CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
March 2009
Video Game Review: ‘B’-Movie Style of ‘Eat Lead’ Nearly Saves Pretty Awful Game
Submitted by BrianTT on March 31, 2009 - 2:31pm Video Game Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard” has so many deep, unacceptable, gameplay flaws that it couldn’t possibly merit a traditional recommendation, but the game nearly succeeds in the same way that an Ed Wood or Uwe Boll movie has fans. Have you heard the phrase “so bad it’s good”? Can it be applied to a video game?
DVD Round Up, Mar. 31, 2009: ‘Shuttle,’ ‘Donkey Punch,’ ‘Cracker,’ ‘Clone Wars’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 31, 2009 - 12:28pmCHICAGO – Two TV shows and two indie horror movies comprise the final edition of the infamous HollywoodChicago.com Round-Up for March. Both shows already have cult followings and the movies are likely to build ones of their own.
Interview: Legendary Star Tony Curtis Likes it Hot in His Life, Career
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 31, 2009 - 12:26pmThe name of the new autobiography from Tony Curtis is perfectly descriptive … “American Prince.” From his hard-scrabble early life on the streets of the Bronx to the glamor and glitz of Hollywood stardom, Curtis has had a journey that experienced both the heights and depths of celebrity.
First Teaser Poster For ‘The Twilight Saga’s New Moon’ Released
Submitted by BrianTT on March 31, 2009 - 12:24pmCHICAGO – ComingSoon.net went to ShoWest and posted the first image of a teaser poster that you’re likely to see all over theaters for the rest of this year, the first official artwork for the sequel to “Twilight,” “The Twilight Saga’s New Moon”.
Slideshow: 32-Image Gallery For ‘State of Play’ With Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck
Submitted by BrianTT on March 31, 2009 - 10:18amCHICAGO – This 32-image slideshow contains the press images for Universal’s “State of Play,” starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels and Helen Mirren. Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan and Tony Gilroy and Billy Ray and directed by Kevin Macdonald, the film opens on Friday, April 17th, 2009.
TV Review: ABC’s ‘Cupid’ Pushes Romance Past the Breaking Point
Submitted by BrianTT on March 31, 2009 - 10:05am Television Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I am completely unashamed to admit to being a hopeless romantic and someone easily manipulated by cheesy, sudsy, heartfelt tales of love. I say this because even this loyal fan of movie musicals was pushed over the edge by the goofy romantic dramedy “Cupid,” the new tale of love in the big city debuting on ABC on Tuesday, March 31st.
Blu-Ray Review: Oscar Winner ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Wins Big on Blu-Ray
Submitted by BrianTT on March 30, 2009 - 6:24pm Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of the most beloved films of the last several years, “Slumdog Millionaire,” hits DVD and Blu-Ray this week and Fox pulls out all the stops for this home release, polishing up the video and audio to a nearly flawless sheen and compiling a spectacular collection of special features for a movie that many collectors will want to own.
TV Review: TNT‘s ‘Trust Me’ Still Needs a Little Work, But Deserves Another Look
Submitted by BrianTT on March 30, 2009 - 5:31pm Television Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Has TNT’s “Trust Me” lived up to the potential of its cast, concept, or even its clever pilot? With the tenth episode of the first season - “Thanks, I Needed That” - about to air and the season finale only two weeks away, it’s time to take another look at this show and see if it’s made good use of one of the most high caliber ensembles on television.
Exclusive Portrait: Blues Brother, ‘Ghostbuster’ Dan Aykroyd in Chicago
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on March 30, 2009 - 3:28amCHICAGO – Blues Brother and “Ghostbusters” star Dan Aykroyd recently took time to pose for the the HollywoodChicago.com lens on March 28, 2009 before meeting fans and fine wine connoisseurs alike. Aykroyd was in Chicago to promote his new Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay wines at Binny’s Beverage Depot in Chicago’s South Loop.
Video Game Review: ‘Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars’ Game of the Year to Date
Submitted by BrianTT on March 27, 2009 - 1:03pmCHICAGO – Rockstar Games has done it again. Like “Grand Theft Auto IV,” they’ve released a game that we all thought would be really good but they’ve somehow found a way to surpass expectations and delievered even more than most fans thought possible. There have been some excellent games in the first quarter of 2009 - “Killzone 2” and “Resident Evil 5” stand out - but “Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars” gets my vote for game of the year to date.
