Kathryn Hahn

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new mystery “Tomorrowland” starring George Clooney!

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new comedy “The D Train” starring Jack Black and James Marsden!

CHICAGO – Jason Bateman and an all-star cast got me there. The unfunny copycat story left me regretting it. If you don’t start with a solid plot that’s at least somewhat new, it doesn’t matter how many “A”-listers you throw into an ensemble. They’re just individuals doing the best they can with weak material.

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new dramatic comedy “This is Where I Leave You” starring Jason Bateman and Tina Fey!

Looming over “Bad Words” is the potential it could have had, as is, were it released ten years ago. With its focus of R-rated behavior poking at the projected innocence of children, along with the couple of chromosomes that keep Bateman’s Trilby from being a Vince Vaughn character, this movie is certainly a product of the comedies that have sculpted out the manchild story in the past decade.

CHICAGO – In his directorial debut “Bad Words”, Jason Bateman plays Guy Trilby, a foulmouthed 40 year old man who aggressively competes in local youth spelling bees. The children are confused, and their parents are furious. However, the isolated Guy has no fear, with all of the rule loopholes in his back pocket.

I so want to love Ben Stiller’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” Stiller’s directorial work on films like “The Cable Guy” and “Tropic Thunder” was underrated, the source material is great, the message of living in the moment has more value in an increasingly cluttered world, and the time seems right for an imaginative journey into the mind of a likable protagonist like Mr. Mitty.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Jill Soloway’s Sundance Award-winning “Afternoon Delight” is such a frustrating near-miss. There will be some slight spoilers in this review. Because I can’t figure out how to express my issues with the film without mentioning one major point although it doesn’t spoil the action of the final act, just how Soloway chooses to get there. It’s only one plot point but it’s later in the film than I usually give anything away but it also completely destroys the believability of what came before and so can’t go unmentioned. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

CHICAGO – There was a point in “We’re the Millers” when the story fell off the table like a Slinky from a mountaintop. It’s as if other writers took over from a far superior dark comedy, and injected “heart” and middle age “stripping.” This all adds up to a difficult 110 minutes of lost life time.

CHICAGO – David Wain’s “Wanderlust” got screwed by Universal. There’s no reason that a movie this generally funny, smart, and enjoyable should only make just over $20 million worldwide. It’s the kind of solid comedy that is guaranteed a wider audience on Blu-ray and DVD. And the Universal Blu-ray is a strong enough one to help deserved word-of-mouth grow.