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.
Nick Allen
Interview: Writer/Director John Maclean of ‘Slow West’
Submitted by NickHC on May 22, 2015 - 8:27pmCHICAGO – Now playing at Chicago’s Music Box Theater and on VOD (but best seen on the largest screen possible), “Slow West,” is a tight genre journey pic that invigorates the western while confirming that its territory remains open, despite the many who have passed through.
Blu-ray Review: ‘The Gambler’ Still Wins on Blu-ray
Submitted by NickHC on May 14, 2015 - 1:40pmCHICAGO – Browsing Dostoyevsky titles with consideration for proper roles for Mark Wahlberg, one might expect the Beantown hero to take on an adaptation of “The Idiot” before anything like “The Gambler.” After all, while Wahlberg has proven to be a diverse screen force - one who has well-grown past his Funky Bunch days - he often leans towards goofy men, or at least goofy men in goofy movies.
Blu-ray Review: Christopher Nolan’s Wondrous Space Odyssey ‘Interstellar’
Submitted by NickHC on May 14, 2015 - 11:31am- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Anne Hathaway
- Blu-ray Review
- Casey Affleck
- Christopher Nolan
- Gravity
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Inception
- Interstellar
- Jessica Chastain
- John Lithgow
- Mackenzie Foy
- Matthew McConaughey
- Michael Caine
- Nick Allen
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- The Dark Knight Rises
- The Master
- Transformers: Age of Extinction
- Theater, TV, DVD & Blu-Ray
CHICAGO – Far more marvelous than imperfect, “Interstellar” is the answer for moviegoers who have lost the zeal for massive films, citing a lack of ideas, heart, or general passion for filmmaking. Director Christopher Nolan’s 2014 space odyssey is an event of beauty, with the rare experience of showing viewers something they haven’t seen before.
Film Review: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dour Zombie Drama ‘Maggie’
Submitted by NickHC on May 8, 2015 - 8:03pmCHICAGO – A common quagmire during a zombie outbreak, as expressed in the 367 films about the topic made about such an event since 2000, concerns what to do when your loved one is infected. For many movies, it makes for the tearful, climactic moment; for the dour drama “Maggie,” it’s the total narrative examination that just about fills half a movie, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a rugged, lumberjack dad who is disturbed by the ailing conditions of his infected daughter (played by Abigail Breslin).
Preview: Final Four Nights of 2015 Chicago Critics Film Festival
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 4, 2015 - 3:35pmCHICAGO – As the Chicago Critics Film Festival (CCFF) – a film festival as programmed by the members of the Chicago Film Critics Association – heads into its last four nights, the variety and depth of the films that are being screened continues to astound and entertain. It all takes place at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, May 4 through 7, 2015.
Preview: Stellar Weekend Kicks Off 2015 Chicago Critics Film Festival
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 1, 2015 - 12:57pm- Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World
- Bobcat Goldthwait
- Call Me Lucky
- CCFF
- Chicago Critics Film Festival
- Chicago Film Critics Associatoin
- Cobie Smulders
- Film News
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet
- Music Box Theatre
- Nick Allen
- Patrick McDonald
- Preview
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Unexpected
CHICAGO – Friday, May 1st, kicks off one of 2015 Chicago’s most special events, the Chicago Critics Film Festival (CCFF) – a film festival as programmed by the members of the Chicago Film Critics Association. The place to be is at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, and the titles included are an exciting batch of movies making their premiere here.
Film Review: A Magician Debunks the Paranormal in Beguiling Doc ‘An Honest Liar’
Submitted by NickHC on March 19, 2015 - 2:23pmCHICAGO – Magician James Randi, or “The Amazing Randi,” has a made a legacy in using his love of magic to show audiences how they’re being tricked by evangelists, spoon-benders, psychics, etc. A ruthlessly charming Houdini-wannabe with instant showman charisma, he exists as the humbling gravity to a world that can convince itself that unattainable answers are to be found in ideas beyond science.
Blu-ray Review: Chris Rock’s ‘Top Five’ is Pretty Interesting
Submitted by NickHC on March 18, 2015 - 10:39amCHICAGO – Chris Rock isn’t a huge writer/director, but when he does make a film, it’s an event to consider. For example, he made black president tale “Head of State” long before then-senator Barack Obama was even considered for the real-life role, and whether behind the stand-up mic or in an interview, he’s a voice to be reckoned with.
Film Review: Adam Sandler’s ‘The Cobbler’ a Historical, Stupefying Disaster
Submitted by NickHC on March 13, 2015 - 9:40pmCHICAGO – The newest Adam Sandler film that doesn’t feature him dressed like a chubby middle schooler is really bad, but in a special way. Similarly, it is an instant classic in the legacy of bizarre disasters, a footnote in writer/director history that must be witnessed to be fully understood.
Film Review: Fascinating, Infuriating Injustice in ‘Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem’
Submitted by NickHC on February 27, 2015 - 10:00pmCHICAGO – The title event of “Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem” is a prison sentence with no predictable day of release. The prisoner is Viviane (a fascinating Ronit Elkabetz), a soft-spoken middle-aged woman well beyond the point of a content unhappiness. She is trapped to a farce, as the divorce laws of Israel demand that a husband agree to the divorce before it can be finalized, with three rabbis and a lawyer each to discuss the event.