CHICAGO – The Steppenwolf Theatre of Chicago continues to provide different viewpoints on the American stage, and their latest “Little Bear Ridge Road” is no exception. Featuring ensemble member Laurie Metcalf, it’s the resonate story of a family at the crossroads. For tickets/details, click LITTLE BEAR.
HollywoodChicago.com Movie Reviews
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen in Moving ‘50/50’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 30, 2011 - 10:07am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Jonathan Levine’s “50/50” is a daring blend of buddy comedy, light romance, family drama, and, oh yeah, cancer movie. The tightrope act of a script by Will Reiser is elevated in remarkable ways by one of the best ensembles of the year, led ably by the great Joseph Gordon-Levitt, doing career-best, Oscar nomination-worthy work.
Cameron Crowe’s ‘Pearl Jam Twenty’ is Amazing Rock Doc
Submitted by BrianTT on September 29, 2011 - 8:30pm Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
Very few music documentaries in the history of the form have more successfully conveyed the inner workings and outer artistic expression of a band than Cameron Crowe’s brilliant “Pearl Jam Twenty,” a joyful, inspirational examination of the importance of creative integrity and great rock ‘n’ roll. Pearl Jam has survived for two decades as so many of their peers have come and gone by staying true to their music and their fans.
Feel Goodness of ‘Dolphin Tale’ Overcomes Clichés
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 24, 2011 - 7:40am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In the tradition of live-action Disney films of another era, “Dolphin Tale” wears its heart on its sleeve, while at the same time using the characters as two-dimensional window dressing around a based-on-truth story of humans and an animal bonding together to inspire a nation.
Taylor Lautner Stars in Silly, Ineffective ‘Abduction’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 23, 2011 - 3:18pm Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – After the success of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” and “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” Taylor Lautner could have taken any number of paths to breakout with his own star vehicle. He chose to try and fashion himself into an action star, appearing in this weekend’s “Abduction” as a young man discovering he has a very special past. He gets to find love, kick some ass, and even kill some bad guys. And all of it is very, very silly.
‘Killer Elite’ Mistakes Cliché For Action
Submitted by BrianTT on September 23, 2011 - 9:15am Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Killer Elite” is an exhausting, nonsensical, illogical, loud collection of action clichés masquerading as a modern action film. It features characters less three-dimensional than most cartoons doing and saying things that are only done and said in movies. Bad movies. Really bad movies.
Gus Van Sant Turns Death Into Poetry in ‘Restless’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 23, 2011 - 9:05amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Gus Van Sant’s “Restless” is an undeniably twee and hipster film that will annoy some viewers about as much as bad performance art, but I found the film’s commitment to a unique tone and world view refreshing as so few directors even know what those words mean. It may not be grounded enough to be emotionally effective, but another strong performance from the stellar Mia Wasikowska and a consistency to its vision make “Restless” worth a look.
Epic, Unusual ‘Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 23, 2011 - 7:37am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The roots of the cinematic obsession with wizards, the force and middle earth can be traced back somewhat to the tradition of the martial artist, and the magical realism that is practiced in that genre of films. “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame” packs in action, magic politics and fantasy in a tale based on a real Chinese empress.
Brad Pitt, Baseball Evolve in Magnificent ‘Moneyball’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 22, 2011 - 5:43pmRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Using sports, especially baseball, as a metaphor for life can get dicey – sometimes the symbolic pieces don’t fit universally for everything. But “Moneyball, ” starring Brad Pitt, hits a grand slam with this old allegory, and educates regarding the true nature of modern large dollar sports.
‘Flood Streets’ Paints Enlightening Portrait of New Orleans
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 19, 2011 - 7:20amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – With their town ravaged by Hurricane Katrina and their neighborhood under government-ordered quarantine, one New Orleans couple decided to combine their artistic strengths into one cohesive project. Their goal was to portray their beloved city in a way that was strikingly different from the representation popularized by HBO’s “Treme.”
Following a Perfect 1994 Release, ‘The Lion King 3D’ a Money-Hungry, Manipulative Exploitation
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 17, 2011 - 5:59pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – While “The Lion King” is one of the best Disney movies of all time, “The Lion King 3D” is a manipulative exploitation to bring paying parents back with their kids merely through the sexiness of today’s 3D fad.
Sarah Jessica Parker in ‘I Don’t Know How She Does It’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 16, 2011 - 4:18pmRating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – She produced and starred in one of the great TV-to-film franchises of the last 15 years. She has made millions in endorsements for the fashion industry. She is married to a prominent celebrity who once played Ferris Bueller. Regarding Sarah Jessica Parker, “I Don’t Know How She Does It.”
Family Dynamics Provide Unusual Journey Down ‘Gun Hill Road’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 16, 2011 - 1:04pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Who you are at birth eventually becomes entangled in where and how you are nurtured throughout your life. Given who you are, did you get the proper care, encouragement and love? Did you get to blossom into the best part of your nature? The new film “Gun Hill Road” explores these questions, filtered through the family, in an odd and poignant way.
Anarchy, Chaos Suffocate the Dream in ‘Bellflower’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 16, 2011 - 7:05amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – A film about the American Dream returned to the sender is released, in its own way and time, through the youth of every generation. “Bellflower” feels like the anarchist statement of the current post college dreamers, stuck in a detached atmosphere with electronic time wasters, material glut and little income opportunity to pay for it all.
