James Marsden

CHICAGO – A definitive cinematic exploration of the Easter Bunny story is precisely what the world is missing. Right? Anyway, the folks behind “Hop,” featuring the voice of Russell Brand as the rascally rabbit, has produced this heretofore missing piece of the film canon.

CHICAGO – At its rare best, “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” recalls Looney Tunes productions with their brilliant blend of slapstick humor, wordplay, and breakneck pace. And the odd collection of TV-caliber guest stars including Fred Armisen (“Saturday Night Live”), Jack McBrayer (“30 Rock”), and Chris O’Donnell (“NCIS: Los Angeles”) along with a truly weird group of vocal performances that include Bette Midler and Nick Nolte of all people make for a film that sometimes resembles “Looney Tunes: Back in Action.” Sadly, resembling a funny movie does not make a comedy and this half-assed attempt at family entertainment should be sent to the pound.

CHICAGO – With easily the darkest subject matter and most intense level of violence to date in the DC Universe series of PG-13 animated film, “Batman: Under the Red Hood” is far from your typical Saturday morning cartoon. This is morally complex material much closed to “The Dark Knight” than “Batman & Robin,” and it’s a smash success for the franchise, resulting in easily the best installment in years.

CHICAGO – When some of the funniest comedians in the business – Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan – can’t deliver a absurdist comedy about family secrets, then there truly is “Death at a Funeral.”

CHICAGO – Most filmmakers are content in recycling ideas. Richard Kelly strains to come up with new ones every time he steps behind a camera. It’s difficult to think of him ever becoming a commercial commodity (thoughts of David Lynch directing “Return of the Jedi” come to mind). Yet Kelly’s boundless ambition has often far exceeded his abilities.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – With ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ opening this Friday, fans can catch up on where Hugh Jackman’s legendary character earned a following big enough to warrant a summer tentpole release date in the Blu-Ray release of the “X-Men Trilogy” including the two films by Bryan Singer (“X-Men” and “X2: X-Men United”) and the three-quel by Brett Ratner (“X-Men: The Last Stand”).

Blu-Ray Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The Blu-Ray for the raunchy teen comedy “Sex Drive” is simply ridiculous. And I think I mean that in a good way. As a DVD critic, I’m constantly faced with “Unrated” editions that don’t really live up to their name. You can say a lot about “Sex Drive,” but the Blu-Ray is undeniably “Unrated and Cream-filled”.

CHICAGO – It may not have been a massive hit when it was first released, but in just a few short years, “The Notebook” has become one of the more beloved romantic dramas of the last few decades. People adore The Notebook, propelling the film to a sales total of more than nine million units to date.

CHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 admit-two passes up for grabs to the Chicago screening of “Sex Drive,” which stars James Marsden, Seth Green, Clark Duke, Josh Zuckerman and Amanda Crew.