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
‘The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch’ is Cliché Drowned in French Style
Submitted by BrianTT on November 23, 2011 - 1:53pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – From what I understand, the name Largo Winch is a household one in Europe. While it may mean nothing here, a French spy thriller with a name like “The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch,” based on a European comic book, might sound like the perfect alternative for arthouse movie goers looking for something different this holiday weekend. Sadly, from the very beginning, “Largo Winch” feels like nothing different at all.
Michelle Williams is Luminous in ‘My Week With Marilyn’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 23, 2011 - 9:53am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Bringing the popular culture past back to life in a movie is always a tricky proposition. No matter what, there are always inevitable comparisons to the real thing. They don’t come any more really famous than Marilyn Monroe, and Michelle Williams takes on a portrayal that exemplifies, honors and humanizes the iconic star in “My Week with Marilyn.”
‘The Muppets’ is Hilarious, Joyful Entertainment
Submitted by BrianTT on November 22, 2011 - 11:17am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The Muppets stand on such a pedestal for an entire generation that there was an understandable amount of trepidation when it was announced that Jason Segel and Disney were moving forward with a reboot. How could it possibly live up to our expectations? Would they turn Kermit, Fozzie, and Miss Piggy into commercial commodities like “The Smurfs” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks”?
‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1’ Hardly Even Bewitches Twi-Hards
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 18, 2011 - 6:43pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The bloated franchise’s worst film without question, the fourth “Twilight” popcorn flick is a futile exercise on the disappointment of anti-climactic waiting. Waiting for something more. Waiting for something bigger. For 117 minutes, you’re waiting – for something – but just not ever getting it. It doesn’t sparkle or shine. It flickers, and then disappointingly dies.
Fate Doesn’t Fail Them Now in ‘Happy Feet Two’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 18, 2011 - 11:07am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Dancing animated penguins, a tradition dating back to Disney’s “Mary Poppins” and brought to further life in the first “Happy Feet” movie, finds more stepping pep in “Happy Feet Two.” Robin Williams and Elijah Wood return to lend their vocal talents in this enjoyable sequel.
George Clooney Stars in Stunning ‘The Descendants’
Submitted by BrianTT on November 17, 2011 - 10:21am Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If one looks solely at the central male characters, it can seem remarkably easy to classify Alexander Payne’s movies under the subgenre heading of “mid-life crisis comedies”: Jim McAllister (“Election”), Warren Schmidt (“About Schmidt”), Miles (“Sideways”), and now the memorable protagonist of his stellar new dramedy “The Descendants,” Matt King.
‘Immortals’ is Model of a Modern Major Epic
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 11, 2011 - 7:27pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The sword and sandals epic has been around since the costume department fashioned the first toga. A modern take on this tried-and-true story line is “Immortals,” using the latest computer generated imagery to create the gods of Mount Olympus, the mortals of ancient Greece and their severed heads in 3D.
Werner Herzog’s Dark Journey ‘Into the Abyss’
Submitted by BrianTT on November 11, 2011 - 11:58amRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Through both his fictional and documentary work, Werner Herzog has long been interested in the workings of the natural world and our place in it. His new film, “Into the Abyss,” may at first seem like a departure from those themes but it centers on a subject that defies the natural world and order – the taking of another life.
Adam Sandler Sticks to Formula in ‘Jack and Jill’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 11, 2011 - 8:37amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – No one will ever accuse Adam Sandler of not knowing his audience and the reason they keep coming back to his “Happy Madison” genre of films – he delivers the oddball characters, lots of bodily fluids/sounds, physical beatings and the know-it-all straight man. Add the gooey sentiment and out spews the latest, “Jack and Jill.”
Lars Von Trier’s Mesmerizing ‘Melancholia’ Turns Depression Into Art
Submitted by BrianTT on November 10, 2011 - 12:33pmRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Lars Von Trier’s “Melancholia” is a mesmerizing, haunting portrayal of the world-shattering force of depression from a filmmaker who has first-hand knowledge of the debilitating disease. With career-best work by Kirsten Dunst and some of the most confident filmmaking from its controversial director, this is one of the best films of 2011, a stunningly original examination of that which is completely out of our control.
Leonardo DiCaprio Embodies the G-Man in ‘J. Edgar’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 9, 2011 - 11:04am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Much of history is determined by the petty quirks and strange psychosis of “great leaders.” J. Edgar Hoover, FBI director for 48 years, worked hard to hide his very nature by squelching the nature of others – enemies, friends and perceived enemies. Leonardo DiCaprio is Hoover in “J. Edgar.”
Ben Stiller in ‘Tower Heist’ is a Waste of Time, Talent
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 4, 2011 - 7:57pm Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The frustrating madness that is the typical Hollywood movie never ceases to amaze, in the sense where large sums of cash are outlaid to pair the right movie stars together, and not one wit is expended to create an interesting or cohesive story. “Tower Heist” is the latest example of this sad trend.
‘The Double’ Copies Lazy Performances, Silly Twists
Submitted by BrianTT on November 4, 2011 - 2:11pm Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It’s ironic that a film called “The Double,” starring Richard Gere & Topher Grace, would remind one of so many superior thrillers. It is in itself a double, a carbon copy of better films that focuses on all of the wrong elements, thinking that audiences are still dumb enough that just throwing twist after twist at them will keep their head spinning enough to not realize that what they just saw not only makes no sense at all but wasn’t even remotely entertaining.
