News

The Western is undoubtedly one of the great foundational genres in the history of cinema. As such, its influence goes beyond Western movies proper — be they classic Western movies from the 1950s and 1960s or modern neo-Westerns — and spreads to all other genres, shaping the way certain scenes are shot or how particular Western genre tropes are used in developing plots.

Some Western-adjacent movies are easier to spot than others, neo-Westerns especially because while they rework some of the genre's most frequent tropes, they're usually still set in the American West and generally feel very Western. Other movies, however, simply pick and choose some Western elements to weave into their stories that might be surprising to audiences when pointed out. However, all have the potential to delight and move audiences with how they twist and remake the recurring themes of the Western genre, to say something more about the modern day.

The 2000s were decades filled with some truly funny comedy movies, but plenty of hilarious releases have been mostly forgotten by modern audiences. Although this was the decade where Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, and Ben Stiller achieved major success at the box office and Judd Apatows unique brand of comedy took over, there were some movies that came and went without leaving a lasting impact. However, this did not make them any less effective, and many of these forgotten comedies deserve to be revisited.

The best comedies of the 2000s were often crude and raunchy with plenty of over-the-top energy, although some of the most underrated and forgotten movies from this era were far subtler and valued sentimental more. Other comedies from shortly after the dawn of the millennium lacked the originality needed to make a lasting impact and were consumed and quickly forgotten by viewers. Whatever the reason, these...

Stars: Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges, Gil Birmingham, Dale Dickey, William Sterchi, Buck Taylor, Kristin Berg, Jackamoe Buzzell, Katy Mixon, Keith Meriweather, Amber Midthunder, Joe Berryman | Written by Taylor Sheridan | Directed by David Mackenzie

Two Texan brothers, Toby Howard (Chris Pine) and Tanner (Ben Foster) reunite and start robbing branches of a particular bank with a plan in mind. This soon puts them on collision course with Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) an old Texas Ranger ready for retirement, who along with his partner Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham) take on the job of tracking the bank robbers.

What makes Hell or High Water so good is that it takes the old style Western and brings it to the modern era without having to sacrifice the style. Set in Texas this is the story of two bandits robbing banks, but also having a reason to do it. The bad guy here is the bank,...

Casting directors have a strange distinction in the awards world: Their guild has an Academy branch, but it’s the only one without its own Oscar category. Imagine for a moment that they did. What are the best-cast films of 2016?

IndieWire asked 13 of the top casting directors to nominate films worthy of casting recognition this year. There were a few restrictions worth noting. Although casting directors often get early sneak peeks at films, many noted there are some films they still hadn’t seen. In particular, many are anxious to find out what legendary casting director Ellen Lewis has cooked up for Martin Scorsese’s “Silence.” The other restriction, which was imposed as responses came in: They couldn’t all write about “Moonlight.” (We’ll dig further into the casting of that film in another article.)

Read More: Casting Directors and the Academy: Why Lynn Stalmaster’s Honorary Oscar Matters...

Chicago – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new crime drama “Hell or High Water” starring Jeff Bridges and Ben Foster!

“Hell or High Water,” which opens on Aug. 12, 2016 and is rated “R,” also stars Chris Pine, Dale Dickey, William Sterchi, Buck Taylor, Kristin Berg and Gil Birmingham from director David Mackenzie and writer Taylor Sheridan. Note: You must be 17+ to win and attend this “R”-rated screening.

To win your free passes to “Hell or High Water” courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our social media widget below. That’s it! This screening is on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds of winning; this doesn’t intensify your competition!

Chicago – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two run-of-engagement movie passes up for grabs to the new film “Crazy Heart” with Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Robert Duvall!

The film also stars Brian Gleason, Rick Dial, William Sterchi, Richard W. Gallegos, William Marquez, LeAnne Lynch, David Manzanares, J. Michael Oliva and Ryil Adamson from writer and director Scott Cooper. “Crazy Heart” is based on the novel by the same name from Thomas Cobb.

To win your free “Crazy Heart” movie pass to any Chicago-area Landmark Theatre at the time of your choosing, all you need to do is answer our question in this Web-based submission form. That’s it! “Crazy Heart” opened in Chicago on Dec. 25, 2009. Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.

The movie poster for “Crazy Heart” with Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal.