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
TV Review: ‘Past Life’ Fails to Reincarnate Anything Entertaining
Submitted by BrianTT on February 9, 2010 - 12:59pmCHICAGO – FOX’s new supernatural drama “Past Life” is a laughable waste of time, a show that feels like an inferior version of a dozen other programs, coming off as a weak variation on “Medium,” “The Ghost Whisperer,” and countless other procedurals.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 25 ‘Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief’ Chicagoland Passes With Uma Thurman
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on February 8, 2010 - 1:12pmCHICAGO – In our latest fantasy edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicagoland screening of “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”!
Blu-Ray Review: Dull ‘Amelia’ Should Be Grounded
Submitted by BrianTT on February 8, 2010 - 12:29pmCHICAGO – It seems downright sad that “Amelia,” a movie that was so widely predicted to be a part of the 2009 awards season, would be released on Blu-ray and DVD on the same day as the Oscar announcements. On paper, “Amelia” seemed like Oscar bait through and through with important subject matter headlined by one of the few women to have more than one Oscar. On Blu-ray, it’s easy to see why this cinematic plane crashed and burned.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,’ ‘Mystic River’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 8, 2010 - 11:06amCHICAGO – I know what you’re thinking: What do “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Mystic River” have in common? Nothing at all other than a Blu-ray release date of February 2nd, 2010. Oh, and they’re two films you should probably own if you have a Blu-ray player.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘New York, I Love You’ Celebrates Cinema, Forgets City
Submitted by mattmovieman on February 5, 2010 - 2:19pmCHICAGO – For film lovers unable to attend international film festivals, “Paris, je t’aime” provided an irresistible glimpse at world cinema. Eighteen celebrated filmmakers were each recruited to make a short subject set in the City of Love, thus allowing audiences to view the same town from different cultural perspectives. Some shorts worked better than others, but the resounding majority of them were utterly captivating.
Blu-Ray Review: Jason Bourne Films Continue to Deliver With Combo Releases
Submitted by BrianTT on February 5, 2010 - 12:01pmCHICAGO – The Universal release of “The Bourne Trilogy” was not only one of the best Blu-ray titles of 2009 but it’s still one of the best box sets on the HD market twelve months later. The question is how does Universal continue to make a dime on the Matt Damon juggernaut of a franchise while we wait for the latest drama regarding the potential fourth film. Welcome to the Bourne flipper discs.
Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried Can’t Quite Deliver ‘Dear John’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 5, 2010 - 9:29amCHICAGO – Love stories are as common at the movies as popcorn and sticky floors. Despite this, rising stars Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried add their own spin to the timeworn plot theme in “Dear John.”
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Love Happens’ Epitomizes Dire State of Romantic Comedy
Submitted by mattmovieman on February 4, 2010 - 3:20pmCHICAGO – In the realm of lazy date movies, “Love Happens” achieves a sort of morbid grandeur. There isn’t a single original or authentic moment in all 109 minutes of the picture, which is so devoted to its formulaic structure that it often doesn’t make a lick of sense. People say and do things for no conceivable reason other than to create “crises” leading to “resolutions” leading to audience exasperation.
Interview: Michael Hoffman Stops at Academy Awards With ‘The Last Station’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 4, 2010 - 2:29pmCHICAGO – When the Oscar nominations were announced earlier this week one of the more unfamiliar titles was probably “The Last Station,” a historical drama nominated for Best Actress (Helen Mirren) and Best Supporting Actor (Christopher Plummer).
TV Review: ‘Important Things With Demetri Martin,’ ‘The Sarah Silverman Program’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 4, 2010 - 11:31amCHICAGO – Demetri Martin and Sarah Silverman are now back-to-back on Thursday nights on Comedy Central with “Important Things With Demetri Martin” and “The Sarah Silverman Program” and the two incredibly talented comedians make for a perfect fit as both shows have similar strengths and weaknesses.
Interviews: Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried Talk Twosome in ‘Dear John’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 3, 2010 - 4:21pmCHICAGO – Hot young stars are always welcome on the playground of popular culture. Prime examples are Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, whose charming insights highlight their up-and-coming status in promoting their new film, “Dear John.”
Blu-Ray Review: Great Box Set of ‘Doctor Who: The Complete Specials’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 3, 2010 - 11:48amCHICAGO – The last five hours of David Tennant’s spectacular run as the tenth doctor of “Doctor Who” have been collected in a great Blu-ray box set from BBC Home Video titled “Doctor Who: The Complete Specials”. Tennant was recently voted the most popular doctor in the long history of the beloved show. Watching these five hour-long specials makes it clear why.
Blu-Ray Review: Tense, Clever Horror Throwback ‘House of the Devil’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 3, 2010 - 11:08amCHICAGO – Ti West’s “House of the Devil” became arguably the most buzzed horror film of 2009 not named “Paranormal Activity” with universal critical acclaim and even a spot on a few top ten lists at the end of the year. Most movie goers didn’t get a chance to catch it in theaters, but it will have a huge shelf life on DVD and Blu-ray.