Dann Gire
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St. Viator grad does the write thing for Conan, ColbertNov 26, 2015 12:00 am - While growing up in Palatine, Brian Stack never thought comedy came from regular people. "Show business was something done by aliens," he said. "I mean, nobody I knew co...
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'Frankenstein' remake a monstrous messNov 24, 2015 4:00 pm - First, let's get the Frankenstein-related opening paragraphs out of the way. 1. Even the Hoover Dam couldn't supply enough electricity to bring the dead material in this...
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Pixar's 'Dinosaur' a heartwarming comedyNov 24, 2015 3:00 pm - Talk about blind casting. Pixar's 3-D animated feature "The Good Dinosaur" shakes up the conventional "boy and his dog" adventure by casting a lovable prehistoric longne...
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Holiday films offer a whale of a seasonNov 22, 2015 5:15 am - Contrary to popular belief, 2015's holiday season offers more movies than “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Hard to believe, I know. But it's true. With “Star Wars” promot...
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Characters are too cold to care about in 'Altered Minds'Nov 19, 2015 4:00 am - Michael Z. Wechsler's psychological drama "Altered Minds" reminds me of many plays I encountered in college, some very serious works of drama in which people in a confin...
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'Hallow' has the right ingredients, but the recipe might be offNov 19, 2015 4:00 am - Eek! Corin Hardy's frightening and fantastic horror tale "The Hallow" packs all the right ingredients for a satisfyingly creepy collision of science and superstition. Th...
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Gire: Lawrence brings 'Games' to a graceful endNov 17, 2015 10:00 pm - Long. Convoluted. Ridiculous. Pretentious. Frustrating. Yet, curiously satisfying. This is how "The Hunger Games" film franchise ends, not with a bang or a whimper, but ...
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Reel life: Readers take on 007, 'Peanuts' reviewsNov 12, 2015 5:15 am - Dann: Had to laugh that you could not understand how Bond got the car to Rome, or not having effects from (sorry, spoiler deleted!). What about the other 1,001 things Bo...
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Bryan Cranston elevates political biopic 'Trumbo'Nov 12, 2015 5:00 am - Jay Roach's Hollywood biopic "Trumbo" lapses into simplicity and awkward flourishes, but its core message - everybody loses when people are demonized for their politics ...
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'Love the Coopers' a holiday snow jobNov 12, 2015 4:15 am - The original title for this holiday family comedy had been "Let It Snow," a fitting one, considering that practically every scene is filled with big white flakes. Some o...