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+.
HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 60 Pairs of Chicago Passes to ‘Super 8’ From Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 2, 2011 - 3:08pmCHICAGO – In our latest highly anticipated sci-fi edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 60 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the new highly anticipated film “Super 8” from J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg!
Film Feature: Which X-Men We Want to See in Next X-Sequel
Submitted by BrianTT on June 2, 2011 - 12:31pmCHICAGO – Comic book fans, particularly X-Men fans, have been pretty spoiled lately. Anyone over the age of fifteen might not remember this, but there was a time back when it was essentially impossible to imagine seeing an honest-to-god movie version of your favorite comic book character on the big screen.
Blu-Ray Review: Sergio Leone’s Timeless ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 1, 2011 - 9:39pmCHICAGO – Any conversation of the best Westerns in movie history that doesn’t include Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in the West” is incomplete. It’s one of those rare films that has truly gotten better with age. I’m not sure if it’s just that I appreciate it more the older I get, but I’m not alone. The film now ranks high on nearly every important list of the best movies ever made. Yes, it’s that good, and the Blu-ray restoration, which hit stores this week, is a beauty.
Blu-Ray Review: Derivative, Generic ‘I Am Number Four’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 1, 2011 - 8:59pmCHICAGO – Very few films have felt more made my a movie-making machine than the dull “I Am Number Four,” a film that hopes so desperately to feel like something that you’ve seen before and that you’ll like the familiarity that it never develops a personality of its own. With a dull lead, lackluster romance, goofy dialogue, and melodramatic storytelling, “I Am Number Four” disappoints in nearly every way that a movie can.
Blu-Ray Review: Alejandro González Iñárritu’s ‘Biutiful’ Numbs the Senses
Submitted by mattmovieman on June 1, 2011 - 10:30amCHICAGO – The feel bad movie of 2010 has finally arrived in stores. Pardon me for withholding my enthusiasm. Although Alejandro González Iñárritu’s fourth feature has its share of indelible images, its familiar themes and unrelenting solemnity causes the senses to become numbed rather than engaged. The film offers 147 minutes of pure bleakness with a couple booger jokes thrown in for last-minute levity.
TV Review: Strong Cast Anchors Drama of ‘Men of a Certain Age’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 1, 2011 - 9:46amCHICAGO – TNT’s “Men of a Certain Age,” returning this week to finish out its second season with six episodes that the producers promise will be backed with character-driven drama, has quietly grown not just a loyal following but a reasonably strong critical foundation as well.
TV Review: ‘Franklin & Bash’ Makes For Enjoyable Summer Diversion
Submitted by BrianTT on May 31, 2011 - 7:47pmCHICAGO – Chemistry between cast members is an underrated essential of hit television. We need to believe that a couple, whether they be romantic or a pair of buddies, aren’t just actors on assignment. That feeling that a husband and wife or a pair of friends probably hate each other as soon as the director calls cut can sink a project that relies on chemistry.
Blu-Ray Review: Natalie Portman Can’t Save Melodramatic ‘The Other Woman’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 31, 2011 - 7:44pmCHICAGO – Natalie Portman gets betrayed by a seriously flawed screenplay in the melodrama “The Other Woman,” formerly called and based on a book called “Love and Other Impossible Pursuits.” After playing film festivals in 2009, the Don Roos’ film is finally getting a Blu-ray and DVD release to capitalize on Portman’s fame from winning the Oscar for “Black Swan.” Despite typically-strong work by the multi-talented star, the movie’s a tonal mess with an inconsistent screenplay that the strong central performance cannot save.
On WGN Radio: HollywoodChicago.com’s Brian Tallerico on ‘Men of a Certain Age,’ ‘Franklin & Bash’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 31, 2011 - 11:18amCHICAGO – Brian Tallerico guests on Bill Moller’s show on WGN-Radio in Chicago on May 28, 2011 to discuss new TNT premieres, “Men of a Certain Age” and “Franklin & Bash.”
Interview: ‘Franklin & Bash’ Stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Breckin Meyer
Submitted by BrianTT on May 31, 2011 - 10:59amCHICAGO – The stars of the new TNT legal comedy “Franklin and Bash,” Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer, have been playing the PR game long enough that they’re completely comfortable sitting in front of a reporter and just being themselves. When I walked in on them at the Four Seasons in Chicago, they were both on their smart phones laughing and tweeting. It seemed a natural place to start.
Blu-Ray Review: Tom Cruise’s Star Power Shines Bright in ‘The Firm’
Submitted by mattmovieman on May 31, 2011 - 9:49amCHICAGO – Sydney Pollack was a filmmaker who could do anything: sweeping romantic melodramas, side-splitting satires and epic yet intimate tragedies. It’s easy to forget that Pollack could also craft a superb commercial thriller every once in a while, and 1993’s “The Firm” falls under that category. Despite a few dated elements, the picture holds up surprisingly well.
DVD Review: Andrei Tarkovsky’s Daring Science Fiction ‘Solaris’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 30, 2011 - 9:14pmCHICAGO – Modern viewers may be more familiar with Steven Soderbergh & George Clooney’s remake of “Solaris,” a good film on its own merits as it’s so different from its source in tone, but the massively influential original version by the legendary Andrei Tarkovsky holds a far more prominent place in film history. Tarkovsky’s mesmerizing piece of science fiction has been a part of the Criterion Collection for some time but it’s been chosen to get the upgrade to the Blu-ray department of the legendary line of releases and so the standard DVD, which was the only version we could get our hands on, was given a new treatment as well.
On WGN Radio: HollywoodChicago.com’s Brian Tallerico on TV Network Schedules
Submitted by BrianTT on May 30, 2011 - 8:48pmCHICAGO – Brian Tallerico guests on Bill Moller’s show on WGN-Radio in Chicago on May 21, 2011 to discuss TV news including the announcements of all five of the network schedules with a focus on the shuffling at CBS, the aggressive new lineup at ABC, and the return of old TV stars like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Tim Allen.
