Herald News

‘Fast & Furious 6’ best yet in the franchise

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:10:08 -0500

RICHARD ROEPER: Against all odds, the “Fast & Furious” franchise is actually picking up momentum, with “FF6” clocking in as the fastest, funniest and most outlandish chapter yet. Whether we’re seeing stunt work or special effects or a combo platter, director Justin Lin keeps raising the bar, going for intentional laughs and thrilling moments as cars pull off impossible maneuvers and humans keep flying in the air and landing with thuds. “Furious 6” couldn’t be any less plausible if it were animated, but that’s sort of the point.

Review: ‘Hangover’ trilogy ends on a dark note

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:19:08 -0500

★★★ “Daring” isn’t a word you’d use very much to describe 2011’s “The Hangover Part II,” the disappointingly lazy, beat-for-beat rehash of the wild and wildly successful original “Hangover” from 2009. Yet, here we are with “The Hangover Part III,” which runs a different sort of risk by going to darker and more dangerous places than its predecessors, both artistically and emotionally. The third film dares to alienate the very audience that made “The Hangover” the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time because, well, it isn’t exactly a comedy. Sure, there are some outrageous lines and sight gags, mostly courtesy …

‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ turns out to be quite the Enterprise

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:10:14 -0500

RICHARD ROEPER: Director J.J. Abrams is a true talent, and he’s also a pop-culture savant who has great respect for the legacy of this franchise as well as a keen understanding of the mega-importance of box-office figures. There’s no better choice to make the best, the purest AND the most accessible big-budget “Star Trek” movie possible. Yet with all the futuristic splendor and the fine performances, “Into Darkness” only occasionally soars, mostly settling for being a solid but unspectacular effort that sets the stage for the next chapter(s).

Ben Kingsley finds great depth in ‘Iron Man’ villain

Fri, 03 May 2013 02:19:41 -0500

LOS ANGELES — Iron Man is the first one to admit that even he has his, uh, Kryptonite. “These superheroes are only ever as good as their bad guys,” Robert Downey Jr. said “If you have a lame bad guy then you’re done.” There is nothing lame about the baddie in “Iron Man 3.” In fact, he’s Sir Bad Guy. Sir Ben Kingsley, who turns 70 years old in 2013, plays the Mandarin, an evil sort who seems to have terrorism on his mind. “I tried to give the Mandarin in his political broadcasts a certain political sense of righteousness. …

Baz Luhrmann gets ‘Great Gatsby’ just right

Fri, 10 May 2013 02:10:44 -0500

RICHARD ROEPER: Given the wretched and sometimes wonderful excesses of Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo + Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge,” not to mention a trailer that gave the impression Luhrmann’s interpretation of “The Great Gatsby” would be one extended anachronistic music video, it turns out Luhrmann’s “Gatsby” is first and foremost F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Gatsby.”

Quirky ‘Pain & Gain’ goes on a steroid-fueled crime spree

Fri, 03 May 2013 02:18:28 -0500

RICHARD ROEPER: Here’s the mostly true story of three idiot bodybuilders who went on a steroids-fueled, tragicomic crime spree in south Florida in the 1990s, directed by Michael Bay with hard-R, turn-your-head-away violence. Even though the film does mine laughs from real-life tragedy, it refuses to glamorize these meatheads. Kudos to Bay and his screenwriters for making sure we’re laughing at them, not with them.

