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+.
Ashley Judd
DVD Review: First Seasons of ABC’s ‘GCB,’ ‘Missing,’ ‘Scandal’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 19, 2012 - 11:14amCHICAGO – ABC/Disney has released three of their Spring 2012 mid-season shows on DVD in time for, well, to say goodbye to two of them and catch up on the third. The releases for “GCB” and “Missing” could have been labeled “Complete Series” as ABC pulled the plug on both shows but Shonda Rhimes’ “Scandal” is being given another chance to find a larger audience in the Fall. All three sets are well-loaded with special features.
TV Review: ABC’s Inconsistent but Intriguing ‘Missing’ with Ashley Judd
Submitted by BrianTT on March 15, 2012 - 2:03pmCHICAGO – I’m right on the critical median with ABC’s “Missing.” On one hand, it’s inconsistent, poorly written, and kind of just silly. It’s tempting to dismiss like an overheated Lifetime movie. On the other hand, Ashley Judd is better than most Lifetime leads, the action is actually pretty tight, and I like the creative potential of a show that’s promised viewers that it will wrap up its first story in ten episodes. Which hand wins out? You decide.
Blu-ray Review: ‘Dolphin Tale’ Surprisingly Delivers Quality Family Entertainment
Submitted by mattmovieman on January 4, 2012 - 8:19amCHICAGO – As a refreshing departure from the snarky, shrill and soulless time wasters passing for children’s entertainment these days, this wholesome, fact-based drama works perfectly well. It captures some of the innocence and warmth that characterized ’60s-era Disney fare, as well as the blandness and exceedingly high cheese factor.
Blu-ray Review: ‘Flypaper’ Falters With Paper-Thin Characterizations
Submitted by mattmovieman on November 30, 2011 - 8:21amCHICAGO – After the not-so-surprising success of the heavily marketed farce “The Hangover,” Jon Lucas and Scott Moore have quickly become Hollywood’s most overrated screenwriters. They specialize in injecting high concepts with frat-boy vulgarity, mean spirited gags and entirely superficial warmth. If Zach Galifianakis hadn’t bolstered “Hangover” with his deadpan genius, the film almost surely would’ve flopped.
Interview: Director Charles Martin Smith Spins a ‘Dolphin Tale’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 29, 2011 - 12:59pmCHICAGO – Charles Martin Smith has had a varied career as an actor and a director. He was one of the famous ensemble cast members of “American Graffiti,” directed by George Lucas, and broke out himself as a director in the mid-1980s. His latest work as a filmmaker was one of last week’s big box office hits, “Dolphin Tale.”
Film Review: Feel Goodness of ‘Dolphin Tale’ Overcomes Clichés
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 24, 2011 - 7:43amCHICAGO – In the tradition of live-action Disney films of another era, “Dolphin Tale” wears its heart on its sleeve, while at the same time using the characters as two-dimensional window dressing around a based-on-truth story of humans and an animal bonding together to inspire a nation.
Blu-Ray Review: Michael Mann’s ‘Heat’ a Modern Masterpiece
Submitted by BrianTT on November 11, 2009 - 4:23pmCHICAGO – Michael Mann might first seem the ideal fit for Blu-Ray. He’s a notorious perfectionist, apparent in every frame of his remarkable output of films that includes such great modern classics as “Manhunter,” “The Insider,” “Collateral,” and “Public Enemies”.
Blu-Ray, DVD Round Up, June 16, 2009: ‘Crossing Over,’ ‘Woodstock,’ ‘The Cell 2’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 16, 2009 - 8:00amCHICAGO – It’s time to dig a little deeper at HollywoodChicago.com and pull out a standard and HD edition of the Round-Up, our regular column that gives you the synopsis, features, and technical details on several titles that we either couldn’t get around to full-length reviewing or we didn’t think deserved the time.