Dane Dehaan

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 60 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new film “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets”!

CHICAGO – Gore Verbinski is no stranger to the spooky. He always creates these tense, terror-filled scenes that effectively frighten us. His films, from “Ring” to “Rango”, each are compelling enough to keep our attention, not matter how absurd they transform into. Boy, does he ever deliver in the gorgeously grotesque “A Cure for Wellness.”

CHICAGO – “The Amazing Spider-man 2” continues what has become the J.V. Team of super-hero film franchises. The building blocks are there for success, but the talent on the field isn’t capable of pulling it off. Like it’s predecessor, this sequel does not aim to entertain and create a lasting impression, instead it aims to stave off boredom for just long enough.

CHICAGO – For a film with so much eye candy that it threatens ocular diabetes, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is decidedly low in story rhythm and energy – even with a villain named Electro. The story also has the “three villain syndrome,” which allows for a lack of focus and heart.

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the groundbreaking 3D music film “Metallica Through the Never” starring Dane DeHaan from the director of “Predator”!

CHICAGO – Derek Cianfrance’s masterful “The Place Beyond the Pines” is a complex, epic piece of storytelling about the ripple effect of crime through families and across generations. Drastic action does not exist in a vacuum. It influences generations below and those impacted by their parent’s decisions.

CHICAGO – John Hillcoat’s “Lawless,” based on Matt Bondurant’s “The Wettest County in the World,” is one of the most high profile disappointments of 2012, a film with an amazing cast that suffocates under the weight of an inconsistent script, a boring lead, and a complete lack of narrative drive.

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 40 admit-two movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the new crime/drama “Lawless”!

CHICAGO – With great power comes great responsibility. Since the invention of the written word, authors have been playing with the idea that power leads to problems as it is man’s inherent nature to use that power to satisfy his own needs. Superhero fiction is based on it (good guys use their power for good, villains use it for evil). A lot of sci-fi is based on it. And the smash hit “Chronicle” (over $120 million worldwide with 10% of that as its budget), recently released on DVD and Blu-ray, cleverly plays with these themes in a way that feels new. The DVD offers nothing notable in terms of special features so one should probably expect a special edition to be released to coincide with the in-production “Chronicle 2.”

CHICAGO – “Chronicle,” which stars blah, blah and blah with a special appearance by blah (you wouldn’t know these unknowns any way), is the latest found-footage film to find itself lost, lacking purpose and devoid of a cohesive plot. This film’s fanboy ejaculate loves you short time as it spews the buildup of what could be interpreted as a “story” and ultimately ends without one.