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+.
Warner Bros.
‘Jersey Boys’ Can’t Escape Its Broadway Roots
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 21, 2014 - 6:17am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Director Clint Eastwood’s “Jersey Boys” suffers from the same inherent fundamental flaw in all of these so-called Jukebox Musicals – their stories are mere afterthoughts. You come for the songs, and suffer through the story. They have the narrative equivalent of chicken wire and chewing gum, patchwork filler to tie the songs together.
‘Edge of Tomorrow’ is a Fleet-Footed Popcorn Movie
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 6, 2014 - 8:44am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Edge Of Tomorrow” is a high concept, fast of foot popcorn movie that knows how to deliver the goods. While this futuristic sci-fi take on “Groundhog Day” doesn’t break any new ground, it does see that intriguing concept through to a fulfilling and crowd pleasing conclusion.
‘Blended’ is Lazy, Laugh-Free Catastrophe
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 25, 2014 - 8:15am Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Two things save “Blended” from getting a zero star review. Number one is the still-palpable chemistry between Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler. Number two is the occasional chuckle courtesy of Wendi McClendon-Covey as Barrymore’s business partner. Otherwise this is a barren laugh-free safari through Africa that doesn’t even have the benefit of Al Pacino trampling on his prestigious career for our amusement.
Adam Sandler Exploits the Family, More in ‘Blended’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 23, 2014 - 9:02am Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Trying to understand the psychology and philosophy of manchild Adam Sandler, when it comes to his “middle-age” movies, will perplex film scholars and therapists for generations to come. His latest excuse for a “family comedy” is the insipid and exploitative “Blended.”
‘Godzilla’ Just Goes Where He Has Gone Before
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 15, 2014 - 3:43pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I did not like “Godzilla.” That sentence alone might make my review interesting enough to attract some initial attention. But despite that, and despite the fact that I’m a sucker for pretty much giant anything if it stomps a city, I’m holding fast to this judgment.
‘Veronica Mars’ Wishes it Was Still on TV
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 14, 2014 - 10:02amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – A TV movie for the silver screen, “Veronica Mars” is a historical film that was Kickstarted into existence by the will of 91,585 backers. Now, it stands like a crossroads in the intersection between TV and film, showing that what may work in TV doesn’t necessarily make for a great film.
Big Laughs Await in Sly, Fun ‘The LEGO Movie’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 7, 2014 - 10:31am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The funniest movie in a long while features no human beings, just animated bland faces among interlocking plastic bricks, the toys which inspired the film. “The LEGO Movie” never takes itself seriously, which means huge laughs for the audience.
‘Gravity’ is a Visionary Expansion on Our Humanity
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 5, 2013 - 6:23pmRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Space looks like a vast, dark ocean in the new film “Gravity,” with the sparkling blue orb of our planet Earth beckoning the voyagers on that ocean homeward. Co-writer/director Alfonso Cuarón fashions a metaphoric dreamscape that places the small molecules of human beings within the vast expanse, fighting to understand the value of their place in that sea of cosmos.
Horrible ‘We’re the Millers’ Wastes Huge Potential
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 7, 2013 - 4:15pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There was a point in “We’re the Millers” when the story fell off the table like a Slinky from a mountaintop. It’s as if other writers took over from a far superior dark comedy, and injected “heart” and middle age “stripping.” This all adds up to a difficult 110 minutes of lost life time.
Worse Than a Real One, ‘The Hangover Part III’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 23, 2013 - 7:58amRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – With a lazy, over-plotted story, and a cast that are desperately going through the motions, “The Hangover Part III” is the latest example of a contract obligation disguising itself as a movie. Writer/director Todd Phillips sluggishly pounds out another one, with simply no originality.
