Week of « Prev | Next »
8 articles
Blu-Ray Review: Underrated ‘Angel Heart’ With Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro
51 minutes ago
Chicago – Some movies from my youth have not aged as well as memory would have me believe. We’ve all been there. A movie we thought was great when we were a teenager looks downright awful with the passage of time. I was worried that my memory of Alan Parker’s “Angel Heart” was through similar rose-colored glasses. Worry not. “Angel Heart” is even better than you remember.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
Featuring Mickey Rourke in his absolute prime, Robert De Niro when he was still a master of the form, and masterful direction by Alan Parker, “Angel Heart” is a fantastic modern noir, a film of which the overall quality was overshadowed by the scandal surrounding the sexy performance by Lisa Bonet (when she was supposed to be giving off a family image on the hit “The Cosby Show”). Rourke plays a down-and-out Brooklyn detective named Harry Angel who is hired »
- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
TV Review: ‘Better Off Ted’ Deserves to Develop an Audience
1 hour ago
Chicago – With their renewal of “Better Off Ted” and “Scrubs,” it’s clear that ABC is unwilling to throw in the towel and give up on a comedy that’s not finding its audience. Before the wonderful arrival of “Modern Family,” easily one of the best shows on TV, ABC was not recently known as the place for laughs and there has clearly been a conscious effort to change that including giving the relatively audience deficient “Better Off Ted” another shot at finding a following (as well as scheduling an entire night of new comedy to start the season on Wednesdays).
Television Rating: 4.0/5.0
With a second-season premiere tonight and the recent arrival of the first season on DVD, if “Better Off Ted” has a shot at even cult status, it better happen soon. The ratings near the end of last season were abysmal and I’ll admit that I had written off the show, »
- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: VIP Prize Pack, 15 Passes to George Clooney’s ‘Up in the Air’
12 hours ago
Chicago – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have a VIP prize pack for one lucky winner along with 15 run-of-engagement runners-up movie passes for the new film “Up in the Air”! The film stars George Clooney from the director of the Oscar-winning film “Juno”. The prize pack includes a run-of-engagement movie pass for two along with an “Up in the Air” CD and two “Up in the Air” hats.
Along with George Clooney, “Up in the Air” stars Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Amy Morton, Melanie Lynskey, J.K. Simmons, Sam Elliott, Danny McBride, Chris Lowell, Steve Eastin and Zach Galifianakis from “Juno” and “Thank You for Smoking” director Jason Reitman.
To win your free “Up in the Air” prize pack or run-of-engagement passes courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is answer a question in this Web-based submission form. That’s it! “Up in the Air »
- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Funny People’ Disappointing Movie, Amazing Blu-Ray
21 hours ago
Chicago – Whatever problems I may have with Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” (and I’ll get to those, trust me), the Blu-Ray release for the comedy is easily one of the most extensive and impressive of the year with hours of bonus material and some amazing archival footage that makes the package a must-own for fans of the film. If only the movie itself lived up to such an impressive HD treatment.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
Adam Sandler stars as the mega-successful George Simmons, a former stand-up and comedy star who is told that he doesn’t have long to live. He partners up with a struggling comedian named Ira (Seth Rogen) and heads back out to clubs to find what he loved about comedy in the first place. He eventually crosses paths with the one who got away (Leslie Mann) and learns a lesson or two about life. Or three or »
- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
Blu-Ray Review: Forgettable ‘Terminator Salvation’ Gets Supreme Treatment on Blu-Ray
21 hours ago
Chicago – The “Terminator” series is not one of the great modern movie franchises. The films have mainly served as ideal vehicles for the limited acting range of Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose muscular build and Austrian accent were perfect for the role of a formidable, oft-mute cyborg. A “Terminator” picture without him is like an “Alien” picture without Sigourney Weaver. The best entries of both franchises were their second installments directed by James Cameron. “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”’s tireless invention and energy were a real kick, and the filmmakers came up with some unforgettable images, such as the shape-shifting T-1000.
Blu-Ray Rating: 2.5/5.0
“Terminator Salvation,” the fourth (and hopefully final) entry in the series, attempts to reboot the stale franchise by setting its story in a post-Judgment Day wasteland, where much of humanity has been destroyed by their machines. This supposedly fresh approach to the material is derivative of every post-apocalyptic thriller in recent memory. »
- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
Blu-Ray Review: Excellent Release For ‘Fight Club: 10th Anniversary Edition’
22 hours ago
Chicago – What took so long? Seriously, why are studios waiting so long to release some essential titles on Blu-Ray? Every time someone asks me why I think that Blu-Ray hasn’t taken off as quickly as some insiders expected, I have the same answer. “Because your favorite movie isn’t on Blu-Ray.” At least one of those “favorite movies” can be checked off the list with the release of “Fight Club” in a glorious tenth anniversary edition from Fox.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
What more is there to write about “Fight Club”? It’s almost more interesting to think about the ten years that have passed and the influence that the film has had on the ’00s and what happened to the key players since. Helena Bonham Carter was an intriguing supporting actress then and her status hasn’t really changed. Brad Pitt hadn’t even met Angelina Jolie (as far as »
- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
Video Game Review: ‘Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles’ Delivers Action You Need
23 hours ago
Chicago – Fans of the “Resident Evil” franchise and rail shooters in general (two parties of which I would definitely claim membership) should not let the excellent “The Darkside Chronicles” pass them by and I believe even newcomers to either zombie games or Wii shooting titles will find something to like in this expertly conceived title with only one significant flaw.
Like last year’s “The Umbrella Chronicles,” “Darkside” is a rail shooter, a title where your movement is out of your control but shooting definitely is not. The player uses the Wiimote or Wii Zapper in the same way that you would use a gun at your local arcade playing one of the several “House of the Dead” titles. It makes for a breakneck pace that some would argue doesn’t exactly fit the moody, atmospheric survival horror aspect of the “Re” games but it does make for an action-filled »
- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
TV Review: ‘Men of a Certain Age’ Promising But Off to Dull Start
7 December 2009 10:20 AM, PST
Chicago – The mid-life crisis of the modern man is mostly about ego - as the body goes downhill and the role of the alpha male is supplanted by a new version of himself, men kind of fall apart as they realize that their peak has arguably passed. Why would such an individual experience make for intriguing drama? Using the mid-life crisis as a jumping off point for drama would require some seriously well-drawn characters, the kind of guys who you root to come to terms with passing over that hill. “Men of a Certain Age” does not yet have those characters.
Television Rating: 2.5/5.0
Stars Ray Romano, Andre Braugher, and Scott Bakula are undeniably talented actors who have all found massive success in television on shows like “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Homicide: Life on the Street,” and “Quantum Leap,” respectively. Watching them play characters in decline, one can’t help but think »
- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
8 articles
