CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the streaming series “Emily in Paris” the adventures of Emily Cooper and her fanciful/fashionable Paris friends and lovers, now in its fourth season. Episodes 1-5 currently on Netflix.
IFC Films
Blu-ray Review: ‘Flypaper’ Falters With Paper-Thin Characterizations
Submitted by mattmovieman on November 30, 2011 - 8:21amCHICAGO – After the not-so-surprising success of the heavily marketed farce “The Hangover,” Jon Lucas and Scott Moore have quickly become Hollywood’s most overrated screenwriters. They specialize in injecting high concepts with frat-boy vulgarity, mean spirited gags and entirely superficial warmth. If Zach Galifianakis hadn’t bolstered “Hangover” with his deadpan genius, the film almost surely would’ve flopped.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 50 Pairs of Chicago Passes to Werner Herzog’s ‘Into the Abyss’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 3, 2011 - 4:53pmCHICAGO – In our latest documentary edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two movie passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of IFC Films’ “Into the Abyss” from Werner Herzog about why people kill – and why a state kills!
Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Ledge’ Falls Flat Despite All-Star Cast
Submitted by mattmovieman on October 5, 2011 - 7:23amCHICAGO – If Fox Faith’s target audience was comprised of atheists, the studio might have churned out this deeply shallow thriller about religious fundamentalism. Though hate-spewing cult leaders like Fred Phelps deserve to be reviled, the vast majority of fictional films about extremism come off as profoundly simple-minded. Like Kevin Smith’s “Red State,” this picture sidesteps its provocative subject matter in favor of routine clichés.
Film Review: Unfunny ‘Burke and Hare’ Wastes Top-Notch Cast
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 9, 2011 - 7:34amCHICAGO – There are few sights more depressing than a game cast all dressed up with nowhere to go and no good jokes to share. “Burke and Hare” is the sort of comedy Mel Brooks was making in the ’90s. All the ingredients are on hand for a promising comedy, and yet something’s missing—namely, laughter. The timing is off, the punch-lines are obvious and the actors are bored beyond belief.
Blu-Ray Review: Brilliant Dissection of Faith in ‘Secret Sunshine’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 29, 2011 - 1:30pmCHICAGO – The partnership between IFC and The Criterion Collection has led to a number of great releases (“A Christmas Tale,” “Che”) and a few questionable entries (“Life During Wartime”) but rarely has it completely unearthed a film as little-seen as Lee Chang-Dong’s brilliant “Secret Sunshine.” This award-winning dissection of faith amidst tragedy never even received a Chicago release as far as I can remember but it absolutely deserves a wider audience. This is a great film given a strong release by the DVD/Blu-ray series ever.
Blu-Ray Review: Ellen Page, Rainn Wilson in Clever ‘Super’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 9, 2011 - 2:54pmCHICAGO – “I thought it would be interesting to write the story of the superhero who wasn’t super at all,” says writer/director James Gunn on his behind-the-scenes featurette on the underrated “Super,” an imperfect film with more than enough interesting ideas and strong performances to justify a look now that it’s on Blu-ray and DVD.
Blu-Ray Review: Criterion Tackles Todd Solondz’s ‘Life During Wartime’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 1, 2011 - 1:12pmCHICAGO – The Criterion deal with IFC Films has led to some very interesting additions to their collection including some controversial choices. The universally-acclaimed and upcoming “Carlos” may be understandable but do “Everlasting Moments” and “Revanche” deserve the standing that comes with the Criterion label? I’m torn and no more so than with the release of “Life During Wartime,” a decent and interesting flick that nonetheless would be FAR down the list of movies I would choose for induction into the most important club in DVD history.
DVD Review: ‘Park Benches’ Features Dazzling French Ensemble
Submitted by mattmovieman on July 29, 2011 - 9:41amCHICAGO – Episodic ensemble pieces in America often follow a contrived pattern typified by Paul Haggis’s “Crash.” Various diverse lives are juxtaposed and intersect while illustrating an overarching theme. What’s so refreshing about Bruno Podalydès’s 2009 French gem, “Park Benches,” is its utter lack of dramatic significance. It’s more interested in exploring the idiosyncrasies of humanity rather than preaching a self-important message.
Blu-Ray Review: Unfunny ‘Peep World’ Wastes Spectacular Comedic Cast
Submitted by mattmovieman on July 21, 2011 - 10:11amCHICAGO – “Peep World” plays like the pilot for a failed sitcom that will never end. The running time clocks in at a mere 79 minutes, but the ordeal feels so much longer. One can imagine the canned laughter on TV Land appreciating these gags, which are embarrassingly lame. It’s not long before the miserable, ashen-faced characters begin to mirror the audience.
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.
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