths and comic book legends, Wizard World has appearances from TV and movie celebrities, highlighted in 2019 by Jason Momoa (“Aquaman”), Ben McKenzie (“Gotham”), Henry Winkler (“Happy Days,” Barry”), Cary Elwes (“Stranger Things,” “Princess Bride”) and Melissa Joan Hart (“Sabrina, the Teenage Witch”).

CHICAGO – Season Three of “Stranger Things,” one of the hottest TV series in the last couple of years, is launching on Netflix on July 4th, 2019. The series is going back to the world of Indiana and the “Upside Down,” and joining the cast – which includes Dacre Montgomery as Billy Hargrove – is veteran actor Cary Elwes.

CHICAGO – “When two great saints meet, it’s a humbling experience,” said Paul McCartney of John and Yoko. Well that also applies to “Elvis & Nixon.” Their meeting, albeit brief, has layers of meaning for our times – and their time – and the movie with the “E&N” title exposes that meaning with humor and grace.

CHICAGO – Every few years brings another version of “The Princess Bride,” one of the most beloved films of all time. The latest is a 25th anniversary (yes, I feel old too) edition on Blu-ray, complete with an all-new 2-part featurette called “True Love: The Princess Bride Phenomenon.” That last word there is an over-used one but when you open the BD and see an ad for the “Princess Bride” game for iPhone, it’s hard to argue that Rob Reiner’s movie is NOT a phenomenon.

CHICAGO – Being a Steven Spielberg super-fan, I looked forward to being able to re-appreciate “The Adventures of Tintin” with a beautiful HD picture and, I hoped, some special features to enhance my opinion of a film that I found pretty seriously flawed in theaters. Well, the HD transfer is a beauty — the film looks just as good as its 3D theatrical presentation — but the film is still flawed and the special features are lackluster. In theaters, it was a near-miss and my opinion has not changed on Blu-ray.

CHICAGO – A consistent performer like “Psych” nearly defies the very concept of TV reviews. Want a full review here? “Have you seen “Psych” before? Did you like it? Then you’ll like the mid-season premiere.” That’s about it.

CHICAGO – Being a huge Steven Spielberg fan and a pretty big aficionado of Peter Jackson (who produced) as well, I was pretty psyched to see what these two undeniable geniuses could do in the world of motion-capture animation with their collaboration on the adaptation of the hit Herge cartoon “The Adventures of Tintin.”

CHICAGO – In our latest blockbuster edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 admit-two movie passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the highly anticipated new film “The Adventures of Tintin”!

CHICAGO – I have become nearly exhausted by writing reviews about the modern decline of the romantic comedy, the genre most in need of a complete overhaul. Most of them nowadays are horrendous. So, no one is more surprised than this critic to say that “No Strings Attached” with Ashton Kutcher & Natalie Portman, now available on Blu-ray and DVD, isn’t bad. It’s no genre classic, but it’s an enjoyable comedy on a Saturday night.

CHICAGO – I’m old enough to remember how the “Friday the 13th” series made a promise of “The Final Chapter” after the fourth film only to return with “Friday the 13th: A New Beginning.” Let’s hope that “Saw: The Final Chapter” (also known as “Saw 7” and “Saw 3D”) does not follow the same pattern because this lackluster series truly needs to end now. At least give it a few years for some filmmaker to find what worked about it in the first place (for the record, I think the original “Saw” is a near-great horror flick…but the franchise went 1-for-7 overall) because this final film does not demand a follow-up. Please.