Slideshow: Tony Curtis, Other Stars Shine at the Hollywood Collectors Show in Chicago
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 27, 2009 - 12:51pmCHICAGO – Last weekend, March 21-22, the Hollywood Collectors Show was presented at the Chicago Marriott O’Hare. Among the various booths of memorabilia and collectible treasures, many notable Hollywood movie and television stars signed autographs and met their fans.
DreamWorks’ ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ Has Great 3D Concept, But Falls Flat
Submitted by BrianTT on March 27, 2009 - 12:12pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Hasn’t Pixar proven that animation can be more than just concept and celebrity voice work? The problem with “Monsters vs. Aliens” is that the team behind it clearly prioritized nearly every element of the film over actual storytelling.
DreamWorks’ ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ Has Great 3D Concept, But Falls Flat
Submitted by BrianTT on March 27, 2009 - 12:09pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Hasn’t Pixar proven that animation can be more than just concept and celebrity voice work? The problem with “Monsters vs. Aliens” is that the team behind it clearly prioritized nearly every element of the film over actual storytelling.
Ramin Bahrani’s ‘Goodbye Solo’ Stands Alone So Far in 2009
Submitted by BrianTT on March 27, 2009 - 11:21am Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There were a few great films of late 2008 that weren’t widely released until early this year including “Waltz With Bashir” and “Che,” but Ramin Bahrani’s “Goodbye Solo” is the first truly great film of 2009.
Ramin Bahrani’s ‘Goodbye Solo’ Stands Alone So Far in 2009
Submitted by BrianTT on March 27, 2009 - 11:16amRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There were a few great films of late 2008 that weren’t widely released until early this year including “Waltz With Bashir” and “Che,” but Ramin Bahrani’s “Goodbye Solo” is the first truly great film of 2009.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Tell No One’ Deserves Positive Word-of-Mouth Buzz
Submitted by BrianTT on March 26, 2009 - 7:49pm Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Guillaume Canet’s excellent “Tell No One” is perhaps the only 2008 thriller to truly deserve the often overused term, “Hitchockian”. The master would have enjoyed this twisting and turning ride that ironically had enough people talking to make it the most successful foreign language film in the United States last year with $6 million in domestic receipts (yes, I’m sad too that such a low total can claim that title).
Something in the Way it Moves: Factory Theater’s ‘Mop Top Festival’ Celebrates The Beatles
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 26, 2009 - 7:10pm Play Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – What has become of what John Lennon called, “The Greatest Show on Earth” (for what it was worth)? The Fab Four are still at The Beatle conventions – now called “The Fest for Beatle Fans”, which have gone on annually since 1977 in Chicago.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Signed ‘Alien Trespass’ Memorabilia From ‘The X-Files’ Director
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on March 26, 2009 - 3:57pmCHICAGO – The race is on! In our latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have an extraordinarily unique, off-the-beaten-path giveaway for the one-of-a-kind new film “Alien Trespass” from “The X-Files” director R.W. Goodwin.
Blu-Ray Review: Criterion Continues Blu-Ray Expansion With Pair of Truffaut Classics
Submitted by BrianTT on March 26, 2009 - 3:20pm Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The Criterion Collection continues its foray into the world of HD with one of the most beloved directors of all time, taking a film already in the collection and giving it the HD treatment while simultaneously releasing a new edition of one of his later films. The legend is Francois Truffaut and the films are “The 400 Blows” and “The Last Metro”.
Release Date Announced For ‘Call of Duty 4’ Sequel ‘Modern Warfare 2’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 26, 2009 - 2:49pmCHICAGO – Get your calendars out and mark the date for arguably the most anticipated game of the year, “Modern Warfare 2,” Activision’s follow-up to the award-winning “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare”.
Video Game Review: Sony’s ‘Resistance: Retribution’ a Rare Must-Buy PSP Title
Submitted by BrianTT on March 26, 2009 - 2:07pm Video Game Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Sony’s “Resistance: Retribution” is a great game but it can be a frustrating experience. More than once while playing through this excellent handheld companion to two of the PS3’s biggest titles - “Resistance: Fall of Man” and “Resistance 2” - I kept asking myself, “Why aren’t there more PSP game like this one?”
