CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Spike Walters
Film Review: Florence Pugh Captivates in ‘Don’t Worry Darling’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 22, 2022 - 4:48amCHICAGO – A sure hand behind the camera and a dynamic performance from Florence Pugh help “Don’t Worry Darling” pull off an extremely difficult balancing act. This isn’t a perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it inspires the kind of impressions and ideas that you will still be talking about a week later.
Film Review: Baz Luhrman’s 'Elvis' is a Hanka Hunka Burning Drudge
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 24, 2022 - 10:04amCHICAGO – Director Baz Luhrman’s “Elvis” has plenty of suspicious minds, but precious little mystery as his trademark excess fails to breathe new life into the tired legacy of the King. No amount of montages, quick cuts, and odd music choices can obscure the fact that we don’t see anything here that even the casual Elvis fan doesn’t already know.
Film Review: Intelligence Extinct in Dopey ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 9, 2022 - 2:49pmCHICAGO – Intelligence goes extinct in this supremely dopey sixth installment of the Jurassic Park franchise. Not even the reunion of original stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum can counteract the law of diminishing returns and a lack of focus behind the camera.
Film Review: Mechanical ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 6, 2022 - 12:49amCHICAGO – “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” proves that more Doctor Stranges do not necessarily equal more fun. And more so than other comic book adventures, this seems like a cog in the Marvel machine first, and an adventure in its own right a very distant second. !—break—>
Film Review: Law-Abiding ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 14, 2022 - 11:31amCHICAGO – The elements of the Fantastic Beasts franchise that work at all are the ones most closely connected to the larger world of Harry Potter that enchanted the hearts and minds of millions in the first place. In “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” it’s ostensible main character Newt Scamander demoted to supporting character while Dumbledore is now front and center.
Oscar Week: HollywoodChicago.com 2022 Oscar Predictions
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 24, 2022 - 11:49pm- 2022
- 94th
- ABC-TV
- Academy Awards
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Director
- Best Picture
- Best Supporting Actor
- Best Supporting Actress
- Film Feature
- Film News
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jon Lennon Espino
- Michael Glover Smith
- Midwest Film Festival
- Oscars
- Patrick McDonald
- Predictions
- Relative
- Spike Walters
CHICAGO – Here we go again. Welcome to the annual Oscar Predictions on HollywoodChicago.com, for 2022 (the 94th Academy Awards). The film/entertainment contributors – Patrick McDonald, Spike Walters and Jon Lennon Espino – are joined by guest Michael Glover Smith, the director of the upcoming film “Relative.” !—break—>
Film Review: ‘The Batman’ with Robert Pattinson is On Its Way Up
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 3, 2022 - 1:46pmCHICAGO – Since I was no fan of of director Zack Snyder’s take on the Caped Crusader – “Batman v Superman” and “The Justice League” being some of the worst superhero movies ever to sputter onto the big screen – as far as I was concerned the franchise had nowhere to go but up.!—break—>
Film Review: Peter Dinklage Leads Perfectly Serviceable ‘Cyrano’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 25, 2022 - 10:34amCHICAGO – This is no small feat, but “Cyrano” works as well as it does because it puts a couple of new spins on the material while keeping the essence of this tale … which is seemingly as old as time. For those not paying attention during high school literature classes, Cyrano De Bergerac is a gallant hearted hero and actor who is in love with the maiden Roxanne, who happens to be his best friend.
Film Review: 'Marry Me' Works With Owen Wilson & Jennifer Lopez
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 11, 2022 - 3:37pmCHICAGO – I’ll admit that based on the ubiquitous trailers, The latest attempt for Jennifer Lopez to reclaim the throne as Queen of the Rom-Com seemed like the sort of enterprise meant to make you bury your face in your hands. So I was pleasantly surprised to find “Marry Me” is just innocuously bad, not egregiously bad.
Film Review: Ass Kicker of the Wrong Kind is Downfall of ‘The 355’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 7, 2022 - 8:57amCHICAGO – There’s something to be said for a well done ass kicker in January that provides an entertaining distraction from the ice and snow outside. “The 355” is not it, offering a typical quick cutting action thriller that plods along in the most formulaic and least exciting manner possible. There’s nothing in this movie that hasn’t been done to death already.