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+.
Elizabeth Olsen
Film Review: Mixed Bag of Marvel Tricks in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 30, 2015 - 8:14amCHICAGO – 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.
Film Review: Hollywood’s ‘Godzilla’ Misses, Mocks Ishirô Honda’s Main Warning Message
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 17, 2014 - 2:42pmCHICAGO – Except for the clear purpose of cashing in on yet another “Godzilla” remake, everything is happening for no reason. Worst of all, what is ensuing misses and even mocks the reason why Ishirô Honda originated 1954’s “Godzilla” in the first place.
Film Review: ‘Godzilla’ Just Goes Where He Has Gone Before
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 15, 2014 - 3:49pmCHICAGO – 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.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 20 Pairs of Passes to ‘Godzilla’ With Elizabeth Olsen
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 9, 2014 - 11:28pmCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 20 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated new film “Godzilla” starring Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson!
Film Review: Love is Impossible in Alluring Period Horror ‘In Secret’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 23, 2014 - 8:19pmCHICAGO – If stories of Prince Charmings and the liberation from wicked stepmothers are fairy tales, than “In Secret” is the stuff of nightmares, where marriage is not just a prison sentence, but an unlucky life is as well. Based on the novel “Therese Raquin” by Emile Zola as published in 1867, this film’s element of ownership may be considered an artifact in 2014. But thankfully this adaptation earns its own pertinence, as a dark period thriller with real doses of hormonally fueled bad decisions.
Film Review: Spike Lee’s ‘Oldboy’ Remake Merely Echoes Superior Original
Submitted by BrianTT on November 26, 2013 - 3:57pmAfter years in development hell, Spike Lee’s remake of Park Chan-wook’s beloved “Oldboy” is finally here. Does it live up to the high expectations set by the original?
Film Review: Daniel Radcliffe Finds a Beat in ‘Kill Your Darlings’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 1, 2013 - 4:18pmCHICAGO – The movies has been berry berry good to 1950s Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsburg. For the sixth time since 2009, his persona is actualized on celluloid – this time by Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe – in the coming-of-age part of the poet’s story, “Kill Your Darlings.”
Film Review: Josh Radnor’s ‘Liberal Arts’ Takes Uncommonly Thoughtful Look at Growing Up
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 21, 2012 - 9:06amCHICAGO – 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.
Interview: Josh Radnor Returns to Kenyon College For ‘Liberal Arts’
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 17, 2012 - 1:07pmCHICAGO – In “Liberal Arts,” the magical new film written and directed by Josh Radnor, characters have conversations that are actually worth listening to about subjects that are actually worth discussing. It reminds viewers of just how flat and perfunctory movie dialogue can become when it only serves to move along the plot.
Film Review: Cillian Murphy, Robert De Niro in Messy ‘Red Lights’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 2, 2012 - 2:38pmCHICAGO – “Red Lights” is a mess. And yet it’s also not messy enough. Rodrigo Cortes follows up his vastly superior “Buried” with this supernatural tale filled with plot contrivances that would make M. Night Shyamalan call bullshit. Still, he does so with a direct, straightforward style when a bit less polish would have given it the character it’s missing.