CHICAGO – With a Chicago tradition that goes back four decades, the Goodman Theatre presents their holiday chestnut ‘A Christmas Carol’ for 2019, and it is simply stellar.
Richard Jenkins
Ethereal ‘The Shape of Water’ Forms Cinema Magic
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 13, 2017 - 1:44pm Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – This breathtaking morality and love story, set in a backward age, takes all of its major themes – passion, tolerance, symbolism and thrills – to the highest level. Writer/director Guillermo del Toro has created a masterwork that is part fairy tale, part adult desperation and all cinema magic.
‘LBJ’ is Important American History Brought to Light
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 3, 2017 - 8:22am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The circumstances surrounding the John F. Kennedy assassination on November 22nd, 1963, put a man into the presidential spotlight who never thought he would get there… Lyndon Baines Johnson. The story of that strange time and the man who “would be king” is told in ‘LBJ.’
Philip Seymour Hoffman Lives Again in ‘God’s Pocket’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 20, 2014 - 10:34am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Watching Philip Seymour Hoffman perform, now that he has passed on, is a bittersweet reminder of his ability and power to embody his deeply felt characters. He does it again in one of his last roles, adding his special brand of acting to the messy story within the gritty noir drama, “God’s Pocket.”
Hilarious Cast Elevates Mediocre ‘A.C.O.D.’
Submitted by BrianTT on October 10, 2013 - 4:27pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The incredibly talented men and women who make up the cast of “A.C.O.D.” make the relative failure of its script easier to bear. Just hearing brilliant actors like Richard Jenkins and Catherine O’Hara at each other’s throats or watching remarkably likable stars like Adam Scott and Mary Elizabeth Winstead figure out their relationship has enough charm to get one from lights down to credits roll.
Light, Speedy ‘Turbo’ is a Great Race for Kids
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 17, 2013 - 9:03am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Summer vacation means summer animated movies, and nothing will give the kids more of a break than rooting for a snail that becomes as fast as an Indy race car. Why not put him in the Indianapolis 500? Ryan Reynolds is the voice of that miracle mollusk named “Turbo.”
Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx in ‘White House Down’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 26, 2013 - 9:24am Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – How could a movie in which the President shoots a rocket from the back of a limousine during a car chase on the White House lawn possibly be boring? Roland Emmerich somehow finds a way in the numbing “White House Down,” a movie that make absolutely no sense but fails to entertain as B-movie escapism (as his movies sometimes have in the past).
Werner Herzog Towers Over Miscast ‘Jack Reacher’ Star Tom Cruise in Five Mere Scenes
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on December 21, 2012 - 12:17am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – While normally I’d never think the date I screened a film was newsworthy, being subjected to “Jack Reacher” on Dec. 13, 2012 turned out to put even a therapist into therapy. The very next day, well, just two words: Sandy Hook.
Metaphor is Message in Violent ‘Killing Them Softly’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 30, 2012 - 12:50pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If there ever was an industry that deserved a good metaphor bashing, it would be the financial sector. “Killing Them Softly” does a hit-over-the-head with the symbolism, but at the same time delivers a gritty and literate parable, featuring Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini and Ray Liotta.
Josh Radnor’s ‘Liberal Arts’ Takes Uncommonly Thoughtful Look at Growing Up
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 21, 2012 - 7:55amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Josh Radnor may be one of the most good natured humanists in modern American film. His perspective contrasts sharply with that of comedic auteurs intent on depicting a cynical view of the modern world clouded with nostalgia. Radnor may not yet be up to par with the filmmakers that have inspired him, namely Woody Allen, but his sophomore directorial effort, “Liberal Arts,” is practically bursting with promise.
The Dog Days of Diane Keaton in ‘Darling Companion’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 27, 2012 - 4:40pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “If you want a friend in Washington,” Harry S Truman once said, “get a dog.” The same can be said for the film industry, as they keep producing canine quandaries. Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Sam Shepard and Elisabeth Moss cozy up to their own ‘Darling Companion.’
