Dustin Hoffman

CHICAGO – Good and evil, chase and fight. Those are the two basic formulas that dominate “Kung Fu Panda 2,” the sequel to the very popular first film. That redundancy is helped by the spirituality of an animated panda and some spectacular 3D rendering.

CHICAGO – “Little Fockers” would have been high on my “Worst of 2010” list if I had written one or suffered through it in theaters. It’s an awful disaster of a movie, completely devoid of laughs and downright embarrassing for everyone involved, including some incredibly talented actors. There should be some sort of atonement or movie prison for forcing this junk on families at the holiday season. It’s like getting coal for Christmas. Actually, it’s worse than coal.

CHICAGO – In our latest comedy edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, we have 10 DVDs up for grabs in advance of the home entertainment release of the highly anticipated new DVD “Little Fockers” with Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro!

CHICAGO – What could “Last Tango in Paris,” “Moonstruck,” and “Rain Man” possibly have in common? Two won major oscars and the third should have? All three feature some of the career-best work by iconic actors? Honestly, all that they have in common is that they weren’t out on Blu-ray before and every catalog title needs a release date eventually and so MGM chose February 15th for the trio. Pick up all three.

CHICAGO – As drama circulates around this weekend’s Oscar awards and people question what winners will hold up over the years, it makes sense to look back 35 years to two Best Picture nominees from 1976, a pair of critical darlings (not unlike “The Social Network”) beat out by a popular favorite (“Rocky”) — “All the President’s Men” and “Network.” Both films have recently been released on Blu-ray in great editions for film collectors everywhere.

CHICAGO – Working with high level actors such as Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman didn’t faze director Richard J. Lewis. He had pursued the film version of the Mordecai Richler’s novel “Barney’s Version” for several years, and it was his direction that recently got Giamatti (as Barney) the Golden Globe Award.

CHICAGO – The Law of Diminishing Returns is alive and well in the “Meet the Parents” Franchise, as the third film in the series, “Little Fockers,” has a lazy, we-did-it-for-the-money veneer. They got the gang back together, Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Barbra Streisand and the rest, but with few exceptions they all seem bored with it all.

CHICAGO – In our latest comedy edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the new film “Little Fockers” with Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Jessica Alba, Dustin Hoffman and Owen Wilson!

CHICAGO – Most audiences missed one of the most charming romantic comedies of the last year during the holiday rush and the start of the new year. Joel Hopkins’ “Last Chance Harvey” isn’t perfect but it’s a surprisingly effective heart-tugger, anchored by fantastic performances from its Oscar-winning stars, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. Catch up on DVD.

Previous | Image 1 of 36 | Next

Noble mouse Despereaux (voiced by Matthew Broderick) jousts with royal chef Andre (voiced by Kevin Kline) in the animated adventure that tells a story of bravery, forgiveness and redemption: The Tale of Despereaux.

CHICAGO – This 36-image slideshow contains official press images for Universal’s “The Tale of Despereaux,” which stars Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson, Tracey Ullman, Kevin Kline, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci, Ciaran Hinds, Robbie Coltrane, and Tony Hale from writer Gary Ross and directed by Sam Fell & Robert Stevenhagen. The film opens on Dec. 19, 2008.