HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Quantum of Solace’ Offers Action Ride, Average Blu-Ray

Quantum of Solace
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “Quantum of Solace,” the second Daniel Craig 007 movie after the earthquake to the franchise that was the brilliant “Casino Royale,” didn’t make quite the same waves in the action genre and left a few viewers dissatisfied but it still makes for a better-than-average action movie rental. Sadly, MGM continues to struggle a bit in the HD revolution, releasing a so-so Blu-Ray that won’t help the viewers who felt let down by the film in theaters.

Blu-Ray Review: Disney Delivers Another Great Release For Super-Cute ‘Bolt’ With Miley Cyrus

HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The first word I think of when I read or hear about Disney’s “Bolt” is cute. The movie is just cute, cute, cute. If your threshold for adorable cartoon characters and heartwarming messages is low, stay away, but if you’re looking for a bright smile to break the darkness of daily life, you could do a lot worse than this clever canine, now the subject of yet another nearly-perfect Disney Blu-Ray release.

Video Game Review: ‘Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop’ Should Be Better

Dead Rising

CHICAGO – Not every game fits every platform. Every once in a while, a game can make the jump from one next-gen console to another, but it’s just as often that a title misses the mark and crashes to the ground. Such is the case with Capcom’s anticipated “Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop,” a shooter with fun moments interspersed through awful gameplay and horrendous storytelling.

Pixar’s ‘Up’ to Open Cannes Film Festival in May 2009

Up

CHICAGOPixar continues their plan for world dominance with their 2009 film “Up” being announced today as the opening film for the 62nd Cannes Film Festival in May. Produced under John Lasseter’s supervision, the film that follows “WALL-E,” “Cars,” “The Incredibles,” “Finding Nemo,” “Toy Story,” and more under the prestigious Pixar banner will be the Opening Ceremony film in Disney Digital 3-D on Wednesday, May 13th, 2009.

Release Date, Cover Art For Criterion’s ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’

Benjamin Button

CHICAGO – Paramount/Criterion made a huge announcement today, revealing that David Fincher’s Oscar-winning “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” will be inducted into The Criterion Collection in its debut on DVD and Blu-Ray on May 5th, 2009. The Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett drama will arrive in a two-disc special edition DVD and two-disc Blu-Ray with over three hours of special features.

Blu-Ray Review: Marvel Character Strikes Out Swinging With ‘Punisher: War Zone’

Punisher
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – It’s officially a strikeout for Marvel’s The Punisher, a character now featured in not one, not two, but three bad movies of his very own. Dolph Lundgren swung wildly and missed with his “The Punisher” and Thomas Jane nearly connected but went foul with his reboot of the franchise. Now, Ray Stevenson is the latest actor to fail to connect with this legendary character in “Punisher: War Zone,” now available on Blu-Ray.

TV Review: ‘Better Off Ted’ Could Be Worse But Far From Best

Better Off Ted
HollywoodChicago.com Television Rating: 2.5/5.0
Television Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – In a landscape of increasingly lower ratings for quirky TV comedy (talk to the producers of “Scrubs” if you don’t believe me), I’m kind of amazed that “Better Off Ted” made it to the air. If “Arrested Development” and everything Andy Richter has ever tried couldn’t find an audience, who thought people would be attracted to this left-of-center workplace sitcom? And the fact that it doesn’t live up to the potential of its concept means the show’s thin chance of survival just disappeared.

12th Annual EU Film Festival Highlights, Week Three: ‘Angel,’ ‘Left Bank,’ ‘Eden,’ ‘Fear Me Not’

CHICAGO – The third week of the 12th Annual EU Film Festival at the Siskel Film Center is nearly upon us and we’re back to give you an idea of what to expect in the second half of arguably the best fest in the Windy City.

DVD Review: ‘Elegy’ Features Spectacular Performances From Ben Kingsley, Penelope Cruz

Elegy
HollywoodChicago.com DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0
DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – They have yet to perfectly adapt the great author Philip Roth’s tone from page to screen, but Isabel Coixet’s “Elegy” comes the closest. With other modern masters like Ian McEwan (“Atonement”) and Cormac McCarthy (“No Country For Old Men”) finding a new audience through the successful adaptations of their work, maybe “Elegy” will bring fans to Roth.

Video Game Review: Alien War is Hell in Sony’s Amazing ‘Killzone 2’

HollywoodChicago.com Video Game Rating: 4.5/5.0
Video Game Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Some games are designed to take the edge off the day, to relax you from the stress of the real world. Play the excellent downloadable game “Flower” for a good example of one those. Don’t play “Killzone 2,” a fantastic shooter, one of the best in a long time, but also a stressful, sometimes terrifying ride through an alien war zone.

DVD Review: Sally Hawkins Shines in Mike Leigh’s Fantastic ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’

Happy Go Lucky
HollywoodChicago.com DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0
DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “Happy-Go-Lucky” was one my favorite films of 2008 with a pitch-perfect performance by the great Sally Hawkins, an actress who so embodied her character that not only did she deserve to be nominated for an Oscar, she should be polishing her trophy right now. New to DVD, audiences can finally catch up with “Happy-Go-Lucky,” another notch in the belt for the great Mike Leigh, one of the more consistent filmmakers of the last twenty years.

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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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