Magnolia Pictures

Film Review: ‘I Melt With You’ Succumbs to Shallow Pretensions

I Melt with You Film Review

CHICAGO – Mark Pellington’s “I Melt with You” is one of the worst movies of 2011, but has the benefit of also being among the weirdest. Students of rotten cinema will surely flock to this disaster simply to watch it in morbid, mouth-gaping awe. Yet without a scenery chewing wild card like Nicolas Cage in the ensemble, this mournful mess is far from an enjoyable guilty pleasure.

Film Review: ‘Blackthorn’ Offers Wistful Rethinking of Butch Cassidy Legend

Blackthorn Film Review

CHICAGO – Western buffs have often criticized George Roy Hill’s 1969 classic, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” for romanticizing its subject matter to the point where it felt less concerned about its titular criminals and more interested in the friendship between stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Yet for all of the charm in William Goldman’s script, there was an underlying darkness and tragic poignance that allowed the final act to pack an unforgettable punch.

Film Review: Rutger Hauer Stars in Grindhouse Lunacy of ‘Hobo With a Shotgun’

Hobo With a Shotgun
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – What do you expect from a movie called “Hobo With a Shotgun” (other than perhaps the most truthful title since “Snakes on a Plane”)? If you’re spending hard-earned money on a movie about a vengeful homeless person played by Rutger Hauer, you probably know what you’re in for. On those grindhouse terms, “Hobo With a Shotgun” totally works. It’s so far over-the-top that it makes “Machete” look believable, but that’s why it’s effective. Unlike so many movies you will see this season, “Hobo With a Shotgun” delivers.

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Free DVDs to ‘Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,’ ‘Food, Inc.,’ ‘Man on Wire’

Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer

CHICAGO – In this edition of the HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, two lucky winners will win three DVDs each from Magnolia Pictures for the movies “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” “Man on Wire” and “Food, Inc.” in support of the new film “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” from Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney!

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Signed Poster By ‘Barry Munday’ Star Patrick Wilson, Two Magnolia DVDs

Barry Munday with Patrick Wilson and Judy Greer

CHICAGO – In this edition of the HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, two lucky winners will clean up with two DVDs from Magnolia Pictures for the movies “The Great Buck Howard” and “The Answer Man” plus a full-size poster for “Barry Munday” signed by Patrick Wilson, Judy Greer and director Chris D’Arienzo!

Film Review: Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck Annoy in Worthless ‘I’m Still Here’

CHICAGO – Is “I’m Still Here,” the story of Joaquin Phoenix’s attempts to leave behind his acting career and try to make it as a hip-hop star, an elaborate piece of performance art or a documentary about an identity crisis of a man committing professional suicide? The problem is that the answer is irrelevant. Either way, “I’m Still Here” is grating, boring, and completely without value.

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Signed Poster By ‘The Extra Man’ Stars Kevin Kline, Paul Dano; Three Magnolia DVDs

The Extra Man poster with Kevin Kline, Paul Dano

CHICAGO – In this edition of the HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, one lucky winner will clean up with three DVDs from Magnolia Pictures for the movies “The Great Buck Howard,” “What Just Happened” and “Finding Amanda” plus a full-size poster for “The Extra Man” signed by filmmaker Shari Springer Berman and stars Kevin Kline and Paul Dano!

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: ‘Countdown to Zero’ Signed Poster, DVDs to ‘No End in Sight,’ ‘Food, Inc.,’ ‘Man on Wire’

Countdown to Zero movie poster

CHICAGO – In this edition of the HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, one lucky winner will clean up with three DVDs from Magnolia Pictures for the movies “Man on Wire,” “Food, Inc.” and “No End in Sight” plus a full-size poster for “Countdown to Zero” signed by director Lucy Walker, producer Lawrence Bender and narrator Valerie Plame Wilson!

Film Review: ‘Countdown to Zero’ Paints Vivid Picture of Nuclear Threat

Countdown to Zero

CHICAGO – Lucy Walker’s “Countdown to Zero” is the most terrifying film of the year and one of the most frightening documentaries in a long time. The director pushes the envelope of taste a bit too far in the fear-mongering final act and underlines her point a few too many times in the process but the education that comes with the terror is a necessary one.

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TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • Manhunt

    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+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

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