Slideshow: 16-Image Gallery From ‘Dragonball Evolution’ With Justin Chatwin, Emmy Rossum
Submitted by BrianTT on March 25, 2009 - 7:23pm
Justin Chatwin as Goku in Dragonball: Evolution, the long-awaited, live-action motion picture based on the popular Japanese manga created by Akira Toriyama.CHICAGO – This 16-image slideshow contains the press images for Twentieth Century Fox’s “Dragonball Evolution,” starring Justin Chatwin, Emmy Rossum, Jamie Chung, James Marsters, and Chow Yun-Fat. Written by Ben Ramsey and directed by James Wong, the film opens on Wednesday, April 8th, 2009.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Tales of the Black Freighter’ a Great Companion to ‘Watchmen’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 25, 2009 - 6:58pm Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s influential graphic novel “Watchmen” may have not made the impact that we all expected it to in theaters, but it is a film and book that still has legions of fans. Fan of the book or the movie or both should take a look at the interesting “Tales of the Black Freighter,” a companion piece that fills in the world of “Watchmen” and is now available on Blu-Ray.
12th Annual EU Film Festival Highlights, Week Four: ‘Sauna,’ ‘Apres Lui,’ ‘Ben X,’ ‘Patrik Age 1,5’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 25, 2009 - 6:33pmCHICAGO – The final week of the 12th Annual EU Film Festival at the Siskel Film Center perfectly illustrates the main strength of this festival - amazing diversity. From what we had time to see of the final stretch of films, the four highlights couldn’t be more diverse, featuring movies from four different countries with four completely different tones and styles.
Video Game Review: Step Into Your Favorite Show in ‘Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore 2’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 25, 2009 - 12:40pm Video Game Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If you’re like most people who own a television, you’ve probably seen “American Idol” at least once in its near-decade of ratings dominance and thought that you could do better than the pop star wannabe on the stage. Now you can try and achieve “AI” dominance on your own with “Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore 2”. Practice your Mariah Carey note runs.
DVD Review: ‘Andy Richter Controls the Universe: The Complete Series’ Finally Available
Submitted by BrianTT on March 24, 2009 - 3:21pm DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When I hear about shows that were “brilliant-but-canceled” one of the first series that comes to mind is the great “Andy Richter Controls the Universe”. Developing a cult following through cable repeats over the years, the complete series has been one of the most requested-but-unavailable titles since the show left the air over five years ago. Andy fans, your day has finally come. Rejoice.
DVD Review: Gabriel Byrne Shines in HBO’s Epic ‘In Treatment’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 24, 2009 - 1:35pm DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Like therapy itself, HBO’s “In Treatment” requires a commitment. The award-winning program aired from Monday to Friday on HBO for nearly nine weeks and took up forty-three episodes. If you’re starting from the beginning of “In Treatment,” you will need to clear approximately 1,290 minutes of your schedule. Don’t go in half-heartedly.
Video Game Review: RPG Fans Should Take the Time to Decipher ‘Avalon Code’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 24, 2009 - 12:03pmCHICAGO – The development team behind the massively successful “Final Fantasy III” and “Final Fantasy IV” remakes for the Nintendo DS have joined forces with the creative minds behind the “Harvest Moon” and “Rune Factory” series to release one of the more creative handheld RPG titles of the year to date with the clever and fun “Avalon Code,” a game that may be far from perfect but is unique enough to warrant a look for all RPG fans.
Slideshow: 33-Image Gallery From ‘17 Again’ With Zac Efron, Matthew Perry
Submitted by BrianTT on March 24, 2009 - 11:08amCHICAGO – This 33-image slideshow contains the press images for Warner Brothers’ “17 Again,” starring Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, Michelle Trachtenberg, Sterling Knight, and Melora Hardin. Written by Jason Filardi and directed by Burr Steers, the film opens on Friday, April 17th, 2009.
DVD Review: Akira Kurosawa Returns to Criterion Collection With ‘Dodes’da Ken’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 24, 2009 - 10:57am DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I’m not sure, but I think there are more Akira Kurosawa titles available in the Criterion Collection than any other filmmaker. His classic films like “Ran,” “Rashomon,” “Seven Samurai,” and “Yojimbo” have been critically acclaimed releases for the influential series of DVDs. His 24th title in the Criterion Collection is last week’s “Dodes’da Ken,” one of the greatest directors of all time’s first film in color.
