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DVD Review: Ambitious ‘The Objective’ Sustains Interest, But Ultimately Fails

The Objective

CHICAGO – While adult comedies continue to rake in the big bucks at the box office, adult dramas continue to plunge in popularity, particularly dramas centering on the war in Iraq. When a brilliant edge-of-your-seat thriller like Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” or a galvanizing documentary like “Taxi to the Dark Side” can’t even manage to find an audience, a tiny horror picture like “The Objective” doesn’t stand a chance.

TV Review: Showtime’s ‘Lock ‘N Load’ Wastes Opportunity

Lock 'N Load

CHICAGO – The new reality series “Lock ‘N Load,” debuting tonight, October 21st, 2009, on Showtime, is a completely wasted opportunity to add something unique and interesting to the debate over gun control. Completely leaving political or personal viewpoints on controversial weapons issues out of my opinion, the show simply isn’t interesting or entertaining.

Surprise! Chicago International Film Festival Screens ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’

Heath Ledger in "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassas"

CHICAGO – “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassas,” the long anticipated final film of Heath Ledger, directed by Terry Gilliam, was previewed last night at the Chicago International Film Festival at their “surprise’ screening.

2009 Chicago International Film Festival Awards: Martin Landau Speech, Young Filmmaker Interviews

CHICAGO – Film and TV icon Martin Landau accepted his Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Chicago International Film Festival in the same hotel he stayed at while filming Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest” in 1959.

Blu-Ray Review: Sam Raimi’s ‘Drag Me to Hell’ a Great Halloween Choice

Drag Me To Hell

CHICAGO – There are a number of choices for your Halloween movie dollar this season including “Saw VI” and “Paranormal Activity” in theaters and new Blu-Ray editions of “Audition” and this year’s “Orphan” and Sam Raimi’s great “Drag Me to Hell”. Universal has packaged Raimi’s glorious return to the genre that made him a star with a gorgeous video and audio treatment but lackluster special features. The movie deserves a bit better.

Blu-Ray Review: Gaudy ‘Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ Lacks True Holiday Cheer

Grinch

CHICAGO – Just weeks before the opening weekend of Jim Carrey’s new “A Christmas Carol,” Universal has released a Blu-Ray + DVD combo pack of the nearly decade-old “Grinch” remake, featuring Carrey as the infamous Seussian Scrooge. The combination of Carrey’s star power and Theodor Geisel’s beloved source material assured the film’s massive box office success.

‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’ Offering Free Clip on iTunes

Twilight Saga: New Moon (Stewart & Pattinson)

CHICAGO – iTunes has released a free clip from “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” staring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart that you can download as of today, October 20th, 2009.

Blu-Ray Review: Takashi Miike’s ‘Audition’ More Effective 10 Years Later

Audition

CHICAGO – Takashi Miike’s controversial and terrifying “Audition,” recently released in a ten year anniversary Blu-Ray edition, feels even richer and more dramatically interesting than it did ten years ago as the dating world has become so much more reliant on technology.

2009 Chicago International Film Festival ‘Best of the Fest’ For Oct. 21, 2009

Chicago International Film Festival

CHICAGO – As the 45th Chicago International Film Festival comes to a close, this year’s award-winning and most popular films are being screened one more time. All of the screenings will be held at the AMC River East 21 theater at 322 E. Illinois St.

DVD Round Up, Oct. 20, 2009: ‘Medium,’ ‘Princess,’ ‘Top Chef’

Medium: Season Five DVD

CHICAGO – Over the course of dozens of editions of HollywoodChicago.com’s DVD Round-Up column, we have brought our readers more than a few collections that possessed a remarkable variety of genres in one piece, but few match this week’s column, a quartet of titles that include supernatural drama, reality television, foreign animation, and classic fantasy.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory’ in HD

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory

CHICAGO – You can keep Tim Burton’s remake of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” with Johnny Depp. I’ll be watching the classic “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory,” recently released on Blu-Ray, for years to come. It’s not a must-own family film release like the recent “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” or “Wizard of Oz” packages, but the film remains remarkably timeless.

DVD Review: ‘Il Divo’ Explores the Bloody Trenches of Italian Politics

Il Divo

CHICAGO – Since the totality of what I know about Italian politics could fit inside a fortune cookie, I’d normally be inclined to demand that films on the subject keep it simple by not utilizing too many characters and not bothering with a complicated plot that spans roughly fifteen years. But the slick “Il Divo” didn’t have me pleading with writer director Paolo Sorrentino to slow down so that I could catch up with its history.

Blu-Ray Review: Predictable ‘The Proposal’ Elevated By Fine Cast

The Proposal

CHICAGO – Just as “My Best Friend’s Wedding” existed solely to provide Julia Roberts with a career comeback, “The Proposal” aimed to prove that Sandra Bullock still has what it takes to headline a romantic comedy. In that regard, it succeeded admirably.

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  • Manhunt

    CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    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.

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