CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
DVD & Blu-Ray Review
Blu-Ray Review: Oliver Stone’s ‘W.’ Disappointing Film, Great Blu-Ray
Submitted by BrianTT on February 19, 2009 - 9:08pm Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – What happened to Oliver Stone? Despite strong performances by Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, and Elizabeth Banks, “W.” is one of the most inert, middle-of-the-road movies that this once-controversial auteur has ever made, helped on the home market by an excellent Blu-Ray release but still a little “eh” as a film.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Midnight Meat Train’ Delivers the Gory Goods
Submitted by BrianTT on February 19, 2009 - 6:15pm Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The world of horror movie distribution is seriously messed up. Millions are allowed to flock to junk like “Saw V,” “The Eye,” and “The Unborn” as they play on thousands of screens, but a lot of the best genre movies for 2008, which was actually a very good year for horror, were barely released. Believe it or not, “The Midnight Meat Train” was one of the best.
DVD Review: ‘How to Lose Friends and Alienate People’ Deserves to Lose Viewers Too
Submitted by BrianTT on February 19, 2009 - 4:37pm DVD Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Considering the talent on display, “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People” is jaw-droppingly, shockingly bad. If this was just another straight-to-video National Lampoon comedy, it might be easier to forgive, but how so many funny people got involved in a project so misguided will remain one of the biggest movie mysteries of 2008.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Quarantine’ With Jennifer Carpenter Rocks But Forgets Roots
Submitted by BrianTT on February 18, 2009 - 4:19pmBlu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Quarantine” leaves this hardcore horror junkie conflicted. The film itself is one of the better genre entries of 2008, a thrill ride that will satisfy nearly everyone who rents or buys it on Blu-Ray. But the special features on the disc omit something unbelievably important and, in doing so, leave a bad taste in my mouth.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘High School Musical 3: Senior Year’ Shines on 3-Disc Deluxe Extended Edition
Submitted by BrianTT on February 18, 2009 - 1:46pmBlu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” certainly won’t stand among the best song-n-dance films of all time, but it delivers a jolt of escapist entertainment to its target audience and the expertly remastered, three-disc Disney Blu-Ray release should be a smash hit for everyone eager to buy it.
Blu-Ray Round Up, Feb. 17, 2009: ‘Amadeus,’ ‘Boondock Saints,’ ‘A History of Violence’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 17, 2009 - 4:04pmCHICAGO – A Best Picture winner that looks nowhere near as old as many of the films that came out a quarter-century ago with it, a recent masterpiece from David Cronenberg that probably should have been more recognized by Oscar, and a little film that was never on the Academy’s radar but has developed an insanely huge and loyal cult following.
DVD Review: ‘Clint Eastwood: American Icon Collection’ Includes Four Diverse Films
Submitted by BrianTT on February 16, 2009 - 4:00pm DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – With the $130 million gross and counting for “Gran Torino,” Clint Eastwood has proven that his star power has not diminished in the slightest even with 50 years in show business under his belt.
DVD Review: Greg Kinnear’s Feel-Good ‘Flash of Genius’ Not Great
Submitted by BrianTT on February 16, 2009 - 2:17pm DVD Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Greg Kinnear does solidly entertaining work in “Flash of Genius” and director Marc Abraham understands the basics of the inspirational crowd-pleaser, but the film ultimately feels like a missed opportunity to tell a more riveting version of the same story.
Blu-Ray Review: Shockingly High Levels of Melodrama Sink ‘Nights in Rodanthe’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 16, 2009 - 1:15pm Blu-Ray Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I have a very high threshold for melodramatic romance. I was raised on cheesy musicals and will admit to pausing on the underrated “The Notebook” more than once when I pass it on cable.
Blu-Ray Review: Clint Eastwood’s ‘Changeling’ Features Great Performance By Angelina Jolie
Submitted by BrianTT on February 12, 2009 - 1:49pmBlu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I usually don’t agree with suggestions that certain movies need to be seen twice to be appreciated. If a movie doesn’t work on first viewing, then it simply doesn’t work. Having said that, watching Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling” a second time on Blu-Ray made me appreciate the final product significantly more than my disappointed reaction to it in theaters.
