Warner Home Video

CHICAGO – Now that BBC’s acclaimed “Sherlock” has offered the definitive version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved detective, Guy Ritchie’s routine “Holmes” franchise looks all the more elementary in comparison. No amount of trademark mugging from leading man Robert Downey Jr. can compensate for the overwhelming hollowness of this slickly edited series.

CHICAGO – “Who’s up for an adventure?” ask the characters in Brad Peyton’s ungainly titled “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.” This question is repeatedly asked, but alas, the adventure never arrives, unless you count an interminable series of derivative set-pieces lacking any shred of charm or imagination. The intelligence and perceptiveness of a child’s mind is rarely ever respected by Hollywood these days, and “Journey 2” takes the idiocy to a whole new level.

CHICAGO – So there I was at a packed awards consideration screening for Stephen Daldry’s latest prestige-filled tearjerker. Though a few of my fellow colleagues were grumbling about the grim task of sitting through more Daldry Oscar bait, my heart was filled with goodwill. I loved Daldry’s feature debut, “Billy Elliot,” and had plenty of favorable things to say about “The Hours” and “The Reader.”

CHICAGO – Every seasoned movie lover can attest to having a favorite shot in Michael Curtiz’s 1942 classic “Casablanca,” a picture practically overflowing with indelible imagery. The first appearance of freedom fighter-turned-café owner Rick (Humphrey Bogart) decked out in a white tux, the tearful letter that turns to literal tears in a rainstorm, the final walk through the fog…all unforgettable.

CHICAGO – With all due respect to Damián Bichir, George Clooney, Jean Dujardin, Gary Oldman and Brad Pitt, I believe that the three best lead performances by an actor in 2011 were entirely overlooked by the Academy. None of the five Oscar nominees quite managed to top Michael Shannon in “Take Shelter,” Michael Fassbender in “Shame” or Leonardo DiCaprio in “J. Edgar.”

CHICAGO – One of the great children’s films is “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” released in 1971. As the movie celebrates its 40th Anniversary with a lavish new Blu-ray package, the main child star of film, Peter Ostrum (Charlie Bucket), made an appearance at the 2011 Chicago Wizard World Comic Con.

CHICAGO – The best parts of a Zack Snyder picture have consistently been the opening title sequences, from “Dawn of the Dead”’s apocalyptic montage to “Watchmen”’s brilliant prologue scored to Bob Dylan’s “The Time They Are A-Changin’.” Snyder’s latest problematic novel adaptation, “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” is no exception.

CHICAGO – For filmmaker Ben Affleck, “The Town” marks a return to his roots in more ways than one. It’s a fresh and assured sophomore effort by the promising director, whose cinematic perspective on Boston is becoming as distinctive and exciting Scorsese’s take on New York City. Yet the picture also finds Affleck returning to the themes that have obsessed him ever since “Good Will Hunting.”

CHICAGO – Why do so many modern TV dramas fail? I suspect that part of the reason lies in the fact that a lot of these shows bend over backwards to be a major television event before they’ve earned that right. They cloak themselves in faux commentary merely so they can become mechanical fodder for water cooler discussion the morning after. That’s why the vast majority of new TV dramas might as well be called, “The Event.”

CHICAGO – In the opening moments of “Splice,” the audience is experiencing the world through the eyes of a newborn baby. Yet unlike Gaspar Noé’s “Enter the Void,” which recreated human perception with eerie perfection, this point of view shot is blatantly skewed. The doctors seem to be looking at a pulsating fishbowl rather than a baby. That theory is swiftly proven to be fairly accurate.