Life

CHICAGO – When a notable indie film producer decides to direct, what does it feel like on that other side? For Marc Turtletaub, the connection was in his sophomore effort as director, “Puzzle.” The emotional drama features the impeccable Kelly Macdonald, as a stay-at-home Mom named Agnes who discovers a hidden talent.

CHICAGO – When is the last time a stage play, based in an intimate setting, made you think about your life, death, and the destiny inherent in both? “Everybody,” staged by Brown Paper Box Co. (BPBCo), is such a play, and the energetic aura and sense of surprise that the show contains is soul soothing wonder. The show has various evening/matinee performances at the Pride Arts Center in Chicago run through August 12, 2018. Click here for more details, including ticket information.

CHICAGO – Recently, the record for highest bid ever on a work of art was shattered – $450 million for Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Salvador Mundi’ – and the ownership of a canvas, for the price of supporting a small country, calls into question the meaning of art and collecting. All of this, and everything more, is generated in the cinematic rendering of “The Square.”

CHICAGO – Combining the invasion elements of “Alien” with the life-raft-in-space morbidity of “Gravity,” the new film “Life” maintains a grip from the enlightened beginning to the twisted end. Mars is the origin, so the film joins “The Martian” and “The Space Between Us” in sourcing the red planet.

CHICAGO – Blu-ray was made for nature documentaries like “Born to Be Wild” and “Frozen Planet,” both recently released on the HD format and on DVD. As “Chimpanzee” plays in theaters and “Frozen Planet” still holds places in some DVRs since its Discovery Channel airings, nature documentaries seem to be as big as they’ve ever been. Both of these are strong entries in the popular genre.

CHICAGO – The second wacky legal show debut of the week (after NBC’s awful “Harry’s Law”) is the fairly good “Fairly Legal,” a show that works largely due to the incredible charm of its lead, Sarah Shahi (“Life”).

CHICAGO – No network or film company has ever come close to equaling the nature documentaries produced by BBC’s Natural History Unit. From 1979’s “Life on Earth” to 2001’s “The Blue Planet” and 2006’s “Planet Earth,” the BBC has electrified viewers worldwide with its stunning and often humbling images of life on our planet. This is the type of programming that Blu-Ray players were made for.

CHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV, we have 10 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of “Challenges of Life,” which is the first episode of the new series “Life” on Discovery Channel!

CHICAGO – NBC held a special “in-front” announcement yesterday, two weeks in front of the standard upfront presentations and revealed six news series for the fall while leaving some beloved programs up in the air. On the bubble shows “Southland” and “Heroes” were renewed, but the jury is still out on “Chuck,” “Medium,” “Law & Order,” and “My Name is Earl”.