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.
Joan Cusack
Blu-Ray Review: Disney’s ‘Mars Needs Moms’ Surprises, Delights
Submitted by mattmovieman on August 18, 2011 - 7:35amCHICAGO – Sometimes all a film needs is a bad title to repel audiences. “Mars Needs Moms” is based on the Berkeley Breathed picture book of the same name, which derived its own title from the 1966 film, “Mars Needs Women.” Even as an obscure homage, the title falls flat, and most certainly could’ve been replaced. Yet that’s not the only reason why this woefully overlooked film became one of the biggest box office bombs in history.
Film Review: Spectacle, Emotion Propel Animation in ‘Mars Needs Moms’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 11, 2011 - 6:13pmCHICAGO – “Mars Needs Moms” is an animated epic that takes its time to build toward the message, but the path to that real emotion is decorated with spectacular imagery and sprightly comedy. It’s Mom, apple pie and motion capture technology.
Blu-Ray Review: Brilliant ‘Broadcast News’ Joins Criterion Collection
Submitted by BrianTT on February 1, 2011 - 10:30amCHICAGO – James L. Brooks “Broadcast News” should serve as a stark reminder of how far the romantic comedy has fallen. Believe it or not, young readers, there was a time, not that long ago, when rom-coms weren’t mostly horrendous dreck. There have even been a few nominated for Oscars, including even Best Picture.
TV Review: William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum Save Troubled ‘Shameless’
Submitted by BrianTT on January 9, 2011 - 1:56pmCHICAGO – Showtime has built a critical and award-winning reputation around strong lead characters for some of our most best TV actors: Michael C. Hall in “Dexter,” Edie Falco in “Nurse Jackie,” Mary-Louise Parker in “Weeds,” Laura Linney in “The Big C,” and Toni Collette in “United States of Tara” are only a few examples.
Blu-Ray Review: Pixar’s Spectacular ‘Toy Story 3’ With Tom Hanks Given Amazing Blu-Ray Release
Submitted by BrianTT on November 2, 2010 - 1:45pmCHICAGO – It’s always wonderful to see Blu-ray karma turn out the way it should. Blu-ray critics often see great releases with perfect HD and interesting special features for awful movies. Conversely, it’s not uncommon for great films to be given lackluster home releases. “Toy Story 3” is not only one of the best films of 2010, it’s one of the best Blu-rays as well.
Slideshow: Joan Cusack Introduces ‘Toy Story’ Jessie Doll in Chicago
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 30, 2010 - 4:27pmCHICAGO – “Toy Story 3” has held onto the top spot at the box office for two straight weekends, and Joan Cusack – the voice of Jessie in the film – lent her star power to the debut of the doll based on her character. She appeared at the Disney Store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, and was photographed by HollywoodChicago.com’s Joe Arce.
‘Toy Story 3’ is a Perfect Play Date For the Entire Family
Submitted by BrianTT on June 18, 2010 - 2:38pmCHICAGO – Very few recent films are as purely entertaining or thematically satisfying as Pixar’s “Toy Story 3,” not only one of the best films of the year but one of the best in the history of animation. Brilliantly tying up the two films that came before in a way that so many sequels fail to do, the geniuses at Pixar have done it again. It’s another masterpiece.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Toy Story’ Films Released in Advance of ‘Toy Story 3’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 25, 2010 - 4:46pmCHICAGO – If you don’t at least like the “Toy Story” movies, you’re probably kind of a jerk. Personally, I adore them both and have seen them multiple times on DVD; the standard go-to when babysitting nieces and nephews. And yet watching them again in glorious Disney HD, they still felt new. I’m blinded by love for Pixar, but these are must-owns for anyone with a Blu-ray player.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ Suffers From Uplift Overkill
Submitted by BrianTT on November 24, 2009 - 10:50pmCHICAGO – Sometimes all it takes is a glance at a film’s poster to know where it’s stepped wrong. The poster for “My Sister’s Keeper” shows photogenic stars Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin smiling at each other, while their saintly co-star (Sofia Vassilieva) drifts below them, blowing bubbles.
‘My Sister’s Keeper’: An Emotional Look at a Modern Moral Dilemma
Submitted by Ebeth on June 28, 2009 - 4:21amCHICAGO – The advancement of medicine has brought about many things: longer life-expectancy, treatments for serious illnesses such as cancer, artificial conception, and genetic modification. Though there are positive aspects to each of these things, inherent within each are moral dilemmas we will have to face.