CHICAGO – In anticipation of the scariest week of the year, HollywoodChicago.com launches its 2024 Movie Gifts series, which will suggest DVDs and collections for holiday giving.
HollywoodChicago.com Movie Reviews
‘The Double Hour’ Cheats Audiences With Multiple Twists
Submitted by BrianTT on May 13, 2011 - 12:39pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Early in “The Double Hour,” our heroine (a very effective and nearly movie-saving Ksenia Rappoport) goes to a speed dating session. The movie that follows is not unlike a cinematic version of that modern way of meeting people in that it jumps genre to genre like a suitor jumping tables. The result is a film that has marveled people with its labyrinthine plotting but that ultimately feels about as deep as a speed date. You never really get to know it.
Kristen Wiig Carries Charming Comedy of ‘Bridesmaids’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 13, 2011 - 11:22am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – With an incredibly talented ensemble, heartfelt script, and honest characterizations, “Bridesmaids” has been touted as a revolutionary re-examination of what one should expect from the phrase “chick flick.” Having never been much of a fan of genre labels, the idea that this film should be judged differently because it has female stars irks me a bit, but if that gets more people into theatre seats and away from the junk that typically qualifies as “entertainment for women,” I’ll happily embrace it. For whatever reason you see it, the most important thing to know is this simple – “Bridesmaids” is funny. Damn funny.
Despite Loveless Love Story, ‘Thor’ Deserves Your Popcorn-Flick Dollar
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 7, 2011 - 9:13pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When big-budget films set their sights on being the next Hollywood blockbuster, they’re almost always built on a formulaic groundwork of proven ingredients. While these films often lose points for much of the same and little of the new, plunking a mighty $150 million into the production “Thor” has found a way to be both formulaic and successful.
Rutger Hauer Stars in Grindhouse Lunacy of ‘Hobo With a Shotgun’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 6, 2011 - 2:10pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – What do you expect from a movie called “Hobo With a Shotgun” (other than perhaps the most truthful title since “Snakes on a Plane”)? If you’re spending hard-earned money on a movie about a vengeful homeless person played by Rutger Hauer, you probably know what you’re in for. On those grindhouse terms, “Hobo With a Shotgun” totally works. It’s so far over-the-top that it makes “Machete” look believable, but that’s why it’s effective. Unlike so many movies you will see this season, “Hobo With a Shotgun” delivers.
Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox Sleepwalk Through ‘Passion Play’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 6, 2011 - 12:04pm Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Mickey Rourke must be a publicist’s nightmare. In the last few weeks, he’s been going around giving refreshingly honest reviews of his new film “Passion Play,” co-starring Megan Fox, Bill Murray, and Kelly Lynch and opening in New York and Los Angeles today, May 6th, 2011. He went as far as to call the film “terrible,” which might make viewers even more curious before this thing hits DVD at the end of this month. Is it THAT bad? Would Mickey lie to you?
‘Nuremberg [The Schulberg/Restoration]’ Preserves Vital Footage
Submitted by mattmovieman on May 6, 2011 - 9:21am Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In the opening moments of Stuart Schulberg’s invaluable 1948 documentary, “Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today,” shell-shocked men, women and children emerge from the wreckage of what appears to be a post-apocalyptic landscape. A street lamp juts out from the carnage, twisted out of all recognition, much like the human bodies later viewed in the footage.
No Leap of Faith to Enjoy ‘Jumping the Broom’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 6, 2011 - 5:36amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There is a tradition within the African American community during weddings. It stems from the past, when marriage was deemed illegal for the race, and provides the title for a new film, “Jumping the Broom.” The now symbolic gesture is the basis for a clash between families and social classses in one seriocomic marriage weekend.
Kate Hudson in ‘Something Borrowed’ is Something Bad
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 6, 2011 - 5:15am Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Wedding movies, the wedding industrial complex, weddings as women’s literature, where does it end? (divorce) It’s that time of year, and the wedding film makes its ritualistic appearance, here represented by the morally bankrupt “Something Borrowed.”
Mel Gibson Delivers in Jodie Foster’s Daring ‘The Beaver’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 5, 2011 - 8:08pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – What does it take to crawl out of a hole so deep that you can no longer see the sky? For some people, depression isn’t just a bad mood or an off day, it is as debilitating as a disease, and it can kill. One such man is Walter Black (Mel Gibson), and the unusual way that he survives his affliction is chronicled in the fascinating, memorable, accomplished “The Beaver.”
‘Fast Five’ Furiously Finds Fun Factor in Franchise Finest
Submitted by BrianTT on April 29, 2011 - 6:16pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Maybe director Justin Lin learned how to have fun directing the now-classic paintball episode of “Community.” Wherever he figured out that his movies need not be so damn self-serious or wordy, he took that knowledge to the set of “Fast Five,” a movie that this critic who hated “Fast & Furious” absolutely dreaded when it was first announced. Now I can’t wait for the inevitable sixth movie in the most unexpected mega-franchise of the new millennium.
Beguiling, Hypnotic ‘Cave of Forgotten Dreams’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 29, 2011 - 3:23pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Where are the vital connections between our ancient ancestors and our creative, technological selves? Prehistoric cave drawings, the oldest ever discovered, are showcased in Werner Herzog’s new documentary, “Cave of Forgotten Dreams.” The link between who they are and who are we becomes the theme of this remarkable exposition.
Keanu Reeves Sleepwalks Through ‘Henry’s Crime’
Submitted by mattmovieman on April 29, 2011 - 12:23pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Keanu Reeves is the sort of actor who succeeds in spite of himself. His best work remains in the late ’80s and early ’90s, when he specialized in playing hazy-brained man-children, the best of which may have been Tod Higgins, the goofy race car driver in Ron Howard’s timeless 1989 comedy, “Parenthood.” Reeves transcended the silliness of his character with a performance of disarming warmth.
Horrors of War Create Mystery in ‘Incendies’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 29, 2011 - 11:49amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of the most honest aphorisms is “the first casualty of war is truth.” Those obscured facts are often the ones that come back to haunt future generations, and that is exceptionally illustrated in the new film “Incendies.” Piecing together a mother’s wartime activities become the basis for solving a mystery after her death.
