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 Movie Reviews
Denzel Washington Lives in Boring ‘Safe House’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 9, 2012 - 9:37pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Safe House” is so overly familiar that you not only will think that you’ve seen it before and know exactly where it’s going before it gets there, but you will also barely remember having seen it once it’s over. It’s cinematic fast food – relatively streamlined but also not difficult to make for anyone involved, generally bad for you, and totally forgettable. It’s all so, well, “Safe.”
‘Father’s Day’ is Grindhouse Holiday From Normalcy
Submitted by BrianTT on February 9, 2012 - 2:23pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If the word Troma means nothing to you, then you may want to avoid “Father’s Day,” a truly twisted and sadistic slice of horror-comedy that makes other recent attempts at grindhouse insanity (“Machete,” “Hobo with a Shotgun”) look “The Help.” It’s a bit inconsistent (especially in the first act) but the sheer balls-to-the-wall (literally) approach to filmmaking here is so far over-the-top that one has to admire the audacity of the filmmakers, a quintet that goes by the name Astron-6.
Mixed Bag of Quality in ‘Oscar Nominated Short Films 2012’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 9, 2012 - 1:18pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It’s that time of the year when you can get a leg up on your friends at your Oscar party when the short film categories pop up by seeing “Oscar Nominated Short Films 2012: The Animated” and “Oscar Nominated Short Films 2012: The Live Action,” opening around the country tomorrow, February 10th, 2012, and in Chicago at the Landmark Century Cinema.
Found-Footage Fanboy Film ‘Chronicle’ is Aimlessly Lost
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on February 4, 2012 - 12:37amRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Chronicle,” which stars blah, blah and blah with a special appearance by blah (you wouldn’t know these unknowns any way), is the latest found-footage film to find itself lost, lacking purpose and devoid of a cohesive plot. This film’s fanboy ejaculate loves you short time as it spews the buildup of what could be interpreted as a “story” and ultimately ends without one.
Whale of a Tale For Drew Barrymore in ‘Big Miracle’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 3, 2012 - 9:09amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Whale of a tale (chuckle), no other headline writer has thought of that. “Big Miracle” is a family movie with Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Kristen Bell, Ted Danson and the voice of Ronald Reagan, that will not have adults seeking the emergency exits. It’s about whales.
Daniel Radcliffe Stars in Chilling ‘The Woman in Black’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 2, 2012 - 8:54pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The most important element to the opening of “The Woman in Black” is the Hammer Films logo that caused the legendary Roger Ebert to applaud when it appeared in the screening room here in Chicago. This is a Hammer Film through and through complete with unbelievable character action, loud sound effects, extreme shock scares, and other B-movie manipulations.
Ti West’s ‘The Innkeepers’ is Terrifying Horror Gem
Submitted by BrianTT on February 2, 2012 - 11:22am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Ti West’s “The Innkeepers” is one of the most effective horror movies of the last several years, a true gem of the genre that reminds a scary movie junkie like myself why I fell in love with them in the first place. With his stellar production values and a perfection of the slow burn pace that he employed in the arthouse hit “House of the Devil,” West takes a leap to the forefront of directors working in modern horror. Don’t miss this one.
Elizabeth Banks Teeters With the ‘Man on a Ledge’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 27, 2012 - 5:21pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – New York City. Mid-day. A man steps outside the window on the edge of the Roosevelt Hotel. Is he jumping? That’s the question that street level onlookers and moviegoers want answered from Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell and Ed Harris in “Man on a Ledge”
Katherine Heigl’s ‘One For the Money’ Was Made For No One
Submitted by BrianTT on January 27, 2012 - 5:03pm Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Just under five years ago, Katherine Heigl became a decently known actress in the film world for her role as Alison in the Judd Apatow film “Knocked Up.” After having been in the show “Grey’s Anatomy” for a few years, Heigl had finally broke into the world of cinema, and seemed to have a decent amount of comedy acting skills. Now, several years and a few bad movies in a row, Heigl seems to be desperately holding on to whatever career she still has left.
Glenn Close, Janet McTeer in Melancholy ‘Albert Nobbs’
Submitted by BrianTT on January 27, 2012 - 12:47pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – People who put themselves in boxes often go through their entire lives without meeting anyone who show them what it’s like on the outside. There’s every possibility that the tragically confined title character in “Albert Nobbs” would have remained in her box till her death if not for a chance encounter with someone who shows her that there is another way. The sad drama that follows charts her attempt to break free and realization that it may have come too late.
Problems in Iran Prove Universal in ‘A Separation’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 27, 2012 - 10:56am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Divorce, aging parents, economics, religion and social standing can be applied to any circumstance in any modern culture. The culture in Iran may seem mysterious, but there is nothing uncommon regarding what their people go through in the Oscar nominated “A Separation.”
Oedipus Wrecks Tilda Swinton in ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 27, 2012 - 10:31amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The mother and son relationship is perhaps one of the most complicated ever invented. In giving birth to an opposing gender, the woman must then deal with a maturation process foreign to her own, with all the potential psychosis attached. Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller play the game in “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
Delicate, Touching Tale of Complex Adolescence in ‘Tomboy’
Submitted by BrianTT on January 26, 2012 - 2:53pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Tomboy” is a delicate, sensitive story of adolescence that’s not often told in cinema. It is the tale of a young girl who would rather be a boy and those days before gender confusion hits puberty like a runaway train. The film’s greatest accomplishment is writer/director Celine Sciamma’s stunning ability to draw natural, believable performances from her adolescent cast, who never hit a false note in this moving film.
