Dann Gire
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Thin characters, dumbed-down script stall 'Monster Trucks'Jan 12, 2017 5:00 am - The idea for this boy-and-his-blob fantasy adventure reportedly came from the then-4-year-old son of Paramount Film Group President Adam Goodman shortly before the studi...
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Affleck takes himself too seriously in ponderous 'Night'Jan 11, 2017 9:00 am - The first thing that director Ben Affleck should have suggested to his screenwriter, Ben Affleck, would be to lose the voice-over narration lifted from his source materi...
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Brotherly advice pushes Wheaton native toward opera careerJan 10, 2017 4:30 am - Growing up in Wheaton, music was a big part of brothers Steve and David Govertsen's lives. "We didn't have that athletic thing going for us," David said. "It's kind of w...
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Scorsese's 'Silence' not golden, but a paradox of passionJan 05, 2017 5:00 am - Martin Scorsese, perhaps the most Catholic of all American filmmakers, wrote an intro for a 2007 English edition of Shusaku Endo's 1966 novel “Silence” in which he chara...
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Life lessons, dark fantasy fuse in wondrous 'A Monster Calls'Jan 03, 2017 10:00 pm - One morning at exactly 12:07 (the importance of the time comes clear much later), a giant tree outside young Conor O'Malley's bedroom window magically comes to life, tea...
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Carpentersville opera singer nominated for two Grammy AwardsJan 03, 2017 4:30 am - While running errands a few weeks ago, Lucy Schaufer checked Twitter and froze in disbelief at what she saw on her phone. It was a tweet from a friend, congratulating Sc...
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'La La Land,' 'Moonlight' cap Dann Gire's top 10 for 2016Dec 26, 2016 11:45 am - Two movies deserve be named the best English language feature film of 2016: Damien Chazelle's musical “La La Land” and Barry Jenkins' coming-of-age drama “Moonlight.” Bo...
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Actors swing for the 'Fences' with DenzelDec 22, 2016 5:00 am - Actors on the 'Fences' In Denzel Washington's directorial debut "Fences" (based on August Wilson's play) opening Dec. 25, Stephen Henderson plays Bono, best pal of Washi...
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How movie helped ex-Arlington Heights journalist Strobel find peace with dadDec 22, 2016 4:30 am - This might not seem like a Christmas story. But it is. The peace and goodwill part takes place on a movie set for "The Case For Christ," based on Lee Strobel's autobiogr...
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Animated 'Sing' hits sharp notes of humorDec 20, 2016 3:30 pm - The animated jukebox musical “Sing” comes from the same studio that brought us “The Secret Life of Pets,” on track to being the most ill-conceived and socially abhorrent...