Chicago Sun-Times

‘World War Z’ as entertaining as hell, thanks to Brad Pitt and non-stop action

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:06:37 -0500

RICHARD ROEPER: If you’re as zombie’d out as I am by now, and you feel “The Walking Dead” cable TV series has set the all-time standard for popular culture entertainment about the flesh-chomping undead, your reluctance to see “World War Z” is understandable. All I can tell you is, there’s fresh blood here. “World War Z” trafficks in a lot of familiar territory, but thanks to the wickedly vibrant source material (Max Brooks’ 2006 horror novel), some slick and darkly funny directorial choices by Marc Forster and terrific performances from Pitt and the supporting cast, it’s entertaining as hell.

‘Man of Steel’ off to a high-flying start

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:38:22 -0500

Look, up in the sky: It’s a franchise reborn. After a failed attempt to revive the Superman series in 2006, the son of Krypton finally took off in theaters as “Man of Steel” snared $113 million this weekend, according to studio estimates. That’s the highest opening on record for a movie opening in June, beating 2010’s “Toy Story 3,” which opened to $110.3 million. The debut was $25 million more than analysts forecast and gave the series momentum for a sequel, which Warner Bros. announced last week, though no release date has been set. The movie, which opened Thursday, did …

After ‘The Avengers,’ Joss Whedon moves to a Shakespeare movie that’s truly homemade

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:56:00 -0500

Is there life after one of the biggest superhero movies of all times? “The Avengers” director Joss Whedon insists that you can shift gears and downsize a bit. That’s why, he’s abandoning brawn this summer for the Bard with his own take on the Shakespeare classic “Much Ado About Nothing,” opening Friday.

‘The Source Family’ a gripping look at a ’60s-era cult

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:34:00 -0500

BILL ZWECKER: From the worlds of Jim Jones to the Branch Davidians to Charles Manson, filmmakers have frequently been intrigued by cults and what leads presumably sane — if easily impressionable — people to be attracted to the messianic leaders of these groups. However, in most cases, documentarians have not had access to the rich source material that directors Maria Demopoulos and Jodi Wille did for their intriguing “The Source Family.”

Billy Crystal makes one for the grandkids: ‘Monsters University’

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:43:30 -0500

SAN FRANCISCO — “You’re from Chicago. You know how it goes with this kind of stuff. It’s a neighborhood thing,” says Billy Crystal. “There’s that one kid from your past. You never called him by just his first name. He was his first and last name. He’s still his first and last name said together. He could be 97. He goes by two names. ” That brings Crystal to his character in “Monsters University” where he plays ... “Mike Wazowski. The green martini olive. The CBS logo with legs,” he says. “The thing is you can’t just call him Mike. …

Winnetka teen breaks into movies with ‘The Bling Ring’

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:43:55 -0500

In director Sofia Coppola’s movie, Katie Chang plays the leader of a real-life band of L.A. celebrity burglars, a role that took her to both Paris Hilton’s house and the Cannes Film Festival.

Making a movie in Naperville, Paul Sorvino ‘enjoying it here a lot’

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:24:01 -0500

The “Goodfellas” actor is playing a retired cop helping his daughter kick heroin in the low-budget film.

‘Shadow Dancer’ plays a deadly game of intrigue

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:47:26 -0500

The uncompromising violence and bloody betrayals that affect several generations of one family are at the core of “Shadow Dancer,” a taut, ominous political thriller set in Northern Ireland during the long years of “The Troubles,” when stalwarts of the Irish Republican Army fought British soldiers in the streets of Belfast.

‘Fill the Void’ explores the bonds of tradition

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:47:26 -0500

A young woman about to choose the man she will marry is torn between her own desires and the wishes of her devout, ultra-Orthodox Jewish family. We know where the American version of this story would go — the triumph of individual happiness over the antiquated strictures of the community. But “Fill the Void,” Israel’s official entry for the 2012 foreign film Oscar, is a sympathetic, layered portrayal, rich with detail, that earns its more complex and resonant conclusion.

‘Pandora’s Promise’ promotes nuclear power as a solution to fossil fuel crisis

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:29:18 -0500

Nuclear power is the best energy fix on Earth, claims the documentary “Pandora’s Promise.” Evidence persuaded five authors to change from anti- to pro-nuke stances, and filmmaker Robert Stone presents their reasoning, although his timely documentary is less persuasive about translating logic into political and economic reality.

Aspiring wine masters sip for success in ‘Somm’

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:28:39 -0500

“Somm,” the feature debut of writer-director Jason Wise, follows Brian McClintic, Ian Cauble, DLynn Proctor and Dustin Wilson as they make a final push in the weeks leading up to their master-level sommelier exam: a test that potentially includes anything and everything there is to be known worldwide about wine, spirits and cigars and is so arcane, so minutely detailed and just plain insanely difficult that only 3 percent of candidates pass it.

‘Dirty Wars’ outlines collateral damage of War on Terror

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:29:37 -0500

Richard Rowley’s “Dirty Wars,” a vital, gripping film demonstrates how America’s secretive, any-means-necessary approach to the War on Terror, far from ending with the Bush/Cheney era, has escalated under Barack Obama.

Voices from beyond resound in African Diaspora Film Festival

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:28:49 -0500

The 11th annual African Diaspora International Film Festival showcases works by Africans and focuses on their experiences on other continents. Co-presented by Facets Cinematheque and the New York distributor ArtMattan, this weeklong series offers 14 far-flung dramas and documentaries with a distinctly global perspective. Sponsored by the Center for Black Diaspora at DePaul University, the festival opens Friday with a 6:30 p.m. reception and a 7:30 p.m. screening of “African Independence,”

Local scuba expert prepares Russell Crowe, Henry Cavill for Superman movie

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 02:24:14 -0500

He may very well be capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound — not to mention faster than a speeding bullet — but Superman still has to be a certified scuba diver if he’s plunging into the watery depths. During the filming of “Man of Steel” in the western suburbs two years ago, the time came to prepare lead actors Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe to film underwater scenes, and their union had a requirement: they must undergo the same instruction and testing procedures as everybody else. And so the phone calls began. Scuba master instructor Dave Rautio …

‘Man of Steel’ beset by Kryptonite

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:09:53 -0500

RICHARD ROEPER: Here’s the most ambitious and occasionally the most impressive take on the Superman myth we’ve ever seen, but it falls far short of the bar set by the “Dark Knight” trilogy or even the “Iron Man” troika. Though there are moments, even complete scenes, when we see glimpses of what might have been, but then we’re plunged back into a mostly underwhelming film, with underdeveloped characters and supercharged fight scenes that drag on forever and offer nothing new in the way of special-effects creativity.