Denzel Washington

CHICAGO – “Safe House” is so overly familiar that you not only will think that you’ve seen it before and know exactly where it’s going before it gets there, but you will also barely remember having seen it once it’s over.

CHICAGO – Spike Lee has been getting national buzz again after the Sundance premiere of his controversial “Red Hook Summer” and the ageless Denzel Washington is back in the spotlight as his latest action vehicle, “Safe House,” premieres in theaters on Friday. It seems a perfect time for a Blu-ray release to bring audiences back to one of their career highlights. Over twenty years ago, the two collaborated on their most artistically rewarding venture, the epic “Malcolm X,” a fantastic film that has held up remarkably well, in no small part due to the excellent HD transfer from Warner Bros.

CHICAGO – Now that we’re so close to the holiday season, it means that the whole movie trailer landscape has changed yet again. We’ve spent the last three months watching the previews for the Christmas season blockbusters and the end-of-the-year Oscar hopefuls nonstop.

CHICAGO – Tony Scott will clearly never have the critical reputation of his brother Ridley (as he’ll never make a film as accomplished as “Alien” or “Blade Runner”) but he has carved out his own niche of high-caliber action films, most of them starring Denzel Washington. The team of Denzel and Tony found another hit in the runaway train movie “Unstoppable,” now available on Blu-ray and DVD, which was actually Scott’s highest domestic box office success in 12 years (and made over $160 million worldwide).

Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – “Unstoppable” plays perfectly to Tony Scott’s flashy strengths as a director. There’s no deep meaning or character-driven dialogue for him to clutter up with his style over substance aesthetic. And so the film truly works as a great slice of escapist entertainment as long as you know what to expect.

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Chris Pine and Denzel Washington

CHICAGO – This 10-image slideshow contains all of the official press images for the highly-anticipated “Unstoppable,” starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, and Rosario Dawson. The film was directed by Tony Scott. It will be released on November 12th, 2010.

CHICAGO – If there’s one cinematic trope more tired and overused than the apocalypse, it’s the Bible-quoting badass. Everyone from Jules Winnfield to the Boondock Saints have memorably demonstrated that nothing justifies mass-murder quite like the word of the Lord. Yet Eli, the mysterious hero of the Hughes Brothers’ long-awaited thriller, isn’t just armed with a few scriptural quotes. He’s got the whole book.

CHICAGO – In our latest drama edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 20 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of “The Book of Eli” with Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis!

CHICAGO – When a New York subway dispatcher finds himself locked in a tense battle of the wits with a deranged criminal onboard Pelham 123, he’s offered this bit of advice from a seasoned hostage negotiator: don’t enter his world. The same warning could be issued to viewers intent on entering the world of Tony Scott.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Tony Scott’s remake of “The Taking of Pelham 123,” starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta, is likely to meet sun-drained audience expectations for a straight-forward, adult-driven action film this season but the overly stylized and not-so-thrilling train ride is ultimately merely average at best and will disappoint fans looking for anything more.