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.
Helen Mirren
Film Review: ‘The Fate of the Furious’ is a Vehicle Running on Fumes
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 13, 2017 - 4:20pm- Charlize Theron
- Chris Morgan
- Dwayne Johnson
- Elsa Pataky
- F. Gary Gray
- Helen Mirren
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jason Statham
- Kurt Russell
- Ludacris
- Luke Evans
- Michelle Rodriguez
- Movie Review
- Nathalie Emmanuel
- Scott Eastwood
- Spike Walters
- The Fate of the Furious
- Tyrese Gibson
- Universal Pictures
- Vin Diesel
CHICAGO – Bigger, Dumber, and Duller…that’s the name of the game this time in this ongoing franchise which is now so ludicrous it makes Bond films seem like the epitome of realism. While it’s true this is the first time Oscar winners and a “Fast and the Furious” film have ever been associated together, there’s a dearth of inspiration in this eighth go around.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 25 Pairs of Passes to ‘The Fate of the Furious’ With Vin Diesel
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on April 10, 2017 - 10:29am- Adam Fendelman
- Charlize Theron
- Chris Bridges
- Chris Morgan
- Dwayne Johnson
- F. Gary Gray
- Furious 7
- Furious 8
- Gary Scott Thompson
- Helen Mirren
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film
- Jason Statham
- Kurt Russell
- Michelle Rodriguez
- Nathalie Emmanuel
- Scott Eastwood
- The Fate of the Furious
- Tyrese Gibson
- Universal Pictures
- Vin Diesel
CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated new film “The Fate of the Furious” starring Vin Diesel!
Film Review: There is Little Beauty to Be Found in ‘Collateral Beauty’
Submitted by JonHC on December 17, 2016 - 6:49amCHICAGO – Charles Dickens once said, “Reflect upon your present blessings — of which every man has many — not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” Seeing the trailer for “Collateral Beauty,” it’s obvious this is the theme of the film, but it is also the theme of this review. My “blessing” to you is the foresight not to waste your time with this film.
Interview: Director Gavin Hood has His ‘Eye in the Sky’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 20, 2016 - 5:23pmCHICAGO – The new film “Eye in the Sky” is as contemporary a war film that currently could be made. The overview of drone warfare includes the distant “pilots” on the computer screen, the leaders in their paneled offices, and the target on the ground – which includes the enemy, but also several innocents.
Interview: Director Jay Roach Channels His Inner ‘Trumbo’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 12, 2015 - 8:01pmCHICAGO – Director Jay Roach loves his work, heading into another phase of his successful career. The man who directed the first two “Austin Powers” films is now taking on movie and American history with “Trumbo,” featuring Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”) as the 1950s blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo.
Film Review: Trite ‘Woman in Gold’ Lacks a Compelling Story
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 1, 2015 - 10:40am- Antje Traue
- Austria
- Daniel Bruhl
- Elizabeth McGovern
- Gustav Klimt
- Helen Mirren
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jonathan Pryce
- Katie Holmes
- Maria Altmann
- Movie Review
- My Week with Marilyn
- Patrick McDonald
- Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer
- Randol Schoenberg
- Ryan Reynolds
- Simon Curtis
- The Weinstein Company
- Woman in Gold
CHICAGO – The horrors of the Holocaust have been expressed in cinematic art through many angles. “Woman in Gold” takes another track, that of restoring a work of art that was stolen from a Jewish family in Austria. The legal maneuverings, however, lacks a sense that this is victorious.
Interview: Director Simon Curtis Fashions the ‘Woman in Gold’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 30, 2015 - 6:00pm- Antje Traue
- Austria
- Daniel Bruhl
- Elizabeth McGovern
- Gustav Klimt
- Helen Mirren
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Interview
- Jonathan Pryce
- Katie Holmes
- Maria Altmann
- My Week with Marilyn
- Patrick McDonald
- Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer
- Randol Schoenberg
- Ryan Reynolds
- Simon Curtis
- The Weinstein Company
- Woman in Gold
CHICAGO – The painting “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer” was created by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, and was considered Austria’s greatest artwork. The remarkable journey of the painting, stolen from its original Jewish family by the Nazis during World War II, is the basis for the new film, “Woman in Gold,” directed by Simon Curtis.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 50 Pairs of Passes to ‘Woman in Gold’ With Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on March 26, 2015 - 10:47pm- Adam Fendelman
- Alexi Kaye Campbell
- Antje Traue
- BBC Films
- Charles Dance
- Daniel Bruhl
- E. Randol Schoenberg
- Elizabeth McGovern
- Frances Fisher
- Helen Mirren
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film
- Jonathan Pryce
- Katie Holmes
- Maria Altmann
- Max Irons
- Ryan Reynolds
- Simon Curtis
- Tatiana Maslany
- The Weinstein Company
- Tom Schilling
- Woman in Gold
CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new drama “Woman in Gold” starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds!
Film Review: ‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’ Not Worth the Trip
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 8, 2014 - 1:39pmCHICAGO – “The Hundred-Foot Journey” is as manufactured and flavorless as a frostbitten Lean Cuisine. However, as the impresario of a Michelin-starred Restaurant in the south of France, Helen Mirren implores her staff that food is not an old tired marriage, it is a passionate affair.
Film Review: Despite Flopping as a Comic Book Movie, ‘Red 2’ Coasts By with Well-Written Characters
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 20, 2013 - 1:01pm- Adam Fendelman
- Anthony Hopkins
- Bruce Willis
- Byung-hun Lee
- Catherine Zeta-Jones
- Cully Hamner
- David Thewlis
- DC Entertainment
- Dean Parisot
- Erich Hoeber
- Garrick Hagon
- Helen Mirren
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- John Malkovich
- Jon Hoeber
- Jong Kun Lee
- Mary-Louise Parker
- Movie Review
- Neal McDonough
- Red
- Red 2
- Warren Ellis
CHICAGO – If you didn’t see the DC Entertainment splash screen when this “Red 2” sequel kicks off with the fake death of one of its usual suspects, you wouldn’t mind that the rest of the film feels nothing like a comic book movie except for its animated transitions between scenes.