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.
HollywoodChicago.com Television
TV Review: AMC Resurrects ‘The Killing’ with Intriguing Results
Submitted by BrianTT on June 2, 2013 - 10:08amCHICAGO – There are times when the third season premiere of AMC’s “The Killing” shows the signs of a program that was resurrected from the dead. The series was axed by AMC after a controversial end to the first season and disappointing second one.
TV Review: ‘Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic’ Stays on Surface
Submitted by BrianTT on May 31, 2013 - 12:55pmCHICAGO – A bit too much of “Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic,” premiering tonight, May 31, 2013, on Showtime, is devoted to adoration of its subject matter from his peers and friends, and not enough insight is offered into from where the true talent or serious demons of the man originated. Perhaps no one really knows.
Blu-ray Review: Lavish Season Set For HBO’s Beloved ‘True Blood’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 29, 2013 - 5:21amCHICAGO – I’ve talked to a number of people who think the fifth season of “True Blood” is when it jumped the bloodsucking shark, although there are certainly legions of fans of this HBO smash hit who will never give up on Sookie Stackhouse and her neverending parade of supernatural friends and foes. HBO Home Video knows how faithful viewers for a program like “True Blood” will become even more so with great home releases and so have turned the “True Blood” line into one of their absolute best. The latest, “True Blood: The Complete Fifth Season,” is no exception.
TV Review: Charming Desiree Hartsock Becomes ‘The Bachelorette’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 27, 2013 - 12:58pmCHICAGO – I always say that reality TV is dependent on casting above all else and this is no more truthful than in the “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” franchises. Sure, the producers can do a lot in crafting narratives for their “stars” but if the lead isn’t someone we root for and his or her suitors aren’t equally entertaining, we’ll check out.
TV Review: A&E Mystery Series Return in ‘Longmire,’ ‘The Glades’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 27, 2013 - 11:28amCHICAGO – A&E’s “Longmire,” returning tonight for its second season, can be a great show. It’s an underrated Western-mystery hybrid with a stellar lead performance from Robert Taylor and a heavy dose of “No Country For Old Men” atmosphere. “The Glades,” also returning tonight for its fourth season, is a more inconsistent program but has produced some solid episodes over its run.
TV Review: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon in ‘Behind the Candleabra’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 26, 2013 - 9:55amCHICAGO – It could have been so awful. Liberace was such an over-the-top character that capturing his most extreme behavior in the form of a TV movie could have been the kind of campy thing that deserves comparison to “Showgirls.”
TV Review: FOX Launches Unique ‘Does Someone Have to Go?’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 23, 2013 - 8:51amCHICAGO – They could have called it “Undercover No-Boss”. FOX’s very unusual “Does Someone Have to Go?” is a new, Summer reality offering about workplaces that need shaking up and get their upheaval by turning the employees into bosses. Every week, the staff will be empowered by a series of exercises, and, ultimately, have to answer the title question - Is the best route of action for the company to let one of their employees go?
TV Review: Confident Veterans Elevate ABC’s ‘Rookie Blue’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 22, 2013 - 3:35pmCHICAGO – Can it still be called “Rookie Blue” in its fourth season? Should they change it to “Experienced Blue”? The irony of the fourth season premiere of ABC’s strong Summer hit, a Canadian import like “Flashpoint” and “Motive,” is that the reason it works is because the cast seems so comfortable in these roles. They’re far more entertaining, likable, and believable than a lot of modern cop shows and I think it’s the people, not the situations, that has made “Rookie Blue” a hit.
Blu-ray Review: Final Season of FOX Hit ‘Fringe’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 22, 2013 - 10:52amCHICAGO – I find it fascinating that “Fringe,” the show that always seemed to be on the bubble for renewal and was always included in articles about low-rated programming, appears to be one of the most influential on the Fall 2013 season. FOX has two new dramas in the Fall and they’re both from “Fringe” alum — J.J. Abrams’ “Almost Human” and Robert Orci & Alex Kurtzman’s “Sleepy Hollow”. They’re clearly looking for, believe it or not, the next “Fringe.” For while the smart sci-fi drama never found a huge audience on TV, it found an incredibly loyal one on Blu-ray, On Demand, iTunes, etc. and those fans can now complete their collection with a bittersweet but complete fifth and final season release.
TV Review: Gordon Ramsay Returns with Nicer ‘Masterchef’ on FOX
Submitted by BrianTT on May 22, 2013 - 9:47amCHICAGO – “Masterchef,” starring Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich, and Graham Elliot, returns tonight, May 22, 2013 at 7pm with a two-hour premiere that hints at a kinder, gentler season, in keeping with the general trend of these shows.
