CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News
Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ Flawed But Worth Seeing
Submitted by BrianTT on February 11, 2010 - 1:01pmCHICAGO – Robert Schwentke’s adaptation of the beloved novel “The Time Traveler’s Wife” was mostly critically ridiculed in theaters but should make for a satisfying rental this Valentine’s Day and deserves a second consideration from those that completely dismissed it at first. It looks beautiful in HD and the film’s flaws are easier to forgive at home without the expectation of this long-awaited project.
Video Game Review: ‘Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 11, 2010 - 12:26pmCHICAGO – The critical phrase that kept surfacing during my playing time of the mini-RPG “Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment” was “good for a downloadable game”. The game is flawed but its low purchase price might make it worth a look for fans of old-fashioned role-playing games but most modern gamers will be disappointed.
Blu-Ray Review: Avoid Dull Trip to ‘Couples Retreat’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 11, 2010 - 9:47amCHICAGO – It seems ironic that “Couples Retreat,” a film about a group of friends who think they’re going on a peaceful vacation but get hoodwinked into couples counseling, is itself a bait-and-switch, advertising a sexy comedy and delivering a dull trip. Avoid this awful excuse for a comedy.
Interview: Cast of ‘Percy Jackson & the Olympians’ Capture the Lightning
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 10, 2010 - 3:28pmCHICAGO – Bringing a popular book series to screen is successfully achieved primarily through casting, and the adaptation of “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” is no exception. The young cast brims with enthusiasm for the new movie.
DVD Review: ‘More Than a Game’ Takes Standard Approach to Great Story
Submitted by mattmovieman on February 10, 2010 - 3:23pmCHICAGO – Some documentaries tell stories that are so suspenseful and crowd-pleasing that one would swear they were written by Hollywood screenwriters. The extraordinary series of events chronicled in “More Than a Game” has a trajectory and formula straight out of a classic “rags to riches” sports picture. Let’s hope Sandra Bullock doesn’t star in the remake.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Music Man’ Looks Sharper, Thunders Louder Than Before
Submitted by mattmovieman on February 9, 2010 - 4:12pmCHICAGO – “The Music Man” is alive in a way few Hollywood musicals ever are. Its big numbers often grow organically, allowing melodies to emerge from the rhythm of speech, overlapping action or the seemingly mundane movement of characters across the frame. In the exuberant world of this ageless classic, music is less of a self-conscious construct than an irresistible life force infiltrating the cadence of everyday life.
TV Review: ‘Past Life’ Fails to Reincarnate Anything Entertaining
Submitted by BrianTT on February 9, 2010 - 12:59pmCHICAGO – FOX’s new supernatural drama “Past Life” is a laughable waste of time, a show that feels like an inferior version of a dozen other programs, coming off as a weak variation on “Medium,” “The Ghost Whisperer,” and countless other procedurals.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 25 ‘Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief’ Chicagoland Passes With Uma Thurman
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on February 8, 2010 - 1:12pmCHICAGO – In our latest fantasy edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicagoland screening of “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”!
Blu-Ray Review: Dull ‘Amelia’ Should Be Grounded
Submitted by BrianTT on February 8, 2010 - 12:29pmCHICAGO – It seems downright sad that “Amelia,” a movie that was so widely predicted to be a part of the 2009 awards season, would be released on Blu-ray and DVD on the same day as the Oscar announcements. On paper, “Amelia” seemed like Oscar bait through and through with important subject matter headlined by one of the few women to have more than one Oscar. On Blu-ray, it’s easy to see why this cinematic plane crashed and burned.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,’ ‘Mystic River’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 8, 2010 - 11:06amCHICAGO – I know what you’re thinking: What do “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Mystic River” have in common? Nothing at all other than a Blu-ray release date of February 2nd, 2010. Oh, and they’re two films you should probably own if you have a Blu-ray player.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘New York, I Love You’ Celebrates Cinema, Forgets City
Submitted by mattmovieman on February 5, 2010 - 2:19pmCHICAGO – For film lovers unable to attend international film festivals, “Paris, je t’aime” provided an irresistible glimpse at world cinema. Eighteen celebrated filmmakers were each recruited to make a short subject set in the City of Love, thus allowing audiences to view the same town from different cultural perspectives. Some shorts worked better than others, but the resounding majority of them were utterly captivating.
Blu-Ray Review: Jason Bourne Films Continue to Deliver With Combo Releases
Submitted by BrianTT on February 5, 2010 - 12:01pmCHICAGO – The Universal release of “The Bourne Trilogy” was not only one of the best Blu-ray titles of 2009 but it’s still one of the best box sets on the HD market twelve months later. The question is how does Universal continue to make a dime on the Matt Damon juggernaut of a franchise while we wait for the latest drama regarding the potential fourth film. Welcome to the Bourne flipper discs.
Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried Can’t Quite Deliver ‘Dear John’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 5, 2010 - 9:29amCHICAGO – Love stories are as common at the movies as popcorn and sticky floors. Despite this, rising stars Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried add their own spin to the timeworn plot theme in “Dear John.”
