Gire: Meet Dan Aykroyd at Hollywood Palms Sunday

Critics notebook

• A bloodsucking double-bill comes to the Hollywood Blvd. Theater in Woodridge on Saturday, Oct. 18, when Todd Browning's original 1931 "Dracula" (with the Philip Glass score added) will be shown at noon followed at 1:30 p.m. by the more colorful 1958 Hammer remake "Horror of Dracula." Early tickets cost $4. Go to atriptothemovies.com.

• Dan Aykroyd comes to the Hollywood Palms Theater in Naperville on Sunday, Oct. 19, to chat with fans, sign autographs and introduce his movies "Ghostbusters" and "The Blues Brothers." (Autographs are complimentary but limited to two.) Go to atriptothemovies.com for movie showings and events.

• The Fourth Annual Chicago Comedy Film Festival continues through Oct. 19 at the Showplace ICON Theater, 150 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago. Go to chicagocomedyfilmfestival.com.

• Mike Flanagan, director of the scariest movie of the year so far, "Oculus," will be given the Independent Filmmaker Achievement Award by the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, at the Cutting Hall Performing Arts Center, 150 E. Wood St., Palatine. I'll conduct a Q&A with the promising filmmaker. Tickets cost $10. Next up for Flanagan will be "Somnia," about an orphan whose dreams and nightmares become physical reality. Go to bwiff.com.

4 Qs for Ted Melfi

Ted Melfi is a TV commercial director making his first feature (as director, writer and producer) with the Bill Murray comedy "St. Vincent." I hit him with four questions.

Q. I understand that Bill Murray was something of a mentor for you on the set.

A. Yes. He taught me a lot about comedy and a lot about life, really. About directing, really. About staying calm and relaxed. About staying in the present moment. Bill is the most in-the-moment person I've ever met in my life.

Q. The story was inspired by your own niece (now your adopted daughter) nominating you as an every day saint after you took her into your family. Do you remember how you felt when this happened?

A. I didn't start crying because I'm not a crier. But I could have. It meant a lot because we had been through a lot in the last four years. For this little girl to see her dad die in front of her - her mom abandoned her when she was a baby - and I mean what a terrible thing to happen to an 11-year-old girl. For her to be grateful for people in her life who would take care of her ... for her to call me a saint, well, if I die tomorrow, at least I did something right for someone.

Q. It sounds to me like "St. Vincent" is more than just a movie to you.

A. I think it's a story that needs to be told right now. The world's going through hell with ISIS and Ferguson. Just hell. There are so many negative messages out there. We need something positive once in a while, something to say that people are innately and intrinsically good. They are good. My movie's about a little boy who sees the good in a crusty old guy who makes a difference in his life. Showing people their value is everything.

Q. Your movie strikes me as a cinematic sermon of sorts.

A. If you go to church, you understand the value of people and how we touch them. If you scratch the surface just a little bit, you can see what God created underneath.

Here come da 'Judge'

Dear Dann: Read your review and your one and a half star rating of referenced movie ("The Judge"). As a professional critic, you see and critique things the average moviegoer misses and really doesn't care about. However my friend and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and feel it's one of the very best.

Furthermore, we feel Downey and Duvall should get Oscar nominations. Maybe you should critique a movie keeping the average person in mind rather than wanting to impress with your expertise. - Dorothy Yedinak

Dear Dorothy: Movie critics are not consumer advisers. Otherwise they'd be called "consumer advisers." Regretfully, the public does not get to vote on what a critic thinks.

I'm sorry to report Mr. Duvall and Mr. Downey have no chance at Oscar nominations for recycling characters they've played many times before, a criticism that, significantly, you did not dispute.

My readers tend to be rather knowledgeable about the movies, and I would disagree with your claim that they "miss" and "don't care" about points raised in reviews.

However, I am pleased that you and your friend did not waste your time or admission by watching a movie you both disliked.

P.S. "The Judge" spent an estimated $10.1 million for spots that have aired 1,284 times across 41 networks through Oct. 12, Variety reported. Despite this massive push, "The Judge" pulled in a disappointing $13.3 million on its opening weekend. - Dann

• Follow Dann on Twitter at @DannGireDHFilm.