Zosia Mamet

CHICAGO –Director Todd Solondz has made a career out of not shying away from the most uncomfortable negativities of life. From extreme disconnection (“Happiness”) to pedophilia (“Life During Wartime”) to the sad rejection of pre-teen years (“Welcome to the Dollhouse”), Solondz pulls no punches. He achieves that harsh intent yet again in “Wiener-Dog.”

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new Sundance Film Festival hit comedy “Wiener-Dog” starring Greta Gerwig and Julie Delpy from IFC Films and Amazon Studios!

CHICAGO – We live in a world that’s so dependent on the new that it’s difficult for as headline-grabbing a program as HBO’s “Girls” to follow up a first season that landed it multiple nominations and year-end citations. What does Lena Dunham do next?

CHICAGO – HBO’s “Girls” was the best new show of 2012 and one of the best shows, period, new or old. Knowing they have a growing cultural phenomenon on their hands (more people seem to be talking about January’s upcoming season two premiere than any sophomore season that I can ever remember), HBO has given fans of the show a gift, a season set with multiple ways to watch the program along with stellar special features. It’s a great way to use the gift card money you may have acquired from Santa this week.

CHICAGO – Lena Dunham’s brilliant new HBO series is called “Girls” and not “Women” for a very distinct reason. She’s capturing a rarely-chronicled aspect of the iGeneration, that period where we are definitely not children but also not yet quite adults. And there’s something about the current wave of recession era twentysomethings that’s particularly unique.