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
Tom Cruise Outruns Time in ‘Mission Impossible: Fallout'
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 27, 2018 - 7:16amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – By any reasonable account, Tom Cruise should be entering into a phase in the “Mission Impossible” series not unlike the latter James Bond films of Roger Moore… appearing in closeups and letting the stuntmen do the rest. However, Cruise continues to outrun the ravages of time, and his stunts only seem to get crazier in the sixth film, “Mission Impossible: Fallout.”
‘The First Purge’ is Nothing But Tedious Trash
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 3, 2018 - 6:37pmRating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I saw the original “The Purge” five years ago, but missed the other two installments. Let me say that nothing in the new prequel “The First Purge” makes me want to make up for lost time and catch up. The setup is the same… one night of legalized violence each year where the citizens are allowed to do whatever they want without the fear of prosecution.
‘Incredibles 2’ is a Sequel That Returns for Fine Fun
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 15, 2018 - 4:59pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If you liked Pixar Animation’s original “The Incredibles” of 14 years ago, then you’ll find a lot to like with this sequel, which puts these “supers” back in their suits for another go around to save the world. The action in “Incredibles 2” picks up almost immediately after the original film left off.
Sandra Bullock & Heist Crew Con Us in ‘Ocean’s 8’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 8, 2018 - 12:40amRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In “Ocean’s 8,” a diamond necklace at the Met Gala isn’t the only thing getting ripped off. This all female knock off provides a reasonable facsimile of a facsimile of the original’s suave swagger, but doesn’t have anything else to go on. “Oceans 11” is a movie that never should have gotten a sequel, much less become some kind of a franchise.
Story is Just a So-So for ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 23, 2018 - 1:51pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Solo: A Star Wars Story” is one intergalactic space adventure that sadly never makes the jump to light speed. The end result Is not awful, it’s not great, it’s just kinda okay… it slavishly attends to the beats hinted at in the original trilogy without offering much in the way of surprises, or freshness.
Melissa McCarthy is the Charming ‘Life of the Party’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 11, 2018 - 2:06pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Melissa McCarthy is a comedic force to be reckoned with, able to wring laughs improbably out of the stingiest of material. She always manages to find the funny, which helps elevate everyone around her, and so she slips easily in the durable friendly constructs of the campus comedy in “Life Of The Party.”
Charlize Theron in ‘Tully’ Turns Mom Into Martyr
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 5, 2018 - 6:44amRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Tully” is a deeply weird motherhood fantasy snuck inside the friendly-but-distancing screenwriting constructs of another pseudo ironic story by Diablo Cody. Charlize Theron plays Margo, a mother of two kids with a third due any day, struggling with the sacrifices she’s made for motherhood.
Wes Anderson’s ‘Isle of Dogs’ is Inventive Delight
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 28, 2018 - 1:09pm- akira takayama
- Bill Murray
- Bob Balaban
- Bryan Cranston
- Edward Norton
- F. Murray Abraham
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- Fisher Stevens
- Fox Searchlight Pictures
- Frances McDormand
- Greta Gerwig
- Harvey Keitel
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Isle of Dogs
- Jeff Goldblum
- Ken Watanabe
- koyu rankin
- kunichi nomura
- Liev Schreiber
- Movie Review
- Scarlett Johansson
- Spike Walters
- Tilda Swinton
- Wes Anderson
- Yoko Ono
Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Fans of director Wes Anderson will find plenty to love in his second stop motion animated feature (after “Fantastic Mr. Fox”), entitled “Isle Of Dogs.” It’s an immersive and intricately detailed story set in Japan, and features a dizzying array of visual gags, along with Anderson’s trademark whimsy.
Alicia Vikander Has a Case of the Runs in ‘Tomb Raider’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 15, 2018 - 5:13pmRating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Movies based on video games are almost never good… even the best ones only ascend to the level of “barely watchable.” By that measure, “Tomb Raider” can be considered a modest success since it didn’t make me want to claw my eyes out. I have to confess I never saw either of the first two films with Angelina Jolie, but after watching this I’m not actually clamoring at the bit to catch up.
Jason Bateman & Rachel McAdams Score on ‘Game Night’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 24, 2018 - 12:09pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – A game cast elevates what is otherwise a bit of a ho hum affair in the action comedy “Game Night.” Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams are a middle class couple hosting weekly game nights with a group of good friends. But when Bateman’s competitive venture capitalist older brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler) comes to town, he promises to take game night up a notch.