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.
HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News
Interview: Matthew Lewis Reflects on Neville Longbottom, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’
Submitted by mattmovieman on July 18, 2011 - 7:10amCHICAGO – Late in 2001’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” Albus Dumbledore reads off the House points earned by four heroic students. Three of them are easy to guess (Harry, Ron and Hermione), but the fourth comes as a shock: Neville Longbottom. The mousy, roly-poly boy had undergone the difficult task of standing up to his friends, not realizing that he would be rewarded for it.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 50 Pairs of Chicago Passes to ‘Friends With Benefits’ With Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 15, 2011 - 4:28pmCHICAGO – In our latest romantic comedy edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the new film “Friends With Benefits” starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis!
Film Feature: Why Studios Need to Start Working on New Harry Potter Movies Right Away
Submitted by BrianTT on July 15, 2011 - 2:54pmCHICAGO – It might sound like sacrilege (or even sound redundant) to say this, particularly on a day that sees the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two,” but I just have to say it - Daniel Radcliffe can’t be Harry Potter forever.
Film News: Official ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Trailer Goes Online July 18, 2011
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 15, 2011 - 1:49pmCHICAGO – The official “The Dark Knight Rises” trailer will be released online this Monday, according to The Film Stage, which is citing an official date confirmation from Warner Bros. after being contacted by the studio to remove Wednesday’s bootlegged trailer.
Film Review: Hip-Hop Gets Personal in ‘Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 15, 2011 - 12:50pmCHICAGO – Fueling his passion for hip-hop, director Michael Rapaport premieres his new documentary, “Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest”. Proving that show biz never changes despite the category, this is a backstage look at the triumphs, misunderstandings, fall and rise again of the rap group “A Tribe Called Quest.”
TV Review: ‘Torchwood: Miracle Day’ Builds Up Steam With Second, Third Episodes
Submitted by BrianTT on July 15, 2011 - 12:38pmCHICAGO – We didn’t get the screener in time to give you a heads up about the series premiere of Starz’s “Torchwood: Miracle Day” but we have seen episodes two and three and have some good news to end this long week — if you liked the first episode, don’t worry. It definitely doesn’t drop in quality. And if you worried a bit after that premiere that this wasn’t the same “Torchwood” you knew and loved, fret not, the program starts to really get into gear by the end of the third chapter and there’s little reason to be concerned.
TV Review: Second Season of ‘Haven’ Premieres on SyFy
Submitted by BrianTT on July 15, 2011 - 12:09pmCHICAGO – The first season of “Haven” (recently released on Blu-ray and DVD) ended with a number of cliffhangers and the new season picks up, literally, right where it left off with guns pulled and chaos imminent in the town of Haven. Sadly, it also picks up with a similarly frustrating level of quality. This is a show that just doesn’t click, whether it’s the awkward performances or unbelievable dialogue. I want to like “Haven” but it’s a town I just can’t recommend visiting.
On XLC Radio: HollywoodChicago.com’s Brian Tallerico to Discuss the Best Summer 2011 TV
Submitted by BrianTT on July 15, 2011 - 11:24amCHICAGO – Brian Tallerico guests on Jimmy & Jen on 102.3 XLC in Chicago on June 30, 2011 for an interview about current television news including the best programs of Summer 2011.
TV Feature: The 10 Biggest Emmy Snubs of 2011
Submitted by BrianTT on July 15, 2011 - 11:08amCHICAGO – Before getting too deep into what the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences did wrong this year, they deserve a few moments of high praise. First-time Best Series nominations for “Boardwalk Empire,” “Game of Thrones,” “Friday Night Lights,” and “Parks and Recreation” — those were stellar choices to fill those slots.
Film Review: Traditional, Silly Fun in Disney’s ‘Winnie the Pooh’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 15, 2011 - 10:39amCHICAGO – Walt Disney Pictures goes old school with their latest animated tale, a return to the Hundred Acre Woods and the adventures of “Winnie the Pooh.” Using the style of the classic “2-D” cartoon method, and crafting a story that is decidedly old fashioned, the folks at the Mouse Factory resisted updating the Pooh formula.
Film Review: ‘Tabloid’ From Errol Morris Teases, Tantalizes, Entertains
Submitted by mattmovieman on July 15, 2011 - 8:27amCHICAGO – Errol Morris’s “Tabloid” is the sort of documentary so probing and inquisitive that it can’t help questioning its own validity. It’s a story about storytelling, a documentary that deconstructs the artifice of documentary filmmaking and a nonfiction narrative that may very well be comprised entirely of fiction. Such boundless ambition and self-reflexive irony is only typical of Morris, who is surely one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of the medium.
Film Review: It All Ends With Satisfying ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’
Submitted by BrianTT on July 14, 2011 - 7:56pmCHICAGO – So this is how it ends – not with a whimper but with a big, magical bang. After a decade of captivating movie audiences worldwide, will “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” appease the fans who have been eagerly anticipating the end of the saga of the boy who lived? It almost certainly will. It’s hard to imagine fans leaving the final “Potter” film with deep disappointment in this satisfying conclusion. But “satisfying” is not the same as captivating, magical, or spectacular. “Deathly Hallows” is none of those things. It’s a well-executed slice of fantasy entertainment that nonetheless fails to rise to the level of true classic.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 22 Pairs of Chicagoland Passes to ‘Captain America: The First Avenger,’ 3D Glasses, Food, Drinks
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 14, 2011 - 1:10pmCHICAGO – In our latest blockbuster edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 22 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicagoland screening of the highly anticipated film “Captain America: The First Avenger”!
