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.
Sony Pictures Classics
A Sci-Fi Dream is Celebrated in ‘Jodorowsky’s Dune’
Submitted by NickHC on March 29, 2014 - 1:15pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Should Alejandro Jodorowsky have been able to direct his psychedelic adaptation of Frank Herbert’s “Dune”, the results would’ve been less of our planet compared to films like “Blade Runner” or “Star Wars”. Prismatic spacecrafts and golden landscapes would have filled Jodorowsky’s mad canvas, as created by stargazing designers like Jean Giraud and H.R. Giger.
‘Tim’s Vermeer’ is a Lovingly Rendered Obsession
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 15, 2014 - 12:09am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of the fabulous subsets of human success is the person who evolves beyond collecting material goods and uses the bounty for pursuits of utter usefulness, which cannot be mastered unless that wealth buys the time and resources. Case in point, the subject of “Tim’s Vermeer.”
‘The Armstrong Lie’ Relies Mostly on Overkill
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 15, 2013 - 6:03pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Lance Armstrong lied, we get it. He was busted in that lie, and he went to the nations confession facilitator – Oprah – and looked appropriately concerned when he did confess that he was dishonest. Alex Gibney’s further indictment, “The Armstrong Lie,” has the feeling of piling it on.
Daniel Radcliffe Finds a Beat in ‘Kill Your Darlings’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 1, 2013 - 3:15pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The movies has been berry berry good to 1950s Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsburg. For the sixth time since 2009, his persona is actualized on celluloid – this time by Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe – in the coming-of-age part of the poet’s story, “Kill Your Darlings.”
‘The Patience Stone’ Reveals Eternal Truths
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 6, 2013 - 9:36am Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Despite any manmade restrictions through governments, religion, commerce or trumped-up morality, the truth has a way of mightily conquering all. “The Patience Stone” is a perfect example of that luxurious truth, and it is an important contemporary fairy tale.
Jane Rolls Over Again for Wretched ‘Austenland’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 23, 2013 - 3:41pm Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of the most incorrect assumptions in literature iconography is the focus on Jane Austen as a purely romantic writer – skipping the depth of character, humor and cynicism in her work, for the sake of mooning over “Mr. Darcy.” The new film “Austenland” continues this trend.
‘Blue Jasmine’ Puts Woody Allen Back on Top
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 2, 2013 - 4:59amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The auteur Woody Allen is one of the most prolific post-studio-system directors, averaging one film a year for close to 40 years. His meditations on life have become part of the culture, and he brilliantly expresses himself once again – with help from Cate Blachett – in the emotional “Blue Jasmine.”
An Insider’s View of Religious Tradition in ‘Fill the Void’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 17, 2013 - 1:09pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The absolution of marriage is difficult enough without having the specter of the “arranged” situation within a religious tradition. A new Israeli film, “Fill the Void,” explores the issues and answers within these arrangements, as the modern world pushes against Orthodox Hasidic Judaism.
More is Preferred in ‘Love is All You Need’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 10, 2013 - 4:48pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Creating the lofty name for this film, “Love is All You Need” – from a translation of its original title, “Den skaldede friser” – is intently ambitious considering its source is a lyric from one of The Beatles most famous songs. The film has its moments, but cannot sustain itself in a stew of high drama and mixed emotions.
Robert Redford Focuses on ‘The Company You Keep’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 13, 2013 - 12:44amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The golden age of the great Robert Redford occurred in the 1970s, when he participated in making passionate political statements with “All the President’s Men,” “The Candidate” and “Three Days of the Condor.” Redford stars in and directs a throwback to those times, the equally passionate yet softer-in-narrative “The Company You Keep.”
