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+.
November 2012
‘Life of Pi’ Offers Little More Than Stunning Visuals
Submitted by BrianTT on November 20, 2012 - 4:13pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi” is a film that defies much critical thought in that it demands dismissal of such things in order to work. It is a story that needs to be transcendent in the way it transports the viewer through its fantastic tale that promises nothing less than evidence of God.
TV News: Starz Cancels Chicago-Set Drama ‘Boss’
Submitted by BrianTT on November 20, 2012 - 12:25pmCHICAGO – We didn’t see this one coming. Starz has canceled their most highly-acclaimed drama “Boss,” starring Kelsey Grammer, Golden Globe-winner less than a year ago. The show had a number of critics on its side but the ratings never matched the press and Starz has decided not to re-elect the program for a third year.
Blu-ray Review: Massive Set For HBO’s ‘Entourage: The Complete Series’
Submitted by BrianTT on November 20, 2012 - 12:19pmCHICAGO – There was a time when I actually considered how great the “Entourage” complete series set would be one day. In the show’s prime, this comedy about the intersection of friendship and fame was brilliant. Carried by stellar performances from Jeremy Piven and Kevin Dillon, the great years of this show nearly justify the purchase of “Entourage: The Complete Series.” Just ignore how drastically the program went downhill in later years.
Blu-ray Review: Oliver Stone’s Diverting ‘Savages’ Settles for Trashy Thrills
Submitted by mattmovieman on November 20, 2012 - 11:25amCHICAGO – Perhaps acknowledging that his status amongst Hollywood muckrakers has diminished in recent years, Oliver Stone follows up his toothless Bush biopic and needless “Wall Street” sequel with a wholly inconsequential yet thoroughly diverting little thriller. It’s pure trash that also happens to be Stone’s most compulsively watchable effort since 1995’s “Nixon.”
Video Game Review: ‘Assassin’s Creed III’ is a Cruel Mistress
Submitted by BrianTT on November 20, 2012 - 9:47amCHICAGO – About a year ago, after a particularly fruitful perusing of my OkCupid quiver, I started up a conversation with a very sweet girl named Maria. She was in law school, liked cats, bad reality tv, drinking heavily, and wearing heels that made her appear about a foot taller than she actually was.
Blu-ray Review: Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis in Leaden ‘The Campaign’
Submitted by BrianTT on November 20, 2012 - 12:03amCHICAGO – Jay Roach’s “The Campaign” should have been a slam dunk. A political comedy during an intense Presidential campaign with two of the funniest actors in movies today from a director who knows how politics can make for bizarre behavior after helming HBO’s stellar “Campaign Change” about Sarah Palin & John McCain. How could it fail? While “The Campaign” isn’t an outright disaster, it’s ultimately a disappointment, taking easy shots at physical humor and sex jokes instead of the clever satire it could have been.
Interview: Josh Peck Keeps Kicking it in ‘Red Dawn’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 19, 2012 - 6:16pmCHICAGO – When we last saw teen idol Josh Peck (“Drake & Josh”), he was selling special ice cream in the 2008 film, “The Wackness.” That film established him as an actor who could handle more adult themes. He expands further in the action movie “Red Dawn,” playing a student turned soldier.
Video Game Review: ‘WWE 13’ is the Ultimate Playground
Submitted by BrianTT on November 19, 2012 - 1:53pmCHICAGO – Wrestling games have always been a curious genre. They’ve always treated matches as if they’re actual athletic competitions, where one guy is attempting to beat the other guy within an inch of his life and pin him or make him submit. This is problematic since we all know that a real pro-wrestling match is more akin to a heavily muscled dance number than an actual fight (though they both get colorful outfits) and the excitement of a match - innovative moves, heightened drama, near falls - are all but absent in the “wrestling is real” gameplay model because simply put, the better you are, the shorter and less fun your matches will be, especially against the historically brain-dead AI you find in wrestling games.
TV Review: ‘The Layover with Anthony Bourdain’ Comes to Chicago
Submitted by BrianTT on November 19, 2012 - 1:36pmCHICAGO – The great Anthony Bourdain, who entertained viewers for seasons with his foodie adventures around the world on “No Reservations,” has altered his recipe a bit for The Travel Channel’s “The Layover with Anthony Bourdain,” which returns tonight for a second season premiere which finds the chef/personality spending 43 hours in our favorite city in the world, Chicago.
Video Game Review: Good Luck Bonding With ‘007 Legends’
Submitted by BrianTT on November 19, 2012 - 11:25amCHICAGO – It starts with a moment from Skyfall in which Bond is shot by a sniper as he fights on top of a train. Falling helpless into a river he has a series of flashbacks which form the basis of the rest of the game. It’s an apt setup for a game that suffers from loss of vision and ultimately has all the energy of a project that is in desperate need of rescue.
Film Feature: The 10 Best Hitchcock Jaw-Droppers
Submitted by BrianTT on November 19, 2012 - 10:38amCHICAGO – Sacha Gervasi’s “Hitchcock” (which we will review Wednesday) takes moviegoers back to the landmark year when the Master of Suspense reached the final peak of a career that spanned over five decades.
Film Review: Strange, Beguiling Sean Penn in ‘This Must Be the Place’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 18, 2012 - 2:10amCHICAGO – Sean Penn picks his roles carefully, and famously said he didn’t know what the story meant in “Tree of Life.” His attachment to “This Must Be the Place” continues the vague journey through movieland, as he plays a bizarre and aging rock star whose life is about to get interesting.
Strange, Beguiling Sean Penn in ‘This Must Be the Place’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 18, 2012 - 2:06amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Sean Penn picks his roles carefully, and famously said he didn’t know what the story meant in “Tree of Life.” His attachment to “This Must Be the Place” continues the vague journey through movieland, as he plays a bizarre and aging rock star whose life is about to get interesting.
Film Review: Amazing Ensemble Rewrites ‘Silver Linings Playbook’
Submitted by BrianTT on November 16, 2012 - 3:32pmCHICAGO – It’s funny that a movie with the word “Playbook” in its title is so clearly about how those of us who think we know exactly where life is taking us are merely kidding ourselves. Like so many of us, the hero of “Silver Linings Playbook,” Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper), has a plan to find happiness, to find his silver lining.
Theater Review: Reality is Analyzed in Passionate New Play ‘Loom’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 16, 2012 - 10:50amCHICAGO – Storefront theater is the lifeblood of new works in Chicago, and it is often where a performance of true fire can be found. The new play “Loom,” presented by the theater group “Nothing Without a Company,” is a prime case-in-point, advancing a passionate new voice for the stage.
Film Review: Brilliant Staging Bolsters Emotionally Hollow ‘Anna Karenina’
Submitted by mattmovieman on November 16, 2012 - 9:32amCHICAGO – Though cinema is first and foremost a visual medium, too many modern directors have become prone to using it as a stage for long-winded exposition. No matter how polished the lensing is in a film like David Fincher’s “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” remake, the picture basically amounts to a series of dense dialogue passages interrupted by violence.
Brilliant Staging Bolsters Emotionally Hollow ‘Anna Karenina’
Submitted by mattmovieman on November 16, 2012 - 9:22amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Though cinema is first and foremost a visual medium, too many modern directors have become prone to using it as a stage for long-winded exposition. No matter how polished the lensing is in a film like David Fincher’s “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” remake, the picture basically amounts to a series of dense dialogue passages interrupted by violence.
Film Review: ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2’ Takes Final Bloodless Bite
Submitted by BrianTT on November 15, 2012 - 4:09pmCHICAGO – Even the most hardcore, defiant fans of “The Twilight Saga” must admit that there clearly was not enough material in Stephenie Meyer’s final book to justify two films.
‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2’ Takes Final Bloodless Bite
Submitted by BrianTT on November 15, 2012 - 4:04pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Even the most hardcore, defiant fans of “The Twilight Saga” must admit that there clearly was not enough material in Stephenie Meyer’s final book to justify two films as “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2” plays more like a bloated final hour of a better movie than an actually satisfying experience on its own terms.
Blu-ray Review: ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ Still Delights 10 Years Later
Submitted by mattmovieman on November 15, 2012 - 6:45amCHICAGO – It is with mixed emotions that one regards the tenth anniversary edition of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” On one hand, it evokes memories of the crowded theaters that guffawed in delight during the film’s year-long theatrical run. On the other hand, it serves as a bitter reminder of the failed career it had promised to launch.
Interview: Charlie Bewley, Daniel Cudmore on ‘The Twilight Saga’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 14, 2012 - 3:46pmCHICAGO – “The Twilight Saga” is about to sing its Bella Swan song, as the final film in the series – “Breaking Dawn - Part 2” – opens on November 16th. Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and the gangs of vampires and werewolves are wrapping it up, and two of the supporting actors – Daniel Cudmore and Charlie Bewley – will move on to other projects.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 30 Pairs of Passes to ‘Anna Karenina’ With Keira Knightley, Jude Law
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 14, 2012 - 12:37amCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 30 pairs of movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of “Anna Karenina” with Keira Knightley and Jude Law!
Blu-ray Review: ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ Lacks Charm of Predecessors
Submitted by mattmovieman on November 13, 2012 - 10:12amCHICAGO – Gritty realism proves to be a perfect fit for some superhero franchises, but “Spider-Man” isn’t one of them. The more grounded and practical the world of Peter Parker becomes, the sillier the whole thing gets. Sam Raimi’s trilogy flourished precisely because it resembled a cheerfully vibrant comic book come to life. In contrast, “The Amazing Spider-Man” is a bore.
Trailer Tracking: ‘World War Z,’ ‘Warm Bodies,’ ‘The Last Stand’
Submitted by BrianTT on November 13, 2012 - 10:06amCHICAGO – Blame the recent popularity of “The Walking Dead,” but zombies have never been more mainstream consumer-friendly and, as such, Hollywood is taking advantage of the trend. And one of the many great things about zombie movies is that they’re scalable.
DVD Review: Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Rashomon’ Redefined Cinema
Submitted by BrianTT on November 12, 2012 - 10:37pmCHICAGO – The Criterion Collection has had a long relationship with Akira Kurosawa fans, releasing several of his films in the past, including “The Seven Samurai,” “Yojimbo,” and “Ran.” They have chosen “Rashomon” as the latest in their line of films to upgrade for Blu-ray and re-released on Criterion DVD. We got the latter and it’s another beauty.
DVD Review: Criterion Captures Horror Classic in ‘Rosemary’s Baby’
Submitted by BrianTT on November 12, 2012 - 9:44pmCHICAGO – Any film fan that hasn’t seen Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby” has not yet completed Movies 101. The fact is that this work is a reference point for so many others that anyone who loves cinema simply must see it to understand the form. Roman Polanski’s 1968 adaptation of Ira Levin’s hit book is a near-perfect example of urban horror, the scary story built around the idea that any door in any apartment building could be hiding pure Hell. It’s the latest addition to The Criterion Collection and a fantastic choice by the brain trust at the company that chose to include it.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 10 Pairs of Passes to ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 12, 2012 - 8:28pmCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 10 pairs of movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the highly anticipated series finale “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2”!
Blu-ray Review: ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ Still Reflects Back to Us
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 12, 2012 - 12:00pmCHICAGO – Relate the now iconic term “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” and most likely a off-tune rendering of the famous rock song by U2 will follow. But the title was originally expressed in director John Schlesinger’s groundbreaking film of 1971, “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” recently released on Blu-ray through The Criterion Collection.
Blu-ray Review: Billy Wilder’s ‘Sunset Boulevard’ Still Looks Great in Close-Up
Submitted by mattmovieman on November 12, 2012 - 9:44amCHICAGO – With her chin pointed high, eyes bulging, teeth gleaming and hands contorting as if performing a Transylvanian spell, screen actress Norma Desmond insists that she’s ready for her close-up. She descends her staircase and becomes fully engulfed in the gray haze of her delusions in one of the greatest and most unforgettable final scenes in cinema history.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 40 Pairs of Passes to ‘Red Dawn’ With Chris Hemsworth
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 11, 2012 - 7:37pmCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 40 pairs of movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the highly anticipated “Red Dawn” with Chris Hemsworth!