CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Samuel L. Jackson
Un-Buddy-Like Violence in ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 17, 2017 - 5:55pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One day I would like to meet a professional assassin. Are they as quippy and biblical as Samuel L. Jackson? This tired movie occupation is trotted out again, this time pairing Jackson with Ryan Reynolds, in an overwrought and ultra-violent buddy comedy, “The Hitman’s Bodyguard.”
Rousing Adventure Awaits in ‘Kong: Skull Island’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 10, 2017 - 10:48amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – King Kong is a wholly generated creature of the movies. Ever since the gorilla legend came to life on screen way back in 1933, he has appeared in countless official remakes, cheap exploitation flicks and now as a symbol of American overreach. He still rules in “Kong: Skull Island.”
2017 Best Doc Oscar Nominee ‘I Am Not Your Negro’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 6, 2017 - 5:15pmRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The terms that have been used to describe African Americans over the years …black, afro-americans, negro and worse… has always been what others had named them, the others that wanted to marginalize, categorize and group individuals into images of words. The documentary “I Am Not Your Negro” seeks to upend these generalizations and in turn, those words.
Quentin Tarantino Stays Familiar in ‘The Hateful Eight’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 25, 2015 - 6:09amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Story-wise, there is not much difference in “The Hateful Eight” – regarding themes and violence – that writer/director Quentin Tarantino hasn’t explored before. But it is also an outrageous and big western tale, and it’s presented in some theaters in a huge 70mm screen format.
Inventive ‘Chi-raq’ is an Authentic Plea for Sanity
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 4, 2015 - 10:48amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – A spotlight on Chicago, in the context of guns and violence, is never a good thing for the overall community. But using Chicago as a metaphor for all violent insanity, and making a plea for peace, is the purpose of director Spike Lee’s new film, “Chi-raq.”
‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ More Exhausting Than Exhilarating
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 1, 2015 - 1:14amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “The Avengers: Age Of Ultron” is another overstuffed, action packed CGI addled slugfest from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. but the effects are exhausting instead of exhilarating. What has set the Avengers apart is the great interplay between the characters – and when the movie stops to take a breath, those relationships shine through.
Rousing ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ Hits Modern Society’s Central Nervous System
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on April 30, 2015 - 11:14pm- Aaron Taylor-Johnson
- Adam Fendelman
- Anthony Mackie
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Chris Evans
- Chris Hemsworth
- Cobie Smulders
- Don Cheadle
- Elizabeth Olsen
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jack Kirby
- James Spader
- Jeremy Renner
- Joss Whedon
- Mark Ruffalo
- Marvel Studios
- Movie Review
- Paul Bettany
- Robert Downey Jr.
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Scarlett Johansson
- Stan Lee
- The Avengers
- Walt Disney Studios
Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Look. We all know sequels usually suck. And blockbuster films often get panned for overprioritizing special effects at the expense of a well-written story and character development. Even when a story in a big-budget film is redeeming, it’s practically impossible not to shoot holes through it.
Mixed Bag of Marvel Tricks in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 30, 2015 - 8:10amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Whew. There is so much going on in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” that you practically need a program to keep up with the players. This mixed bag has overwrought comic book action, head shaking plot points, and the usual Marvel angst that includes some riveting scenes.
‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ is Fun, Very Odd
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 13, 2015 - 10:09amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Part James Bond, part absurdist adventure, “Kingsman: The Secret Service” is nonetheless a romp, with Colin Firth handling the Brit spy role with a natural aplomb. If the notion of a super secret rogue spy agency under a London tailor shop is something that sounds intriguing, that doesn’t even begin to tell the tale.
Near-Perfect ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ Defies Common Sequel Disappointment
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on April 6, 2014 - 2:59pm- Adam Fendelman
- Anthony Mackie
- Anthony Russo
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Chris Evans
- Christopher Markus
- Cobie Smulders
- Ed Brubaker
- Hayley Atwel
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jack Kirby
- Joe Russo
- Joe Simon
- Joss Whedon
- Movie Review
- Robert Redford
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Scarlett Johansson
- Sebastian Stan
- Stan Lee
- Stephen McFeely
Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If the original is anything to applaud, the sequel usually isn’t. And even more rarely is the sequel actually better.
While it’s aggressive to market “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” as one of the “best superhero movies of all time” and more realistic to pitch it as “better than ‘The Avengers,’” it most certainly is 2014’s best action flick yet and it definitely defies common sequel disappointment.