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+.
Movie Review
Film Review: Advocacy Film ‘Bully’ is a Must See, But for Who?
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 13, 2012 - 9:41pmCHICAGO – The age-old problem of bullying has reached epidemic proportions. Or is it simply more openly discussed? It seems that for once a light is being pointed at the dark corners of this punishing coercion, and the perpetrators and enablers involved – the bully, his parents, school administrators – are scurrying from that light. The new film “Bully” is an illumination.
Film Review: Joseph Kahn’s Self-Funded Josh Hutcherson Indie ‘Detention’ Deserves Cult-Hit Status
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on April 13, 2012 - 9:26pmCHICAGO – Don’t be duped by Joseph Kahn’s insultingly unintelligent trailer for his new ADHD high school slasher/comedy “Detention”. Rather than prematurely blowing his load with the film’s crème de la crème in a two-minute trailer, he’s done the reverse.
Film Review: Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace in Annoying, Awful ‘Lockout’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 13, 2012 - 1:04pmCHICAGO – The annoying and boring “Lockout” is a pile of aggressive junk masquerading as a good time. Some critics and viewers will pretend that this is a “fun B-movie” just because it has a few over-the-top sequences (that look completely cartoonish), an absolutely ridiculous premise, and a scenery-chewing performance from the great Guy Pearce.
Film Review: Whit Stillman’s Wittily Precious ‘Damsels in Distress’ Grows Tedious
Submitted by mattmovieman on April 13, 2012 - 9:23amCHICAGO – The sly satires of Whit Stillman have cultivated a fan base that appears to consist largely of his fellow peers. Manhattan-based filmmakers such as Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach and Lena Dunham have cited his subdued comedies as an influence on their own similarly mannerist yet considerably more accessible work. For many moviegoers, Stillman’s brilliantly constructed, emotionally distant pictures are easy to admire but difficult to like.
Film Review: Harmless ‘The Three Stooges’ Can’t Deliver the Goods
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 13, 2012 - 7:48amCHICAGO – Moe, Larry and Curly are three of the most popular names in the show business universe, and bringing them back to life in the new film “The Three Stooges” was a questionable risk. The re-imaging, with Chris Diamantopoulous, Sean Hayes and Will Sasso filling the trio’s roles, is a loving tribute that unfortunately veers in too many “Un-Stooge” like directions.
Film Review: Pretentious ‘Blue Like Jazz’ Can’t Find the Right Groove
Submitted by BrianTT on April 12, 2012 - 4:02pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Donald Miller’s “Blue Like Jazz” is a beloved book that spent 43 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and sold over 1.5 million copies. I haven’t read it. But I have to believe that it worked on its fans in a way that Steve Taylor’s film simply cannot. This is clearly a personal story, one that touched people by relating to issues they’ve grappled with in their own lives. By taking Taylor’s memories and turning them into cinema, the ability to touch has been removed another degree of separation and the resulting film is a misstep, the kind of work that thinks it’s saying something important but feels more pretentious than precious.
Film Review: Great Performances Nearly Save ‘The Lady’ From Remarkable Convention
Submitted by BrianTT on April 12, 2012 - 3:58pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I love every decision made by the great Michelle Yeoh and David Thewlis in Luc Besson’s historical biopic “The Lady” and yet I cannot recommend the film. It is a wild understatement to call the film conventional and those who did not know that it was from the director of such personality-heavy films as “La Femme Nikita” and “The Fifth Element” would never guess that the man behind it was anything more than a director for hire. To be fair, Besson does draw the best out of his two leads but “The Lady” is a film about an extraordinary woman. So why is it such an ordinary film?
Film Review: Take a Fantastic Trip to Drew Goddard’s Brilliant ‘The Cabin in the Woods’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 12, 2012 - 9:09amCHICAGO – Drew Goddard’s “The Cabin in the Woods” is a brilliant dissection of not just the clichés of the horror film genre but how they have played a role in the darkest corners of our society for centuries. It’s also a damn blast, as fun a time as you’ll have in a movie theater this season (and probably next).
Film Review: Director Mario Van Peebles Orchestrates ‘We the Party’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 6, 2012 - 4:42pmCHICAGO – Mario Van Peebles is a second generation filmmaker, following the footsteps of his revolutionary director father, Melvin Van Peebles. In keeping with the family business, Mario has included his children in his latest film, “We the Party,” a high school movie about this particular time in history for youth and their culture, and the impact this era has on them.
Film Review: Geekdom Celebrated in ‘Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 6, 2012 - 2:01pmCHICAGO – Say the words “San Diego Comic-Con” to a certain comic geek subculture and suddenly heart rates are up and anticipation is in the air. The documentary maker Morgan Spurlock (“Supersize Me”) seeks to capture that feeling in “Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope,” with help from Seth Rogen, Kevin Smith, Stan Lee, Thomas Jane, Josh Whedon, Seth Green and Matt Groening.