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+.
Scarlett Johansson
Rousing ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ Hits Modern Society’s Central Nervous System
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on April 30, 2015 - 11:14pm- Aaron Taylor-Johnson
- Adam Fendelman
- Anthony Mackie
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Chris Evans
- Chris Hemsworth
- Cobie Smulders
- Don Cheadle
- Elizabeth Olsen
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jack Kirby
- James Spader
- Jeremy Renner
- Joss Whedon
- Mark Ruffalo
- Marvel Studios
- Movie Review
- Paul Bettany
- Robert Downey Jr.
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Scarlett Johansson
- Stan Lee
- The Avengers
- Walt Disney Studios
Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Look. We all know sequels usually suck. And blockbuster films often get panned for overprioritizing special effects at the expense of a well-written story and character development. Even when a story in a big-budget film is redeeming, it’s practically impossible not to shoot holes through it.
Mixed Bag of Marvel Tricks in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 30, 2015 - 8:10amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Whew. There is so much going on in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” that you practically need a program to keep up with the players. This mixed bag has overwrought comic book action, head shaking plot points, and the usual Marvel angst that includes some riveting scenes.
Scarlett Johansson Packs a Blockbuster Punch in ‘Lucy’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 25, 2014 - 6:40amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Lucy” is a piece of high-minded cinematic junk food that manages to be outlandishly weird while still satisfying the lizard brain desires of its audience. It’s a film that knows what’ll get the behinds in the seats, and that appeal can effectively be summed up in one shot. It shows Scarlett Johansson in a tight-fitting white t-shirt walking in slow motion with her bosoms bouncing in unison, carrying two guns and ready to kick some serious ass.
Jon Favreau’s Anti-Popcorn Project ‘Chef’ Still Mild
Submitted by NickHC on May 16, 2014 - 6:06pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – By the time of his 2011 box office blitzkrieg otherwise known as “Cowboys & Aliens,” the product that indie director-turned-Hollywood habitue Jon Favreau had been hocking as a “popcorn salesman” had gone stale – to use a showbiz term from Nicholas Ray’s” In A Lonely Place.”
Thought-Illuminating, Mind-Blowing ‘Under the Skin’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 11, 2014 - 10:07amRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Imagine a stranger taking a journey around the landscape of their destiny. That only begins to describe the audacity and power of director Jonathan Glazer’s “Under the Skin.” Scarlett Johansson creates a character of undeniable mystery and truth, a stranger in a strange land.
Near-Perfect ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ Defies Common Sequel Disappointment
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on April 6, 2014 - 2:59pm- Adam Fendelman
- Anthony Mackie
- Anthony Russo
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Chris Evans
- Christopher Markus
- Cobie Smulders
- Ed Brubaker
- Hayley Atwel
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jack Kirby
- Joe Russo
- Joe Simon
- Joss Whedon
- Movie Review
- Robert Redford
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Scarlett Johansson
- Sebastian Stan
- Stan Lee
- Stephen McFeely
Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If the original is anything to applaud, the sequel usually isn’t. And even more rarely is the sequel actually better.
While it’s aggressive to market “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” as one of the “best superhero movies of all time” and more realistic to pitch it as “better than ‘The Avengers,’” it most certainly is 2014’s best action flick yet and it definitely defies common sequel disappointment.
‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ Pledges Allegiance to Strong Action, Twists
Submitted by NickHC on April 3, 2014 - 9:49pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In record-breaking time, even for Marvel, a comic book character has had their existence (basically) rebooted. The arc may be continued from the previous film, and some of the actors may reappear, but this take on Captain America is bonafide divergent. It’s not the hollow nostalgic relic seen in his debut “Captain America: The First Avenger”, nor is this the goofy time alien/boy scout he was made in to be in the ensemble film “The Avengers”. This version of Captain America, and the world he lives in, is leaner and meaner.
‘Hitchcock’ at its Heart is a Relationship Film
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 21, 2012 - 7:01pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The great director Alfred Hitchcock had morphed to legend rather than a man, so it’s interesting that two films have recently been released about his all-too-human foibles. The feature film, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins as the director, gets inside the man’s relationships in “Hitchcock.”
Summer Movie Season Explodes with ‘The Avengers’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 1, 2012 - 9:56amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When I was a kid, summer movies were an event. They weren’t just marketing tricks, young adult adaptations, or unnecessary sequels. They were blockbusters that you put on the calendar and counted the days until their arrival. Something of that summer movie magic has been lost in recent years – the sense that you weren’t just seeing a movie, you were experiencing something special.
Matt Damon Closes Deal in ‘We Bought a Zoo’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 22, 2011 - 11:16amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Cameron Crowe’s “We Bought a Zoo” is an undeniably manipulative crowd-pleaser but there’s something about being manipulated in such an expert manner that makes the tugging on the heartstrings easier to take. We know what we’re in for when we buy a ticket for a movie about children grieving the loss of their mother, endangered animals, and the healing process through talking to tigers. Most movie goers are smart enough not to expect a deep dose of subtlety.