Mark Duplass

Blu-ray Review: ‘Your Sister’s Sister’ Sets High Bar for Indie Filmmaking

Your Sister's Sister Blu-ray

CHICAGO – Give Lynn Shelton a few days, a dozen crew members, a picturesque cabin and three terrific actors, and just look at what she’s capable of making. “Your Sister’s Sister” is clearly the work of a filmmaker in full command of her craft. With limited resources and very little time, writer/director Shelton somehow managed to capture a fully realized human drama brimming with richly etched characters and marvelously insightful comedy.

TV Review: FX Comedies ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,’ ‘The League’

CHICAGO – Some of the most likable morons in the history of television are back tonight as the eighth season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and the fourth season of “The League” return to FX for more remarkable stupidity.

Blu-ray Review: Clever, Engaging ‘The Do-Deca-Pentathlon’

The Do-Deca-Pentathlon

CHICAGO – Jay & Mark Duplass clearly know a thing or two about sibling rivalry. They capture that unique blend of affection and competition in their clever and sweet “The Do-Deca-Pentathlon,” a comedy that didn’t get nearly the attention of recent efforts like “Cyrus” and “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” because of a lack of star power but makes a satisfying rental now that it’s on Blu-ray.

Blu-ray Review: Deadly Dull ‘Darling Companion’ Wastes Incredible Ensemble

Darling Companion Blu-ray

CHICAGO – “Darling Companion” may be the first film consisting entirely of footage resembling the background action in an erectile dysfunction commercial. It has the score of a Campbell’s ad, the premise of a Hallmark card and the script of a self-parodying Lifetime dud. Side effects may include headaches, irritability and a guaranteed loss of interest.

Blu-ray Review: Well-Cast ‘Jeff, Who Lives at Home’ Charmingly Meanders

Jeff Who Lives at Home Blu-ray

CHICAGO – While the man-child archetype has been cheerfully skewered and celebrated by Apatowian comedies ranging from “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” to “Step Brothers,” this year has so far produced two intriguing indie comedies that take a somewhat more serious look at a developmentally arrested psyche. Neither film is flawless, but they sure would make a superb double feature.

Film Review: Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks in Moving ‘People Like Us’

People Like Us
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.0/5.0
Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “People Like Us” is an old-fashioned tearjerker with everything that phrase implies. It’s undeniably manipulative and sentimental but it’s also somewhat refreshing to see a drama that isn’t laced with irony, cynicism, or some form of postmodern commentary on the genre. “People Like Us” is a film that wants you to be moved; it wants you to cry; it wants you to feel something. Some audiences will be turned off by the blatant melodrama but the honest approach works for me and the strong performances from the cast clearly enlivened by the material elevates it beyond processed cheese.

Film Review: ‘Safety Not Guaranteed’ with Aubrey Plaza is Delightful Journey

Safety Not Guaranteed
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.5/5.0
Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – I love “Safety Not Guaranteed.” It reminds me of films of my youth – the sci-fi/dramedy hits of directors like Robert Zemeckis, Richard Donner, and Steven Spielberg – that gifted viewers with wonderful characters with which we could identify. The set-up may be ridiculous but as long as we feel grounded with the people within it, we’ll go along with anything. This is something that’s been lost over the years and writer Derek Connolly and director Colin Trevorrow have found in their delicate, lovely film.

Film Review: Great Trio Elevates Lynn Shelton’s ‘Your Sister’s Sister’

Your Sister's Sister
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Lynn Shelton’s “Your Sister’s Sister” is a character-driven piece about hidden feelings and complex relationships. Like her work on “Humpday,” Shelton has a keen ear for the way people alter their behavior as their dynamics with other people continue to shift, often in a sexual direction. When a close friend suddenly looks like something more, when a long-term relationship seems to be falling apart, when a sibling may have betrayed you – Shelton’s gift as a filmmaker is how she can traverse these emotional minefields while still staying true to her characters.

Interview: Director Colin Trevorrow Warns ‘Safety Not Guaranteed’

CHICAGO – Colin Trevorrow’s “Safety Not Guaranteed” is a fantastic blend of sci-fi, romance, and comedy. In other words, it’s the kind of movie they don’t make that often any more but they virtually mastered back in the ’80s with the films of Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg (both clear influences on this work). It’s smart, delicate, and one of the best directorial debuts of 2012. Trevorrow sat down with us in downtown Chicago recently and proved to be as interesting an interview as his clever film would suggest that he would be.

Interview: ‘Your Sister’s Sister’ Director Lynn Shelton on Fast-Paced Production

CHICAGO – The characters in a Lynn Shelton movie live relatively content lives until an unexpected event ruptures their sense of self. A self-absorbed writer awakens to the fact that he’s been a terrible friend in “My Effortless Brilliance.” Two heterosexual buddies test the boundaries of their relationship by attempting to film a porno together in “Humpday.”

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TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • Manhunt

    CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

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