CHICAGO – It began with a boy and his dream (nightmare?). John LaFlamboy, to be exact, as he took an idea he had in college and made it his life’s work. He owns and operates the HellsGate Haunted House in Lockport (Illinois), which was designed, built and put together by Haunted House experts expressly for the spookiest month of the year. For info on how to purchase tickets, click HellsGate.
Luis Guzman
Surprisingly Weird, Wacky ‘Puerto Ricans in Paris’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 12, 2016 - 11:14pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Occasionally, a film breaks through the miasma of images, and proclaims its uniqueness by just being weird. Case in point, the strange and wacky “Puerto Ricans in Paris,” which may have been created after two rich film producers made a one dollar bet (ala “Trading Places”) that they could come up with a movie simply based on the title.
Light, Speedy ‘Turbo’ is a Great Race for Kids
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 17, 2013 - 10:03amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Summer vacation means summer animated movies, and nothing will give the kids more of a break than rooting for a snail that becomes as fast as an Indy race car. Why not put him in the Indianapolis 500? Ryan Reynolds is the voice of that miracle mollusk named “Turbo.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger is Back in ‘The Last Stand’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 18, 2013 - 4:13pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – With enough hair plugs, bronzer and hormone injections to float a rejuvenation clinic, Arnold Schwarzenegger is back from his political meanderings and is an action star once again in the shoot-’em-up “The Last Stand.” Johnny Knoxville lends some comic relief.
Don’t Buy Ticket For ‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 10, 2012 - 12:53pm Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If you hear an unusual sound this weekend, it may be Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Jonathan Swift spinning in their graves. The writers who have become an essential part of any growing person’s library have now been associated with a piece of 3D junk that insults the intelligence of everyone who sees it. “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is not a trip worth taking.
Russell Brand Tries Too Hard in Lame ‘Arthur’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 8, 2011 - 7:49am Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There are many problems inherent in film remakes, starting with comparisons to the original source. The first “Arthur,” while not a classic, did have a warm, funny story and Dudley Moore’s title performance. The current remake has none of that.
Denzel Washington, John Travolta in Average ‘The Taking of Pelham 123’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 12, 2009 - 11:26amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Tony Scott’s remake of “The Taking of Pelham 123,” starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta, is likely to meet sun-drained audience expectations for a straight-forward, adult-driven action film this season but the overly stylized and not-so-thrilling train ride is ultimately merely average at best and will disappoint fans looking for anything more.
‘Nothing Like the Holidays’ Does Nothing to Stand Out From Christmas Movie Crowd
Submitted by BrianTT on December 12, 2008 - 10:10am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When it was still called “Humboldt Park” and was probably more closely related to Chicago’s thriving Hispanic neighborhood, Alfredo De Villa’s “Nothing Like the Holidays” was probably a lot more interesting than the cookie-cutter dramedy that ended up on the big screen.
