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+.
Adam Driver
Interview: ‘Mud’ Director Jeff Nichols Drives the ‘Midnight Special’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 29, 2016 - 12:44pmCHICAGO – Writer/Director Jeff Nichols is a pure American voice, understanding the dreams of the U.S. culture, and how those dreams interact with the morality they create. After breaking out with the films “Take Shelter” and “Mud,” he is back with his latest cinema vision, “Midnight Special.”
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 20 Pairs of Passes to SXSW Hit ‘Midnight Special’ With Michael Shannon
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on March 27, 2016 - 12:11pmCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 20 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the SXSW Film Festival sci-fi hit “Midnight Special” starring Michael Shannon and Jaeden Lieberher!
Film Review: ‘Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens’ is the One We’ve Been Waiting For
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on December 16, 2015 - 3:01am- Adam Driver
- Adam Fendelman
- Andy Serkis
- Carrie Fisher
- Daisy Ridley
- Domhnall Gleeson
- George Lucas
- Gwendoline Christie
- Harrison Ford
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- J.J. Abrams
- John Boyega
- Lupita Nyong'o
- Mark Hamill
- Oscar Isaac
- Peter Mayhew
- Simon Pegg
- Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
- Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
CHICAGO (No Spoilers!) – I felt privileged on Tuesday morning. Not just to be a Chicago film critic, but to be a movie lover. Film critics and movie lovers alike wade through scores of yawners hoping for one or two masterpieces that remind us why we fell in love with the experience of watching a film in the company of people we like.
Film Review: An Age Range of Human Conditions in ‘While We’re Young’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 3, 2015 - 8:25pmCHICAGO – We’re born, we’re nurtured, we seek purpose and we die. In between there are a million decisions between the words of that opening sentence, and writer/director Noah Baumbach understands that intuitively in his great new film, “While We’re Young.”
Interview: Director Noah Baumbach on Timing in ‘While We’re Young’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 1, 2015 - 12:32amCHICAGO – Director Noah Baumbach is a master in creating cinematic atmosphere. Whether it’s the adolescent mood of “The Squid and the Whale,” the weird loneliness of “Frances Ha” or his screenplays with director Wes Anderson, Baumbach generates a worthy emotional imprint. His latest film is “While We’re Young.”
Film Review: Luminous Story of Disconnection in Organic ‘Tracks’
Submitted by NickHC on September 26, 2014 - 12:26pmCHICAGO – “Do you ever wonder if the things that are meant to connect us … actually disconnect us?” This cheesy hypothesis as found in many millennial dramas has only caused the film world go to in circles about the quandary of handheld screens and social media. With its cool air, John Curran’s low-key adventure “Tracks” takes a line straight through that argument, providing a story of disconnection from distraction as set in a world when Apple products were only gadgets on re-runs of “Star Trek.”
Film Review: Unoriginal, Unfunny ‘This is Where I Leave You’ a Poor Man’s ‘August: Osage County’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 19, 2014 - 9:02pmCHICAGO – Jason Bateman and an all-star cast got me there. The unfunny copycat story left me regretting it. If you don’t start with a solid plot that’s at least somewhat new, it doesn’t matter how many “A”-listers you throw into an ensemble. They’re just individuals doing the best they can with weak material.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 40 Pairs of Passes to ‘This is Where I Leave You’ With Jason Bateman
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 11, 2014 - 9:30pm- Aaron Lazar
- Abigail Spencer
- Adam Driver
- Adam Fendelman
- Ben Schwartz
- Connie Britton
- Corey Stoll
- Dax Shepard
- Debra Monk
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film
- Jane Fonda
- Jason Bateman
- Jonathan Tropper
- Kathryn Hahn
- Rose Byrne
- Shawn Levy
- This is Where I Leave You
- Timothy Olyphant
- Tina Fey
- Warner Bros.
CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new dramatic comedy “This is Where I Leave You” starring Jason Bateman and Tina Fey!
Film Review: An Unnatural Approach to Romance in ‘What If’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 8, 2014 - 6:05pmCHICAGO – “What If” is a really bad title, but that is the least of the film’s concerns, apparently, as the old can-man-and-women-be-friends canard rears its indecisive but predictable head (snicker). This time it’s interpreted through Harry Potter and Elia Kazan’s granddaughter, if this is to be believed.
Film Review: ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ Resonates Like Long-Lost Folk Masterpiece
Submitted by BrianTT on December 19, 2013 - 11:29amFilms about musicians are remarkably common. Artists from one medium have always loved to put themselves in the well-worn shoes of craftsmen from another. Most of them are stories of an underrated talent rising to the top of his profession, designed for both audience and filmmaker to live vicariously through the protagonist’s success.