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DVD Review: Well-Acted ‘Texas Killing Fields’ Favors Characters Over Clichés

Texas Killing Fields Film Review

CHICAGO – Is there anything Chloë Grace Moretz can’t do? She’s earned big laughs as a snarky yet concerned sister in “(500) Days of Summer,” performed her own stunts as a vengeful hit girl in “Kick Ass,” brought startling pathos to the role of a smitten vampire in “Let Me In” and exuded Hepburn-esque grace in “Hugo,” all before the age of 15. Needless to say, her versatility is unmatched by any of her peers.

Blu-ray Review: Mélusine Mayance Mesmerizes in ‘Sarah’s Key’

Sarah's Key Blu-ray

CHICAGO – Sometimes one performance can bolster the impact of an entire production. That’s certainly the case with Gilles Paquet-Brenner’s overlooked adaptation of Tatiana de Rosnay’s bestseller. Though the picture’s marquee name is Kristin Scott Thomas, her character merely provides a modern framework for the real story, set during the massive 1942 deportation of Jewish civilians from France.

Blu-ray Review: ‘Spy Kids: All the Time in the World’ Proves Utterly Wasteful

Spy Kids All the Time in the World Blu-ray

CHICAGO – If this fourth “Spy Kids” installment proves anything at all, it’s that time has clearly run out on the franchise. While the original film was playfully inventive and preached resonant messages about family unity and the importance of teamwork, the series has followed the usual pattern of diminishing returns. After an eight-year hiatus, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez tried and failed to reboot the franchise with this soulless retread.

Blu-Ray Review: Fine Performances Bolster Shawn Ku’s ‘Beautiful Boy’

Beautiful Boy Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – While Lynne Ramsay’s “We Need to Talk About Kevin” meticulously chronicles the troubled upbringing that leads a kid to shoot up his school, Shawn Ku’s “Beautiful Boy” centers on the days following the senseless slaughter, as the shooter’s devastated parents are left to pick up the pieces. Though both pictures share similar themes, the latter takes a more familiar and less unsettling approach to the material.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Submarine’ Plunges Beneath Surface of Adolescent Angst

Submarine Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – Too many critics have casually dismissed Richard Ayoade’s directorial debut, “Submarine,” as a mere Wes Anderson imitation. Yes, the picture is chockfull of arty hipster posturing: chapter breaks, deadpan cutaway gags and hapless adults viewed by a sullen 15-year-old protagonist forever cloaked in a large black toggle coat. He’s like Bud Cort fused with the hyper-articulate eccentricity of Max Fischer.

Blu-Ray Review: STARZ Originals ‘Camelot,’ ‘Spartacus: Gods of the Arena’

Spartacus Gods of the Arena Blu-Ray

CHICAGO – One of the most popular opinions among modern audiences is the notion that television shows have become consistently better than films. This is partly because many of the year’s best movies are relegated to urban art houses, while shows like “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” are available on small screens nationwide. Yet I’d argue that there’s just as much derivative dreck on TV as there is in mainstream multiplexes.

DVD Review: Kat Dennings Shines in Flawed ‘Daydream Nation’

Daydream Nation DVD

CHICAGO – Michael Goldbach’s little-seen quirk-fest is a feature filmmaking debut like many others. It feels less like a final draft than an overcrowded sketchpad. There seems to be no end to the amount of intriguing ideas that Goldbach wishes to tackle, but he has little idea of how to string them together. His various stylistic conceits distract from the narrative rather than enhance it, resulting in an ungainly picture.

DVD Review: Philip Seymour Hoffman Directs ‘Jack Goes Boating’

Jack Goes Boating

CHICAGO – There are few character actors in the history of cinema more mesmerizing and fearless than Philip Seymour Hoffman. He’s created some of the most memorable characters ever to grace the screen: from the sexually arrested Allen in “Happiness” and the obsessed playwright Caden Cotard in “Synecdoche, New York” to the electrifying title role in “Capote.”

DVD Review: ‘The Disappearance of Alice Creed’ Holds Interest Despite Flaws

The Disappearance of Alice Creed DVD

CHICAGO – There is no doubt that Gemma Arterton is a pretty face. Her natural beauty is so intoxicating that it nearly always upstages whatever talent may reside beneath her scintillating surface. Her aggressively bland work in mediocre action fare like “Clash of the Titans” and “Prince of Persia” had convinced me that she was nothing more than a non-thinking man’s Rachel Weisz.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Solitary Man’ Showcases Michael Douglas at His Best

Solitary Man Blu-Ray Thumb

CHICAGO – Michael Douglas is so good at playing a particular type of character that it’s easy to forget just how good of an actor he is. While his father seemed capable of playing any role, from van Gogh to Spartacus, Douglas has specialized in playing suave scoundrels with slicked back hair, a snakelike voice, and a sinfully seductive belief in the inherent goodness of greed.

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TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • Manhunt

    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+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

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