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07 Dec

Shameless Season 11 Episode 1 Review: This is Chicago!

New DVD release, , , ,
This Shameless review contains spoilers. Shameless Season 11 Episode 1 “The Gallaghers built Chicago single-handedly…” The final season of Shameless begins with an introduction that’s the most stylized that the show’s ever been and it almost feels out of place for the this series. Frank narrates over austere newsreel footage of Chicago’s history, which gradually devolves into the slovenly nature that is more Shameless’ speed. Frank’s Zelig-like revisionist take on the city illustrates how Gallaghers have been involved with every important event that shaped Chicago, whether it’s the takedown of Capone or the Trial of the Chicago Seven (which would…
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18 Oct

The Trial of the Chicago 7: Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin Were the Martin and Lewis of the Radical Left

Netflix, New DVD release, , , , , ,
“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan intoned on his song “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” influencing a group of young mad bombers to blow against the wind. The group at the center of Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 didn’t blow up bathrooms in federal investigative agencies; they protested bombings, and all other forms of violence, when they stood against authority at the Democratic National Convention in 1968. The Youth International Party, or Yippies, was non-violent, even if one of the co-founders, Abbie Hoffman (played by Sacha Baron Cohen in the movie),…
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17 Oct

The Trial of the Chicago 7 Ending: What Happened Next?

Netflix, New DVD release, , ,
It’s a strangely feel-good finale. After spending more than two hours witnessing a gross miscarriage of justice that seemed to suggest the deck is stacked against those the establishment deems “radical” or “extreme,” Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 ends with the smallest of victories being given Hollywood heft. Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) is all but promised a lenient sentence by the vindictive, and potentially senile, Judge Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella), provided he offers a contrite statement before the court. Instead Hayden attempts to read off the names of every American who died in Vietnam since this sham…
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05 Oct

Fargo Season 4: The Gang War Between The Chicago Outfit and The Policy Kings

New DVD release, , , , , ,
The following contains spoilers for Fargo season 4. The FX series Fargo begins every episode of every season with a disclaimer that the stories are true but the names are changed. This gives the show a lot of leeway in picking its stories and how to present them. Fargo season 4 is set in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1950. Two mobs in one small city make a truce, which appears to be traditional in that part of town. It’s been done for at least two generations. Loy Cannon, played by Chris Rock, boss of an African American crime family, trades…
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25 Sep

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Max SchindlerMovie reviews,
What was intended to be a peaceful protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention turned into a violent clash with police and the National Guard. The organizers of the protest—including Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Bobby Seale—were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot and the trial that followed was one of the most notorious in history.Rated: RRelease Date: Sep 25, 2020
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14 Sep

Aaron Sorkin: Donald Trump Made The Trial of the Chicago 7 Movie Possible

Netflix, New DVD release, , , , , ,
Aaron Sorkin always wanted The Trial of the Chicago 7 to be a movie. Ever since Steven Spielberg first broached the subject of adapting the story of how eight men were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot during the Democratic National Convention of 1968, it’s been a project Sorkin has thought about, toyed with, and rewritten over the last 14 years. But what finally led Sorkin to forego his stage play for something bigger and more cinematic is when the events of the heady days of 1968 began seeing echoes in the 21st century. What happened was Donald Trump…
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14 Sep

Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 Trailer Remembers a World Divided

Netflix, New DVD release, , , , , ,
“The whole world is watching,” we hear chanted repeatedly in the first The Trial of the Chicago 7 trailer. After riots, which may have begun due to the excessive force by the police, overtook the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the federal government tried to charge a group of counterculture activists with conspiracy in one of the most infamous trials in American history. Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, Molly’s Game), and featuring an all-star cast headlined by Sacha Baron Cohen, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Rylance, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the Netflix film merits global consideration. Subscribers will have…
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02 Jul

Netflix Clinches Deal For Aaron Sorkin Film The Trial of the Chicago 7

Netflix, New DVD release, , , , ,
Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial Of The Chicago 7 will skip its theatrical release and go straight to Netflix, it’s been confirmed. The streaming service finalized a deal for the timely project this week with a reported $56 million offer, according to Deadline. Sorkin’s film was originally set for a September release, but the uncertain future of 2020’s schedule has taken it out of Paramount’s hands and delivered it to Netflix, who could end up with an awards darling if the movie turns out to be any good. In fact, The Trial Of The Chicago 7 is rumored to still be…
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19 Feb

Chicago – Now More Than Ever: The History Of Chicago

New DVD release,
Recommended I was introduced to Chicago in the early 1980s, when their big hit "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" was all the rage- the sort of sappy ballad that I just hated. Their follow-ups such as "You're the Inspiration" had me simply write them off as a band that only did those kind of songs, staples on "adult contemporary" format stations. Later I heard a song that was much older but very catchy, "25 or 6 to 4" and was amazed to learn that it was by the same group. This had me checking out more of their earlier music…
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13 Oct

Chicago Justice: Season One

Max SchindlerNew DVD release, ,
Rent It For this reviewer, the jury's still out on Chicago Justice, but not with the network distributing it, NBC. Though the packaging lists this as "Season One," it's also officially "The Complete Series," NBC having cancelled it this past May, a week after airing what turned out to be its final episode. Universal selling this as "Season One" may be wishful thinking: another Dick Wolf-produced show, Law & Order: Criminal Intent began on NBC, but then moved to the USA Network for its last four seasons, so it's not impossible that program might continue somewhere else. The show began…
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13 Oct

Chicago Med: Season Two

Max SchindlerNew DVD release,
Highly Recommended Between the first and second seasons of Chicago Med, on July 26, 2017, a pretty amazing coincidence occurred. A female nurse named Alex Wubbels at the University of Utah's hospital burn center was forcibly arrested by a short-fused police officer after she refused, per hospital policy, to (possibly illegally) draw blood from her unconscious patient. The officer was recently fired. Ironically, almost exactly four months earlier, on a Chicago Med episode entitled "Guilty," Nurse Maggie Lockwood (Marlyne Barrett) is forcibly arrested after refusing, again per hospital policy, by a short-fused officer, under similar circumstances. This uncanny bit of…
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12 Oct

Chicago P.D.: Season Four

Max SchindlerNew DVD release,
Highly Recommended Spun-off from Chicago Fire, and part of the same TV universe that now also includes Law & Order: SVU, Chicago Med, and Chicago Justice, Chicago P.D. (2014-present) has grown and matured into a compelling police procedural. Less warm-and-fuzzy than Chicago Fire, whose leading characters are so honorable as to be a bit dull and dramatically inert at times, Chicago PD offers more emotionally complex, troubled, and thus more believable characters. Initially the program seemed to be heading down the right-wing fantasy world of 24, where the ends always-but-always justified the means. First introduced in a story arc on…
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11 Oct

Chicago Fire: Season Five

Max SchindlerNew DVD release,
Highly Recommended Pity the Chicago franchise fan. Fans of Chicago Fire (2012-present) are pretty much obliged to follow the entirety of executive producer Dick Wolf's vast television universe. That because characters from Chicago Fire frequently appear in episodes of all of the shows spun-off since: Chicago PD, Chicago Med, newcomer Chicago Justice and even Law & Order: SVU, set and filmed in New York. There have been story arcs crossing over up to three different series, and sets from one show (such as Molly's the bar opened by several Chicago Fire characters often appear in the others. Contracts for the…
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DVD Guide reviews current dvd releases of movies and TV shows. The reviews of these dvd releases are my thoughts and understandings of the movie, dvd releases or TV show and not be taken as fact.

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