Category: Movies

Steppenwolf Theatre to host Gala featuring Armie Hammer and James Franco

April 16, 2019April 16, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

Steppenwolf Theatre to host Gala featuring Armie Hammer and James Franco Armie Hammer to Emcee Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s 2019 Gala Saturday, May 11, 2019. James Franco Guest Auctioneer at This Unforgettable Event Celebrating 43 Years of Extraordinary Theatre CHICAGO (April 16, 2019) – The acclaimed Steppenwolf ensemble and Board of Trustees host Gala 2019, an…

Entertainment, Features, Movies, News, Theater

Last Blockbuster Store & Last Blockbuster Mansion

March 18, 2019March 18, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

Last Blockbuster Store & Last Blockbuster Mansion Time to say goodbye to all that was Blockbuster except the one last holdout store in Bend, Oregon – now relegated as an iconic classic with the closing of the last Australia store. Time to also say goodbye to the Fort Lauderdale mansion long enjoyed by Blockbuster’s co-founder…

Business, Entertainment, Features, Movies, News, Television, Videos

Ray Hanania Podcast: Smollett, Chicago Mayoral Election, Israeli war crimes

March 1, 2019November 29, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

Ray Hanania Podcast: Smollett, Chicago Mayoral Election, Israeli war crimes #RayHananiaPodcast #JussieSmollett #ChicagoMayoralElection #IsraeliWarCrimes This week’s Ray Hanania Podcast reviews the past week’s events, issues and my recent columns in the Regional News newspaper, The Reporter and Southwest News-Herald on Jussie Smollett; my columns in the @ArabNews on the Oscar win by #RamiMalek, and at…

Blogger, Chicago, Commentary, Crime, Editors Pick, elections, General Topics, Media Bias, Movies, News, Opinion, Podcast, Politics, Racism, rayhanania

Milwaukee Film raises $10 million for Oriental Theatre restoration

February 26, 2019February 26, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

Milwaukee Film raises $10 million for Oriental Theatre restoration Milwaukee Film announces the organization’s success in surpassing a $10 million capital campaign goal to restore the historic Oriental Theatre and provide the non-profit with its first-ever operating reserve. In total, the campaign has raised $10,030,229. The campaign was initiated in 2017, lending support to the…

Environment, Movies, News, Theater

Submission being accepted for 2019 Milwaukee Film Festival

January 15, 2019January 15, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

Submission being accepted for 2019 Milwaukee Film Festival MILWAUKEE – Tuesday, January 15, 2019 – The 2019 Milwaukee Film Festival, presented by Associated Bank, will run Thursday, October 17 – Thursday, October 31, 2019. Milwaukee Film’s annual 15-day festival will include feature films, shorts programs, education screenings, post-film conversations, panels, and parties. The event screened…

Entertainment, Festival, General Topics, Movies, Releases, Theater

Downers Grove man pleads guilty to drug-induced homicide in death of 15-year-old exchange student

November 5, 2018 Ray Hanania No Comments

Downers Grove man pleads guilty to drug-induced homicide in death of 15-year-old exchange student DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin announced today that a Downers Grove man has entered a plea of guilty to supplying a fatal dose of methadone to a fifteen-year-old foreign exchange student from Spain. Francis Emanuele, 38 (d.o.b. 3/20/1980) of…

breaking news, Crime, Movies, News

Getting bored by the empty void of streaming TV

August 21, 2018November 29, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

Getting bored by the empty void of streaming TV With so many streaming cable options all competing for the public’s attention, there are some great choices and some terrible ones. And there are things that each system can do to improve their services, besides adding quality original programming to their offerings. When the monthly subscription…

Blogger, Commentary, Entertainment, Features, General Topics, Movies, Opinion, rayhanania, Television

How did Netflix manage to ruin “Lost in Space?”

April 22, 2018November 30, 2020 Ray Hanania No Comments

How did Netflix manage to ruin “Lost in Space?” I grew up pining for science fiction on TV in an age when science fiction was both scary and exciting. One of the best TV series was “Lost in Space” which aired from 1965 until 1968, three seasons, projecting into a future called “1997.” In 1998,…

Blogger, Commentary, Entertainment, Features, Movies, Opinion, rayhanania, Technology, Television

A good movie should be about entertainment

April 21, 2018November 29, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

A good movie should be about entertainment These days, movie reviewers judge films not by what the audience wants but rather by what they want. Oftentimes, those judgments are driven by issues that pander to social minorities and left-wing liberal preferences. Why can’t we judge films based solely on their entertainment value, rather than on…

Blogger, Commentary, Entertainment, Movies, Opinion, Politics, Racism, rayhanania, Review, Theater

I should have dropped Acid before watching Annihilation

February 24, 2018November 29, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

Should have dropped Acid before watching Annihilation Movie review: The movie theater was packed with people for the premiere of Annihilation, the Science Fiction story about an alien life form that slams into Earth and expands into what scientists call a “shimmer”. The movie not only had some great stars like Natalie Portman and Jennifer…

Baby Boomers, Blogger, Commentary, Editors Pick, Entertainment, Features, Movies, Opinion, rayhanania, Technology

Cloverfield “franchise” destroys a great original theme

February 14, 2018November 29, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

Cloverfield “franchise” destroys a great original theme Some one should explain to J.J. Abrams that it isn’t enough to just put a word in a movie title to create a franchise that will excite the public. I loved the 2008 movie “Cloverfield.” But the two films int he so-called “Cloverfield franchise” don’t even come close…

Baby Boomers, Blogger, Commentary, Entertainment, General Topics, Movies, Opinion, rayhanania, Television

Holidays today are not like holidays of the past

January 3, 2018November 29, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

Holidays today are not like holidays of the past It was so much better in the “old days.” Movie theaters were more enjoyable and traveling on airlines and even cruises were simpler. We knew what we were getting upfront for the single cost we paid. Today, traveling is a gamble, and going to the movie…

Baby Boomers, Blogger, Commentary, Entertainment, Movies, Opinion, Orland Park, rayhanania, Technology, Television, Travel

Netflix increases fees as programming drops

December 5, 2017November 29, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

Netflix increases fees as programming drops Netflix raised fees, again. But if they want to keep me as a loyal subscriber, they need to be loyal to me and produce some kickass programing. Dropping Kevin Spacey from “House of Cards” is a major blow, and the garbage they are offering the wake of another favorite,…

Baby Boomers, Blogger, Commentary, Editors Pick, Entertainment, General Topics, Movies, Opinion, rayhanania, Technology, Television, Videos

Why did Blade Runner 2049 do so bad at theaters?

October 9, 2017November 29, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

Why did Blade Runner 2049 do so bad at theaters? Movie Review: Blade Runner is a science fiction film based on the 1968 novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by SciFi author Philip K. Dick. The lead character is Rick Deckard whose job as a “Blade Runner” is to terminate (retire) old replicants (bio-robotic…

Baby Boomers, Blogger, Commentary, Entertainment, Features, Movies, Opinion, rayhanania