CHICAGO – In the last several years, how many times have you wanted to shout the “Mad as Hell” movie quote? Well, Invictus Theatre Co. has produced a stage adaptation of “Network” – with that quote shout worthy – at the Windy City Playhouse in Chicago through September 29th. For tickets/details, click HOWARD BEALE.
HollywoodChicago.com Movie Reviews
Forged in Myth, Nicolas Cage Shines in ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 14, 2010 - 11:56am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The fantasy action epic has joined the animated film as the go-to genre for summer films. Disney joins the fray with “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” featuring magic, special effects action and a deep mythology, spiced with Nicolas Cage doing a slightly warped version of a King Arthur-era apprentice for Merlin the Magician.
Adrien Brody’s ‘Predators’ Unmemorably Lulls Through the Expected Motions
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 12, 2010 - 12:17am Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Good films deliver on their promise. Great films up the ante even more. In this version of the long “Predators” franchise from director Nimrod Antal (“Control,” “Armored,” “Vacancy”) and more-known producer Robert Rodriguez (“Grindhouse,” “Sin City”), we merely see more of the same: just enough to get us by but not nearly enough to make us care.
Oliver Stone Lends Another Point of View in ‘South of the Border’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 9, 2010 - 2:37pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Oliver Stone, bless him, still has a fire in his belly to tackle controversial subjects and shine a light into the dark corners that the American media skitters away from on a daily basis. Part travelogue, part enlightenment and all Stone, “South of the Border” is eye-opening documentary on the South American people revolution.
‘Despicable Me’ With Steve Carell Falls Short of World Domination
Submitted by BrianTT on July 9, 2010 - 11:19am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Despicable Me” is a mildly entertaining diversion on a summer afternoon. It’s a film that’s as equally difficult to hate as it is to love — kind of like its morally complex lead Gru (Steve Carell) — that falls just short of animation domination.
‘The Girl Who Played With Fire’ Snuffs Out Potential
Submitted by BrianTT on July 9, 2010 - 9:31am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Movie trilogies often are judged on the strength of their middle chapters. The “Star Wars” franchise wouldn’t have been continually embraced by new generations if “The Empire Strikes Back” hadn’t deepened the characters to such an extent that they became more than mere Jungian archetypes. If “Empire” jettisoned the franchise’s potential, “Attack of the Clones” brought it in for a crash landing.
Annette Bening, Julianne Moore Out in the Light With ‘The Kids Are All Right’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 9, 2010 - 7:06amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It is Hollywood that is often ahead of the social curve, expressing in art what most people can’t fathom in real life. “The Kids Are All Right” is that type of consciousness, depicting a committed lesbian couple – played by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore – coming to grips with transitions occurring with their kids.
Director M. Night Shyamalan Too Talky, Murky in ‘The Last Airbender’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 1, 2010 - 7:10amRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The choices that M. Night Shyamalan makes in the progress of his filmography have become as perplexing as his early mysteries. “The Last Airbender,” featuring Dev Patel from “Slumdog Millionaire,” is an adaptation of a previous animated series, and although aimed at kids in the end seems tentative and…aimless.
New Director Finds Teeth in ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 30, 2010 - 2:21pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Easily the best entry in the franchise, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” finally allows those of us unfamiliar with the books by Stephenie Meyer to understand why the saga of the vampire, the wolf, and the sullen girl in the middle has become an international phenomenon.
‘The Killer Inside Me’ a Study in Sociopathic Blandness
Submitted by BrianTT on June 27, 2010 - 10:06amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Michael Winterbottom’s ’50s-era neo-noir “The Killer Inside Me” creeps up on you in the creepiest possible way. Just as I was ready to write it off, I ended up caving in to its charms, or lack thereof. This film often seems as utterly cuckoo as its central antihero, and that’s what makes it so darn mesmerizing. Sure, it’s sort of a mess, but boy is it engrossing, with a strong emphasis on the gross.
‘I Am Love’ Offers Scintillating Showcase For Tilda Swinton
Submitted by BrianTT on June 25, 2010 - 11:18amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “I Am Love” is the type of visceral tone poem that requires its audience to feel more than think. As the end credits roll, viewers may find themselves going over the plot in their heads, and discovering its inherent shallowness. It’s only after we wake up from a dream that we discover just how silly or inexplicable it all was.
Adam Sandler, Kevin James Act Like Children in ‘Grown Ups’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 25, 2010 - 10:56amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It may be called “Grown Ups,” but too much of the new Adam Sandler ensemble comedy feels like it was written by an eight-year-old boy. The believable friendship chemistry that Sandler has with co-stars Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider significantly ups the entertainment value, but “Grown Ups” could have and should have been much better.
Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz Meet Cute in High-Octane ‘Knight and Day’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 23, 2010 - 10:25amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Whenever there is a audacious and entertaining action thriller like “Knight and Day,” how do the characters stay so calm? Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise are shot at, nearly blown up, asked to drive and leap around like lunatics, yet remain perfectly white-toothed calm. A normal human reaction would be ‘Oh my gaaaaaaaaaawd!”
‘Toy Story 3’ is a Perfect Play Date For the Entire Family
Submitted by BrianTT on June 18, 2010 - 2:35pm Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Very few recent films are as purely entertaining or thematically satisfying as Pixar’s “Toy Story 3,” not only one of the best movies of the year but one of the best in the history of animation. Brilliantly tying up the two films that came before in a way that so many sequels fail to do, the geniuses at Pixar have done it again. It’s another masterpiece.
