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.
Julianne Nicholson
Weekend Pair! On-Air Film Reviews of ‘Daddio’ and ‘Janet Planet’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 2, 2024 - 12:36am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on June 27th, reviewing new films “Daddio,” with Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn, and the A24 release “Janet Planet.” Both in theaters since June 28th.
The Subconscious Cage in Sharp ‘Dream Scenario’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 17, 2023 - 9:32pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Nicolas Cage makes a welcome return to Charlie Kaufman-like mind bending drama in “Dream Scenario.” He stars as Paul Matthews, a bald and schlubby college professor always clad in an ever present winter coat. His unremarkable life takes a turn when he mysteriously begins appearing in millions of people’s dreams.
Never Knew You at All! On-Air Film Review of ‘Blonde’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 24, 2022 - 11:40amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on September 22th, 2022, reviewing “Blonde,” the latest biography film of Marilyn Monroe. In select theaters now, streaming on Netflix on September 28th.
‘Novitiate’ Goes Inside the 1960s Catholic Church
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 3, 2017 - 1:08pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In a “mystery of faith” narrative disguised as a feminist statement, the new film “Novitiate” goes inside a nunnery in 1964 America, just as the Catholic Church was about to make some radical changes to their procedures. How it affected the church is how it affected the nuns, and the intriguing insider story is full of back room shocks.
Johnny Depp is Ghoulish in Mob Saga ‘Black Mass’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 17, 2015 - 4:51pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Black Mass” is a well crafted, if somewhat conventional crime tale. It won’t win any awards, but it’s entertaining enough. The story of real life Boston crime boss “Whitey” Bulger has no shortage of juicy details, and while the saga of this mob boss slash FBI turncoat falls short of greatness, Johnny Depp turns him into an otherworldly presence.
Family Secrets, Fine Acting in ‘August: Osage County’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 10, 2014 - 10:02amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There will be inevitable comparisons to the Pulitzer Prize-winning stage version of “August: Osage County” from the thousands of people who have been touched by the stage play. But in giving the film version a chance, there is the same passion, drama and heat of family dysfunction within it, with a dream cast.
‘Keep the Lights On’ Plays Like Memory of Doomed Relationship
Submitted by BrianTT on October 26, 2012 - 1:58pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Ira Sachs’ intimate “Keep the Lights On” is about the intersection of love and addiction and how the two can rarely exist in the same relationship. It is reportedly at least semi-autobiographical and the film undeniably has the feeling of memory, both in its emotional honesty and its episodic nature. It is a film in which we see snapshots of a long-term love affair that seems doomed from the start. The raw truth of much of it is strong enough to make the sometimes frustrating structure forgivable.
