Dann Gire
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Neo-noir 'Shanghai' never really comes to lifeOct 01, 2015 5:45 am - Mini-review: 'Shanghai' In the neo-noir murder mystery/historical epic/espionage drama "Shanghai," John Cusack wears an ill-fitting gumshoe's suit and fedora while utter...
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Reel life: Blue Whiskey brings 'Blazing Saddles' to Star CinemaSep 30, 2015 11:00 pm - Film critics notebook: • The Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival's Cinema Series presents Mel Brooks' classic comedy “Blazing Saddles” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oc...
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Smart, optimistic 'Martian' an entertainment supernovaSep 30, 2015 12:30 pm - "The Martian" has no romantic subplot. No villains. The dialogue consists mostly of scientific terms, NASA jargon and mathematical projections. By all rights, this shoul...
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'Walk' takes viewers on spellbinding journeySep 30, 2015 5:15 am - When Robert Zemeckis' fact-based tale of mad dreams "The Walk" comes out on video formats, I anticipate that many viewers will skip over the strained "Mission: Impossibl...
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Acting quest leads Elk Grove Village native to 'Spamalot'Sep 29, 2015 5:31 am - Joe Bianco was wearing high heels, a dress and makeup when he got the call telling him he'd been cast as King Arthur in the musical "Spamalot" at the Metropolis Performi...
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Reel life: Dann & Raymond take a look at zombiesSep 24, 2015 6:15 am - Film critics notebook: • Dann & Raymond's Movie Club has switched topics for its Thursday, Oct. 1, presentation at the Schaumburg Library, 130 S. Roselle Road, Schaumbur...
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'Goodnight Mommy' a chilling look at our own darknessSep 24, 2015 5:15 am - "Goodnight Mommy," from Austrian directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, doesn't want to merely scare us. It intends to absolutely horrify us, send us out of the the...
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4-star crime thriller 'Sicario' delves into horrorSep 23, 2015 5:45 am - The moment that Johann Johannsson's screaming electronic score assaults your eardrums with slow crescendos of distilled dread, you realize that "Sicario" will not be you...
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De Niro, Hathaway charm saves 'The Intern' from terminal cutenessSep 22, 2015 11:00 pm - My best guess would be that Nancy Meyers couldn't get Morgan Freeman to star in her treacly comedy "The Intern," so she cast Robert De Niro as the white version of the p...
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Metropolis director hired Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell before they were famousSep 22, 2015 5:30 am - Years ago, Joe Keefe produced a Las Vegas comedy show called “The No Budget Circus” and hired two not-yet-famous Second City comedians to co-star in it, Stephen Colbert ...