Patricia Clarkson

CHICAGO – Yes, the future world of teenage bleakness, so popular in “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent,” now has its own genre. “The Maze Runner” is an excellent entry, and gets over its stilted dialogue and scary monsters by adding in surprises and atmospheric mystery.

CHICAGO – What is wrong with our future? The Young Adult category of future fiction seems to think we’re all doomed, what with “The Hunger Games,” “Divergent” and now “The Maze Runner” film adaptations. The latest “Maze” take is pretty darn good, though, thanks to actors Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario and Will Poulter.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Brit Marling is an undeniably smart, forward-thinking writer/actress in that she refuses to succumb to gender stereotypes and tries to chart her own way through the independent film movement. If this is true, and I still believe it is, why did “The East,” in which she stars and which she co-wrote, end up so frustratingly melodramatic? Why was the opportunity for true commentary or even character development within this fascinating world discarded in favor of an awkwardly-staged and poorly-written love story laden with genre tropes? I so wanted to like “The East,” but it never pointed me in the direction where I could do so.

CHICAGO – There’s a spirit and energy in Will Gluck’s “Friends With Benefits” that’s infectious enough to get it over some of its screenwriting humps. It’s a film that features two beautiful people dancing to a Michael Buble flash mob in the middle of Times Square. If those beautiful people were Josh Duhamel and Katherine Heigl, most critics would have audibly retched. But Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis are so remarkably charismatic that they make the cliches of “Friends With Benefits,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, much easier to take.

CHICAGO – Director Lone Scherfig has a keen eye for observation when charting the coming-of-age and disillusionment of characters awakening to life’s injustices. Her superb 2009 film, “An Education,” followed the painful yet vital journey of a young woman who discovers what she truly wants out of life. “One Day” is a more pessimistic film, since it focuses on the various obstacles preventing one from living the life they desire until it’s too late.

CHICAGO – In the sure hands of director Lone Scherfig, the underrated film “An Education” brought Carey Mulligan to full light. Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess generate similar radiance in Scherfig’s new film, “One Day.”

CHICAGO – Director Lone Scherfig has a rare delicate touch when it comes to portraying the subtlety of human relationships in films. After a triumph in 2009 directing Carey Mulligan in “An Education,” Scherfig returns with Anne Hathaway in the new film “One Day.”

CHICAGO – In this edition of the HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, two lucky winners will win three DVDs each from Magnolia Pictures for the movies “Ira & Abby,” “The Great Buck Howard” and “The Answer Man”!

CHICAGO – It seems that carnal canoodling without strings attached seems all the rage in romantic comedies these days. The twentysomething set, having seen their share of divorces and break-ups, prefer the Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis method in “Friends with Benefits.”

CHICAGO – In our latest romantic comedy edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the new film “Friends With Benefits” starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis!