Dann Gire
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Blandly plotted 'And So' just a so-so comedyJul 24, 2014 5:00 am - We've seen this story many times before, the one about the Grinchy old guy whose two-sizes-too-small heart receives emotional Valvoline from a sweet and innocent kid. (W...
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Arlington Heights author digs up 'Wizard of Oz' historyJul 21, 2014 1:01 am - If ever, oh ever, a classic there was, "The Wizard of Oz" is one because ... Because, because, because, because, because ... Because of the wonderful thing it was. By a...
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'Last Sentence' should be inspiring, not dryJul 17, 2014 6:30 am - Jan Troell's lackluster black-and-white drama “The Last Sentence” tells the true story of a great and strong-principled Swedish newspaper man who campaigned against the ...
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5 questions with actor/director Zach BraffJul 17, 2014 6:30 am - 5 Qs for Zach Braff Zach Braff is mostly known for the comedy series "Scrubs" and his 2004 directorial debut "Garden State." Now the 39-year-old actor is appearing in Wo...
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'Wish I Was Here' never reaches high potentialJul 17, 2014 6:30 am - The good will, sincerity and insightfulness that marked Zach Braff's 2004 smart directorial debut "Garden State" come up short in his long-awaited follow-up, "Wish I Was...
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Visually splendid 'Planes' sequel takes dramatic diveJul 17, 2014 5:00 am - At an auto-bar, an unhappy car laments how a hybrid stole his lady friend. "I never heard him coming!" he says sadly. Prepare for a bumper crop of punny business. The se...
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'Boyhood' a different kind of cinematic epicJul 17, 2014 4:00 am - If you approach Richard Linklater's bold cinematic experiment "Boyhood" with the proper frame of mind, you will walk out of the theater having experienced an epic journe...
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Schaumburg native swaps Broadway dream for behind-the-scenes careerJul 14, 2014 1:01 am - This week, if things go as planned, Schaumburg native Natalie Bounassar starts her new gig as a production secretary on Lee Daniels' upcoming Fox TV drama series "Empire...
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Gray skies ignored by true blue Civil War re-enactorsJul 12, 2014 1:01 am - Rain canceled the cavalry charge, but it couldn't dampen the gun powder. So the battle between the North and South went off as scheduled Saturday at the 23rd annual Civi...
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Superior 'Apes' sequel a bold, bleak look at violenceJul 10, 2014 5:00 am - Every 3-D scene in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" screams epic. Actually, more than epic. EPIC. A fiery sequence set in a hellish San Francisco conjures up a burning A...