Matt Fagerholm

Film Review: Unfocused ‘Rust and Bone’ Wastes Marion Cotillard

CHICAGO – It’s been three years since Jacques Audiard made a sizable splash in American art houses with “A Prophet,” a spellbinding picture that certainly ranks as one of the great crime films of the last decade. By following an Arab youth through his punishing sentence in a French prison, it provided audiences with an unforgettable portrait of corrupted innocence.

Blu-ray Review: Bizarre Misfire ‘The Odd Life of Timothy Green’ Falls Flat

The Odd Life of Timothy Green Blu-ray

CHICAGO – “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is the sort of extravagantly wrong-headed misfire that perhaps only could’ve been made by talented people. The director is Peter Hedges, an accomplished screenwriter best known for adapting his excellent book, “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” for the big screen. The ensemble cast reads like a roll call of America’s most reliable character actors.

Film News: Indie Outlook Spotlights Charming Doc ‘Beauty is Embarrassing’

Beauty is Embarrassing IO review

CHICAGO – Hollywood Chicago staff writer Matt Fagerholm’s independent film blog, Indie Outlook, published an exclusive review of Neil Berkeley’s charming documentary, “Beauty is Embarrassing,” which opened Friday, December 14th, at the Gene Siskel Film Center. The film explores the life and career of eccentric artist Wayne White, best known for his Emmy-winning set design on “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.”

Blu-ray Review: ‘Tell No One’ Ranks as One of the Decade’s Finest Thrillers

Tell No One Blu-ray

CHICAGO – There is a moment in Guillaume Canet’s “Tell No One” when protagonist Alexandre Beck (François Cluzet) is forced to run. The police are hot on his trail and have cornered him at his office, where he serves as a pediatrician. But before the cops burst through the door, Alex sails out his window, breaks his fall with a car roof and runs as fast as his feet can cary him.

Blu-ray Review: ‘Hope Springs’ Mars Great Acting with Awful Soundtrack

Hope Springs Blu-ray

CHICAGO – Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones are actors capable of conveying a richly layered inner life without uttering a single word. They have a miraculous method of making silence speak volumes. It’s in the lingering pauses and sudden hesitations between words where the story truly resides. I can’t picture two actors better suited to work together onscreen.

Blu-ray Review: Unnecessary ‘Men in Black 3’ Bolstered by Brilliant Ensemble

Men in Black 3 Blu-ray

CHICAGO – 2012 contained three great Tommy Lee Jones performances, and one of them was delivered by Josh Brolin. Whereas Jones himself was flat-out brilliant in “Hope Springs” and “Lincoln,” he was assigned the thankless task of playing second (or third) banana to the wisecracking, increasingly Bugs Bunny-like Will Smith in Barry Sonnenfeld’s wholly unnecessary third installment in the “Men in Black” franchise.

Blu-ray Review: ‘Step Up Revolution’ Sleepwalks Through Recycled Steps

Step Up Revolution Blu-ray

CHICAGO – The kids in “Step Up” are hardly the children of a revolution. They stand up for nothing of consequence besides the right to dance wherever they please, even if it means blocking several lanes of traffic. There’s no brand of narcissism worse than the self-righteous variety, and these shiny-faced brats have it in spades.

Film News: Academy Announces Short List for Best Documentary Contenders

Ai Weiwei Never Sorry Film Review

CHICAGO – The short list for Academy Award contenders in the Best Documentary category have been announced. 15 potential nominees were selected with the utilization of new rules spearheaded by Academy Governor Michael Moore. Each entry was required to have screened for at least one week in Los Angeles and New York, and had to be reviewed by at least one newspaper.

Blu-ray Review: ‘The Apparition’ Ranks as One of 2012’s Worst Films

The Apparition Blu-ray

CHICAGO – Remember that scene in “Ghostbusters” where Sigourney Weaver slides toward a hellish demon while pinned to a chair? Or the utterly chilling moment in “Ju-On” where the contorted body of a vengeful spirit crawls toward its latest victim? Or how about that little indie movie about a young couple plagued by an inexplicable onslaught of paranormal activity?

Blu-ray Review: Scathing ‘Dark Horse’ Flips Apatowian Formula on its Head

Dark Horse Blu-ray

CHICAGO – Movie theaters have rarely appeared as depressingly airless as they do in Todd Solondz’s “Dark Horse.” Rather than confront his adult responsibilities, pathological man-child Abe (Jordan Gelber) storms into the nearest multiplex for his daily consumption of media-fed inspirational escapism. He quietly mouths the answers to pre-movie questions projected in the otherwise vacant theater, as his words fall on nonexistent ears.

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  • 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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