Monica Potter

CHICAGO – There’s an easy-going confidence in the first two episodes of the new season of “Parenthood” that separates the best family dramas from pure cliche. The team behind this beloved series clearly has reached a point where they know these characters down to their cores. The best family dramas reach a point where the characters feel genuine enough that we look forward each week to seeing how they’re doing, like old friends who we only see every seven days.

CHICAGO – The NBC family drama “Parenthood” has struggled to find a wide audience but the people that do watch it are remarkably loyal to the saga of the Bravermans. Their third season, which looked for some time like it could be their last, was recently released on DVD in advance of the fourth-season premiere on NBC on September 11, 2012.

CHICAGO – There’s something comforting about a family like the Bravermans. It’s a blend of perspective and identification that allows us to look at the clan at the center of a family drama like “Parenthood”.

CHICAGO – Like a lot of Hollywood depictions of family, “Parenthood” features a lot of yelling. For some reason, most writers think of raised voices when they think of the lives of parents and their children. We don’t all talk over each other during family dinners.

CHICAGO – Dennis Iliadis’ brutal and accomplished remake of Wes Craven’s influential horror classic “The Last House on the Left,” now available on Blu-Ray and DVD, deserves a much better home release than the typically reliable Universal/Rogue has delivered for horror fans this week.

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Has TNT’s “Trust Me” lived up to the potential of its cast, concept, or even its clever pilot? With the tenth episode of the first season - “Thanks, I Needed That” - about to air and the season finale only two weeks away, it’s time to take another look at this show and see if it’s made good use of one of the most high caliber ensembles on television.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Dennis Illiadis’ remake of “The Last House on the Left” is the exception the proves the rule that most horror movie remakes are a complete waste of time. With an incredible performance by Garret Dillahunt (“Deadwood,” “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”) and great supporting work by Monica Potter, Sara Paxton, Tony Goldwyn, and others, “Last House” is the best mainstream horror movie in a long time.

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The vicious family of Krug (Garret Dillahunt).

CHICAGO – This 18-image slideshow contains the available press images for Rogue Pictures’ “The Last House on the Left,” starring Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Garret Dillahunt, Sara Paxton, Martha MacIsaac, and Riki Lindhome. The film, written by Carl Ellsworth and directed by Dennis Iliadis, opens on Friday, March 13th, 2009.

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – We have good news for fans of “Will & Grace” and “Ed”. The stars of those two shows have been lucky enough to have lightning strike their careers again with TNT’s “Trust Me”.

CHICAGO – In a special edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV, we have 20 admit-two VIP passes up for grabs to the exclusive Chicago premiere of the new TNT drama “Trust Me” about a Chicago advertising agency. The series stars Eric McCormack (“Will & Grace”), Tom Cavanagh (“Scrubs,” “Ed”) and Monica Potter (“Boston Legal,” “Saw,” “Along Came a Spider,” “Patch Adams,” “Con Air”) from the producers of “Nip/Tuck” and “The Closer”.