CHICAGO – There is no better time to take in a stage play that is based in U.S. history, depicting the battle between fact and religion. The old theater chestnut – first mounted in 1955 – is “Inherit the Wind,” now at the Goodman Theatre, completing it’s short run through October 20th. For tickets and more information, click INHERIT.
HollywoodChicago.com Movie Reviews
Low Grade on Report Card For ‘Easy A’ With Emma Stone
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 18, 2010 - 7:37am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO - “Easy A” is simply a hard film to swallow. Set in a high school on another planet, it wants everything and ends up giving very little. The cast is game - Emma Stone, Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci, Thomas Haden Church and Lisa Kudrow - but with few exceptions the players cannot handle the lead balloon banter that passes for jokey dialogue. It wants also to be a grand statement on gossip and those who get hurt by it, but perky Stone doesn’t seem that affected.
‘Heartbreaker’ Makes Romantic Comedy Look Effortless
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 17, 2010 - 7:30am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If there’s one genre Hollywood has managed to screw up beyond all recognition, it’s the romantic comedy. Many of the worst films in recent years have brought the genre to an all-time low, such as “Leap Year,” “Love Happens,” and anything starring Gerard Butler. These dumbed-down products use stereotypes in place of characters, incessant sparring in place of chemistry and gooey sentiment in place of a tangible heart.
Cyber Society is Basis For Losing it in Funny ‘The Virginity Hit’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 17, 2010 - 7:22am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – A great percentage of the population inevitably gets to the moment in their life when co-mingling becomes the next phase of interaction – the loss of virginity. Despite braggadocio to the contrary, for most people it is fraught with a bit of the undiscovered country. “The Virginity Hit” mines that territory with some cyber-age big brotherism thrown in.
Awful Execution Fails Clever Concept of ‘Devil’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 17, 2010 - 2:51am Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Being a hardcore fan of anthology series like “The Twilight Zone” and “Tales From the Crypt,” the simple set-up of “Devil,” the new horror film based on a story by and produced by M. Night Shyamalan, intrigued me — five people are stuck in an elevator and one turns out to be the devil. Sadly, the concept is the only interesting thing about this horribly-executed tale from the dull side of the genre.
Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck Annoy in Worthless ‘I’m Still Here’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 10, 2010 - 5:36pmRating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Is “I’m Still Here,” the story of Joaquin Phoenix’s attempts to leave behind his acting career and try to make it as a hip-hop star, an elaborate piece of performance art or a documentary about an identity crisis of a man committing professional suicide? The problem is that the answer is irrelevant. Either way, “I’m Still Here” is grating, boring, and completely without value.
Drew Barrymore, Justin Long Fall Short of ‘Going the Distance’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 3, 2010 - 5:01pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Drew Barrymore no doubt is working hard to become Queen of the Romantic Comedy. She has done over ten of them, more if you count “Bad Girls.” (kidding) When recycling themes even the best of them can get redundant when seeing the same actress involved. “Going the Distance” is not even among the best of them.
Robert Rodriguez’s ‘Machete’ Pushes Excess Past Breaking Point
Submitted by BrianTT on September 3, 2010 - 12:29amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Not everything should be filet mignon. Sometimes you just want a greasy, delicious cheeseburger. Now imagine eating ten of those cheeseburgers in a row. Robert Rodriguez’s “Machete” starts as a wonderful gore-fest but falls victim to its creator’s inability to realize he doesn’t need to answer to every violent vision he can dream up. The film is proof that even extremely over-the-top films can be monotonous in that their one tone is “ARGH!”
Amazing Saga of ‘The Tillman Story’ Has Lasting Power
Submitted by BrianTT on September 3, 2010 - 12:22am Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – You are unlikely to see a documentary this year more powerful than “The Tillman Story.” This film will shake your concept of heroism, the marketing machine of government, the military complex, and the state of journalism in the new millennium. It is a remarkable film that sent me out of the theater as angry as the people who refused to let Pat Tillman become the exact opposite of what he wanted to be. Don’t miss it.
Violent, Extreme Crime Saga of ‘Mesrine: Public Enemy #1’ With Vincent Cassel
Submitted by BrianTT on September 2, 2010 - 10:45pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When we last left Jacques Mesrine in “Mesrine: Killer Instinct,” he was robbing banks, killing cops, and escaping from jail. In “Mesrine: Public Enemy #1,” Jacques Mesrine robs banks, kills cops, and escapes from jail. The second half of the “Mesrine” saga contains most of the same strengths and flaws as its predecessor and one has to wonder if the two films couldn’t have been merged into a stronger and more accomplished single project.
George Clooney Does it Italian Style in Excellent ‘The American’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 1, 2010 - 7:43am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – What if the most dangerous and pursued assassin in the world began to develop a flaw in his delivery, due to the vulnerability of simple human contact? Where does religion, carnality and love fit in that connection? George Clooney plays that assassin-type in “The American,” holed up for one more job, the job that might answer both of those questions.
Riveting ‘The Last Exorcism’ Burns Its Way Under Your Skin
Submitted by BrianTT on August 29, 2010 - 10:47amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Working from inspirations as diverse as “The Exorcist” and Lars Von Trier, Daniel Stamm’s “The Last Exorcism” is one of the most interesting and accomplished horror debuts of the last few years. The final act gets a bit predictably messy but the fascinating slow burn of the first two more than makes up for any stumbling near the finish line.
Excellent Young Actors Carry Rob Reiner’s Nostalgic ‘Flipped’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 29, 2010 - 10:18amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Rob Reiner’s “Flipped” is not merely nostalgic for an era when life seemed simpler and sweeter but for an age when every minor detail meant the world and love was as simple as looking into the eyes of a new neighbor. We all remember the days when the smallest act of kindness or meanness changed everything and, thanks to two very strong central performances, “Flipped” captures the essence of those times in a gentle, sentimental romance.
Something’s Gotta Give With T.I., Matt Dillon in ‘Takers’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 27, 2010 - 7:38amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The ensemble cast is decent, the story fits the action/adventure essence of the heist film and one of the hottest music stars of the moment, Tip “T.I.” Harris, has a prominent role. Then why is the new film “Takers” such a seen-it-all-before exercise in action blandness? It feels like a total waste of all those resources.