Review: ‘The Croods’ is simple but dazzles visually

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:31:35 -0500

★★1/2 Cavemen — they’re just like us! — or so “The Croods” seems to be saying with its familiar mix of generational clashes, coming-of-age milestones and generally relatable laughs. The animated adventure features a strong, star-studded cast and dazzles visually in wondrously colorful, vibrant 3-D, but the script doesn’t pop off the screen quite so effectively. The overly facile message here is: Trying new things is good. It’s a useful notion for children in the crowd to chew on, but their older companions may be longing for something more substantive. Still, “The Croods” is both brisk and beautiful, and should …

Review: ‘42’ is classy but tame Robinson tale

Sun, 19 May 2013 07:37:16 -0500

★★1/2 Jackie Robinson was the ideal class act to break the barrier and become the first black player in Major League Baseball. Writer-director Brian Helgeland’s Jackie Robinson biopic “42” is a class act itself, though not always an engaging act. It’s such a familiar story that any faithful film biography almost inevitably will turn out predictable, even a bit routine. With an earnest performance by Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and an enjoyably self-effacing turn by Harrison Ford as Brooklyn Dodgers boss Branch Rickey, “42” hits every button you expect very ably. The film riles with its re-creations of the heartless, …

Tom Cruise soars in ‘Oblivion,’ an epic paying homage to sci-fi

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 02:20:53 -0500

RICHARD ROEPER: “Oblivion” is an extremely well-crafted, at times engrossing but ultimately standard-issue futuristic epic with some big ideas and spiritual touches separated by loud and explosive chase scenes, high-powered gun battles and even some good old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat involving Tom Cruise. It’s the sci-fi movie equivalent of a pretty darn good cover band.

Summer in the multiplex is for the boys

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:14:00 -0500

Who’s the man at the multiplex this summer? In a season of epic showdowns, you have Iron Man and Superman. If that’s not enough testosterone, there’s Wolverine (half man, half beast) and Brad Pitt trying to kill men who aren’t even men anymore, but zombies. The virile Captain Kirk is back in the pilot’s seat, and Bruce Willis is seeing “Red” again. And then there’s the Wolfpack in “The Hangover, Part III” — drunk, disorderly men hoping to have an Excedrin good time in Mexico and Vegas. Welcome to the summer movie season 2013, where all you need is a …

Schaumburg’s LEGOLAND Discovery Center unveils ‘Star Wars’ showcase

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 14:42:14 -0500

‘Star Wars’ and LEGO — for many children, they click together as tightly as one LEGO brick into another. Starting March 8, LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago opens the temporary exhibit “LEGO Star Wars Miniland,” the first time an American LEGOLAND will showcase a “Stars Wars” exhibit. It’s also the first new exhibit at the Schaumburg LEGO emporium since it opened five years ago. The exhibit is a galaxy far, far away from the Chicago and jungle-themed LEGO rooms at the center. “I’m really pumped for it to be open,” said Andrew Johnson, LEGOLAND Discovery Center’s Master Model Builder. “I’m really …

13 films to watch for in 2013

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:40:45 -0500

If you have been to the movies once in the last six months, you know “Oz, the Great and Powerful” and “Man of Steel” are coming out in 2013. If you haven’t, you don’t really care what is coming out. Let’s talk here about some of the 2013 releases you may not have read about already. Here are 13 to watch for in 2013: TRANCE (March): Just a couple of years ago Danny Boyle made the Best Picture-winning sensation “Slumdog Millionaire,” but it would be a mistake to watch just one of this fascinating director’s films. He has taken on …

New on DVD for May 17, 2013

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:10:49 -0500

Here is a look at what’s new on DVD this week. Many of these titles were released on May 14.

Angelina Jolie says she had double mastectomy to try to prevent cancer

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:18:22 -0500

LOS ANGELES — Angelina Jolie says she had a preventive double mastectomy after learning that she carried a gene that makes it extremely likely she’ll get breast cancer. Jolie authored an op-ed for Tuesday’s New York Times, in which she writes that in April she finished three months of surgical procedures to remove both breasts.

Lucasfilm: New ‘Star Wars’ movie to be shot in UK

Sat, 11 May 2013 10:36:00 -0500

LONDON (AP) — The next “Star Wars” movie will be shot in a galaxy far, far away from Hollywood — Britain.

New on DVD for May 10, 2013

Fri, 10 May 2013 02:22:51 -0500

Here is a look at what’s new on DVD this week. Many of these titles were released on May 7.