William Shakespeare

Blu-Ray Review: Julie Taymor’s ‘The Tempest’ Redeemed By Excellent Extras

The Tempest Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – Risk-taking visionaries are always exciting to watch in action, even when their gambles don’t quite pay off. Yet while the recent projects tackled by Julie Taymor have sported great promise on paper, their externalized metaphors often work against the material she’s aiming to enhance. In her Beatles musical “Across the Universe,” soldiers were seen carrying the Statue of Liberty into Vietnam while singing, “She’s so heavy.”

Film Review: ‘Gnomeo & Juliet’ Charms With Music of Elton John

Gnomeo & Juliet

CHICAGO – As movie animation domination continues, “Gnomeo and Juliet” throws its stone cap into the ring, and has a lively story that tweaks it source, while respecting its power. James McAvoy and Emily Blunt are the voices of the star-crossed lovers, with the addition of familiar vocals from Michael Caine and Ozzy Osbourne, among others.

DVD Review: Patrick Stewart Delivers Towering Portrayal of ‘Macbeth’

Macbeth Thumb

CHICAGO – There are few things more excruciating to sit through than a botched adaptation of Shakespeare. The Bard’s language is so intricately textured and poetically structured that it must be fully understood in order to be adequately delivered. An audacious mess like Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo and Juliet” recalls memories of amateur high school productions where students raced through the dialogue in order to sound naturalistic.

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Free Blu-Rays, DVDs to BBC’s ‘Hamlet’ With David Tennant, Patrick Stewart

CHICAGO – Following our rave review this week of the new BBC and Royal Shakespeare Company production of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” we have secured for you a rare opportunity to win two Blu-rays and two DVDs for four winners!

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Hamlet’ With ‘Doctor Who’ Star David Tennant

Hamlet - BBC

CHICAGO – Having been a theater major who openly knelt at the altar of William Shakespeare for many of my formative stage years and then later became a film critic, I believe the number of versions of “Hamlet” I have seen to number around eight - three times on stage and five on celluloid. And yet I still was blown away by BBC’s production of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre version of the timeless play.

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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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