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+.
HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News
Interviews: 1980s Movie Stars at the Hollywood Celebrities Show
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 12, 2010 - 1:10amCHICAGO – Get out the shoulder pads and parachute pants, as HollywoodChicago revisits the 1980s through interviews with four top stars of the era, as they made their appearance at the most recent Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show. Theresa Russell, Ernie Hudson, Barry Corbin and Ginger Lynn Allen were there.
Film Review: Adrien Brody’s ‘Predators’ Unmemorably Lulls Through the Expected Motions
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 12, 2010 - 12:18amCHICAGO – Good films deliver on their promise. Great films up the ante even more. In this version of the long “Predators” franchise from director Nimrod Antal (“Control,” “Armored,” “Vacancy”) and more-known producer Robert Rodriguez (“Grindhouse,” “Sin City”), we merely see more of the same: just enough to get us by but not nearly enough to make us care.
DVD Review: First Season of TNT Cop Drama ‘Dark Blue’
Submitted by BrianTT on July 11, 2010 - 8:07pmCHICAGO – TNT’s “Dark Blue” has theatrical caliber production values, tight editing, and impressive action set-pieces for a TV show. It also has cliched characters, hackneyed dialogue, and plots that stretch suspension of disbelief far past the breaking point. The strong performances and crisp pacing often make the cliches easier to bear but the first season features as many missed shots as direct hits.
Video Game Review: Great ‘LEGO Harry Potter’ Plays Well For All Ages
Submitted by BrianTT on July 11, 2010 - 7:36pmCHICAGO – Leave it to the boy who lived to breathe remarkable new life into a gaming franchise that seemed to have run out of ideas. “LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4” is the most entertaining family-driven title that you could possibly pick up this summer. It’s a great game.
Interview: Creator, Author Tess Gerritsen on TNT’s ‘Rizzoli & Isles’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 11, 2010 - 6:49amCHICAGO – Tess Gerritsen is in that situation that authors sometimes face – seeing her creations come to life in another medium. In this case, her characters Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles are being personified in the new TNT Network drama, “Rizzoli & Isles,” starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander.
TV Review: ‘The Bridge’ Offers Intriguing Cop Show Alternative
Submitted by BrianTT on July 10, 2010 - 11:33amCHICAGO – CBS found success with the Canadian import “Flashpoint” in 2008 and they’ve opened international trading routes again in an attempt to replicate it with the dark cop drama “The Bridge,” debuting tonight, July 10th, 2010 at 7pm CST.
Film Review: Oliver Stone Lends Another Point of View in ‘South of the Border’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 9, 2010 - 2:46pmCHICAGO – Oliver Stone, bless him, still has a fire in his belly to tackle controversial subjects and shine a light into the dark corners that the American media skitters away from on a daily basis. Part travelogue, part enlightenment and all Stone, “South of the Border is eye-opening documentary on the South American people revolution.
Film Review: ‘Despicable Me’ With Steve Carell Falls Short of World Domination
Submitted by BrianTT on July 9, 2010 - 11:24amCHICAGO – “Despicable Me” is a mildly entertaining diversion on a summer afternoon. It’s a film that’s as equally difficult to hate as it is to love — kind of like its morally complex lead Gru (Steve Carell) — that falls just short of animation domination.
Film Review: ‘The Girl Who Played With Fire’ Snuffs Out Potential
Submitted by BrianTT on July 9, 2010 - 9:36am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Movie trilogies often are judged on the strength of their middle chapters. The “Star Wars” franchise wouldn’t have been continually embraced by new generations if “The Empire Strikes Back” hadn’t deepened the characters to such an extent that they became more than mere Jungian archetypes. If “Empire” jettisoned the franchise’s potential, “Attack of the Clones” brought it in for a crash landing.
Film Review: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore Out in the Light With ‘The Kids Are All Right’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 9, 2010 - 7:13amCHICAGO – It is Hollywood that is often ahead of the social curve, expressing in art what most people can’t fathom in real life. “The Kids Are All Right” is that type of consciousness, depicting a committed lesbian couple – played by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore – coming to grips with transitions occurring with their kids.
Interview: Lisa Cholodenko Explains Why ‘The Kids Are All Right’
Submitted by BrianTT on July 8, 2010 - 8:25pmCHICAGO – Lisa Cholodenko’s “The Kids Are All Right” is a daring, masterful dramedy about the new modern American family. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play Nic and Jules, a pair of lesbian mothers who have raised two beautiful children in Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson).
Chicago Episode of NBC Dating Series ‘The Match Off’ to Air With Rachel Canis, Adam Fendelman
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 8, 2010 - 2:36pmCHICAGO – Is being single like an STD? Years of dating frustration have led Chicago single Megan Bentley to call herself “a walking STD: single, traumatized and desperate”.
DVD Review: ‘Brooklyn’s Finest’ Fires Up Screen With Superb Acting
Submitted by mattmovieman on July 8, 2010 - 1:23pmCHICAGO – Antoine Fuqua certainly can’t be faulted for a lack of enthusiasm. His movies often skate on the edge of silliness, and occasionally dive headfirst into the wretched waters of overwrought melodrama. But for all his flaws, Fuqua never seems to be phoning it in. His tireless energy and intensity bolsters the impact of his stories, no matter how preposterous they may be.
