Kathy Bates

Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Many heroes of America toiled long behind the scenes to break the chains of oppression. For every Susan Anthony or Martin Luther King Jr. there were the activists, legal experts and volunteers who sought the justice denied to them by the archaic patriarchal society. One such hero is Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the film “On the Basis of Sex.”

Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – If anything, “The Boss” is a bigger testimony to Melissa McCarthy’s status as a comic superpower than her breakthrough role in “Bridesmaids.” That one had a veritable treasure trove of comedic talent, while McCarthy has considerably less to work with here.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Melissa McCarthy has jumped the shark. Or if she hasn’t, she’s strapped on the skis and is contemplating the ramp. Going once more to the same character well – this time with a script co-written with her husband Ben Falcone and directed by him – McCarthy shows little originality or gumption as the title character in “Tammy..”

Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Rob Hedden’s “You May Not Kiss the Bride” with Dave Annable, Katharine McPhee, and Rob Schneider is the kind of modest romantic comedy with wacky hijinks and likable central characters that one typically stumbles upon in a video store or when cycling through new On Demand options. Before that happens, the mediocre honeymoon from hell pic is getting a minor theatrical release in some markets, including Chicago, starting this weekend. The charisma and comic timing of the film’s female leads make up for some of the screenwriting rough patches but not enough to justify a trip to the theater.

Rating: 1.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Kate Hudson portrays a dying woman in “A Little Bit of Heaven,” and the film is so annoying that her extinguishment can’t come fast enough. The film insults both living and dying, and virtually everything in between, and brings along Lucy Punch, Kathy Bates, Gael Garciá Bernal, Peter Dinklage and Whoopi Goldberg for the funeral.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – “Based on a True Story” films are difficult to pull off, especially those that are the improbable story of a white Memphis family adopting an African American football prodigy. Sandra Bullock is the mother, through it all, in “The Blind Side.”

Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April Wheeler (Kate Winslet) refuse to believe that they’re like everyone else in the 1950’s suburbia of Sam Mendes’ frustrating “Revolutionary Road”. They may go to the same jobs and travel in the same social circles, but, unlike the bored housewives and husbands around them, they haven’t given up on their dreams.

Rating: 1.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “The Day the Earth Stood Still” is about an alien visitor’s decision to wipe out the human race. And, if an interstellar race actually gets to see this film, it would be hard to blame them for wanting to clean house on planet Earth.