Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Patrick Peet grew up listening to that neighborhood rhyme. His father had been friends with Jimmy Bones–a charismatic man who kept drugs out of the neighborhood and always had money for those who needed shelter and food. After Bones was killed in 1979, he became a legend. But his old brownstone was left to decay.
A t the end of “Lisa Picard Is Famous,” Griffin Dunne says, “Sometimes reality just needs a little push.” Apparently, that’s what the filmmakers were trying to accomplish with this mockumentary. Dunne portrays a filmmaker named Andrew, whose goal is to document a person on the brink of fame. But fame is a nebulous thing, and trying to anticipate who will become famous enough to sell his documentary is a crapshoot. He thinks he has found a winning subject in Lisa Picard, a Penelope Miller look-alike who has won some notoriety for starring in a suggestive cereal commercial.
By Jae-Ha Kim Chicago Sun-Times October 5, 2001 If you can sit through the end of “The Learning Curve,” you’ll have wasted two hours you are never going to get back. This movie gives the […]
With his waist-length black hair, dark somber eyes and skintight outfit, the star of “Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust” looks more like a beautiful, moody rock star than the half man/half vampire bounty hunter he is. Never mind that he’s a cartoon character.
“China: The Panda Adventure” won’t tell you anything about the giant panda that a Discovery Channel special doesn’t do better. But what the IMAX picture can do is present the magnificent beauty of China and its gorgeous giant pandas on a 6-story, 80-foot screen.
“You know the part in scary movies where somebody does something really stupid and everybody hates them for it?,” Trish says to her thrill-seeking brother, Darry, in the horror film “Jeepers Creepers.” “Well, this is it.” Right on cue, lil’ bro’ falls down a drainage pipe that leads to a deserted church basement decorated in tacky 1970s gore. There are a few hundred dead (but incredibly well-preserved) bodies here, a sutured stomach or neck part there. Nothing he can’t handle. Yet.
These are fighting times for Kevin Smith, the director and star of “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” First the gay and lesbian anti-defamation organization GLAAD had a bone to pick with him. Then Tim Burton got into the act.
Ho-Sung Pak went from portraying a Ninja Turtle to choreographing the kung fu segments for Madonna’s current tour. As co-owner of martial arts gym Pow! in the West Loop, Pak splits his time between L.A. and Chicago.
Those shiny, pristine CD-like discs are my obsession. Each time I get a new one, it’s like I’m getting a sweet gift. Besides their affordable price, they are a movie buff’s dream. Sure, there’s the prime attraction of the movie. But most discs contain myriad treats, such as the director’s commentary, alternate endings, the option to watch the film with subtitles or listen to it in a foreign language, interviews with the cast and so on.
Harry Potter fans got a sneak peek at the highly anticipated movie Thursday when Warner Bros. put up the film’s first trailer on the Internet. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” won’t be in theaters until Nov. 16, but fans may catch the nearly two-minute trailer at www.warnerbros.com.