Josh Hopkins talks Mail Order Monster

Actor Josh Hopkins spoke with Solzy at the Movies about the family drama, Mail Order Monster, and the Kentucky Wildcats. You play Roy Pepper in Mail Order Monster.  What was it about this character that appealed to you in reading Paulina Lagudi and Marc Prey’s script? Josh Hopkins:  He’s a good hearted guy in a difficult situation. There are a lot of emotions competing  for his attention. He’s still dealing with a lot of family…

"Josh Hopkins talks Mail Order Monster"

Election: One of The Best Political Satire Comedies

Approaching its 20th anniversary in May 2019, Alexander Payne’s Election remains one of the best political satire comedies of all time. Three-time teacher of the year Jim McCallister (Matthew Broderick) is one of G.W. Carver High School’s popular teachers.  He also has some sort of vendetta against Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon).  McCallister puts a plan together the very moment in which Flick decides to run for class president. Earlier in the year, Tracy had been involved…

"Election: One of The Best Political Satire Comedies"

Superman: The Movie marks 40 years with 4K UHD

Turning actor Christopher Reeve into a star overnight, Superman: The Movie manages to hold up some 40 years following the initial release. Everyone knows the story of Superman.  His biological parents, Jor-El (Marlon Brando) and Lara (Susannah York), send Kal-El to Earth to avoid the destruction of their native planet.  Kal-El lands in Smallville, Kansas, where he’s adopted by Jonathan (Glenn Ford) and Martha Kent (Phyllis Thaxter).  Adopting the name Clark Kent, he grows up…

"Superman: The Movie marks 40 years with 4K UHD"

Outlaw King gets Bloody and Brutal

In telling the story of Scottish king Robert the Bruce’s early years, Outlaw King draws a bigger focus on the battle at hand. There’s no doubt that Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine) led an interesting life but as a person, he’s such a complex character.  He goes from noble to kind to outlaw in the span of just a few years.  How many people can truly put such impressive feats on their resume?!?  The Scotland…

"Outlaw King gets Bloody and Brutal"

Sarah Tither-Kaplan talks Los Angeless

Sarah Tither-Kaplan joined me in an interview to discuss the crowdfunding campaign on Seed & Spark for the short film anthology series, Los Angeless. With just over a week left to raise money for the nine-part Los Angeless series of short films, why it’s so important to get funded? Sarah Tither-Kaplan: Getting our funding is so important, because from the inception of this project we made a commitment to pay everyone who works on our project…

"Sarah Tither-Kaplan talks Los Angeless"

Gift Idea: The Sky is Falling by Peter Biskind

The Sky Is Falling: How Vampires, Zombies, Androids, and Superheroes Made America Great for Extremism by Peter Biskind makes for some fascinating reading. Peter Biskind has a good grasp on what he’s talking about.  Make no mistake that popular culture somehow finds a way to influence our political culture.  Other times, it’s vice versa (cough Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith cough).  In any event, Biskind goes through Hollywood’s history in under 300 pages.  In using…

"Gift Idea: The Sky is Falling by Peter Biskind"

Jason Reitman talks The Front Runner

Writer-director Jason Reitman spoke with members of the Chicago press during the press tour for his new film, The Front Runner.  I had the opportunity to sit down with the Oscar-nominated director in a 20-minute roundtable interview with four other Chicago area film journalists.  While Hugh Jackman and the Gary Hart story were discussed, what follows are the two questions that I asked of the Juno and Up in the Air director. Congrats on the…

"Jason Reitman talks The Front Runner"

C2E2 2019: First Wave of Guests Announced

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star Clark Gregg is among the first entertainment guests announced to headline Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) 2019 at McCormick Place. Entertainment guests announced at the moment include Gregg, John Barrowman, Summer Glau, Christopher Sabat, and Sean Schemmel. On the comic book front, the early guests include Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, Matt Wilson, Eve L. Ewing, Ed McGuiness, Kevin Nowlan, George Perez, and Marc Silvestri. More guests are sure to be announced as the day moves…

"C2E2 2019: First Wave of Guests Announced"

A Private War: Marie Colvin’s Important Story

A Private War follows The Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin during some of the most pivotal moments of her career as a Foreign Affairs correspondent. The film starts out in Homs, Syria in 2012 before flashing back to London, 2001.  While her bosses wanted to send her to one country, Colvin (Rosamund Pike) believed that the Sri Lankan Civil War was the more important story.  Whatever the case, Colvin’s decision would get her placed in…

"A Private War: Marie Colvin’s Important Story"

Viper Club Never Reaches Full Potential

In spite of the material’s importance, it felt as if Viper Club was lacking something in getting across the film’s message. Make no mistake that it’s a bummer that Viper Club isn’t a better film than it should have been.  This is a film who tells the story of emergency room nurse Helen Sterling (Susan Sarandon).  While the Oscar winner is fine actress and does what she can with the material, her performance alone isn’t enough…

"Viper Club Never Reaches Full Potential"