CHICAGO – Society, or at least certain elements of society, are always looking for scapegoats to hide the sins of themselves and authority. In the so-called “great America” of the 1950s, the scapegoat target was comic books … specifically through a sociological study called “The Seduction of the Innocent.” City Lit Theater Company, in part two of a trilogy on comic culture by Mark Pracht, presents “The Innocence of Seduction … now through October 8th, 2023. For details and tickets, click COMIC BOOK.
Lily James
On-Air Film Review: Arrangement in ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It?’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 6, 2023 - 10:41amCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on May 4th, reviewing “What’s Love Got to Do With It?,” featuring Lily James and Emma Thompson about neighbors in England. In theaters on May 5th.
Film Review: Uncovering the Past! On-Air Review of ‘The Dig’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 29, 2021 - 8:35pmCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on January 28th, 2021, reviewing the new film “The Dig,” streaming on Netflix beginning January 29th, 2021, PLUS a preview of the virtual and online Sundance Film Festival.
Film Review: ‘Yesterday’ is a Can’t-Miss Premise That Still Misses
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 28, 2019 - 10:12amCHICAGO – As a Beatles fanatic who has a band because of their existence, the premise of “Yesterday” was can’t miss. A man wakes up after an accident to discover he’s the only person to know that The Beatles existed? Sign me up and buy me popcorn. It’s unfortunate that the story went in a direction that did miss.
Film Review: ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ is a Bubbly Musical
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 20, 2018 - 10:35amCHICAGO – I give in. “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” the sequel to the much derided “Mamma Mia,” is a bubbly, frothy here-come-the-good-times musical that fits summer like a glove. The flashback format will also answer all the burning questions that were left unanswered from the first film, and the cast includes Cher!
Oscar Week: Gary Oldman is Winston Churchill in ‘Darkest Hour’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 1, 2018 - 9:12amCHICAGO – He has been cleaning up in the preliminary awards so far in 2018, and he’s an odds-on favorite to take the Oscar for Best Actor on Sunday, March 4th. Veteran actor Gary Oldman donned make-up and found the right accent to portray Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” (also nominated for the Best Picture).
Interview, Audio: Gary Oldman is Winston Churchill in ‘Darkest Hour’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 7, 2017 - 6:43pmCHICAGO – Gary Oldman has been generating memorable film portrayals since he broke through in the 1980s. From Sid Vicious (“Sid and Nancy”) to Lee Harvey Oswald (“JFK”) to Jim Gordon (Dark Knight Series), Oldman is a consummate actor. That is expressed in his latest role, as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour.”
Film Review: ‘Baby Driver’ Runs on the Fast Track of Movieland
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 28, 2017 - 8:28amCHICAGO – While it may seem that we’ve seen this type of tough-guy robbery gang film before, “Baby Driver” lives in its own universe, that of the movieland of movies. It is rich in squealing tires, bang-bang guns synched to the soundtrack, and a mystery cool boy creating his own star-crossed romance.
Film Review: Hard to Find a Point to ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 5, 2016 - 11:39pmCHICAGO – Having not read this best-selling source novel, I had a hard time understanding the point of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.’ Amazingly, it falls short as both a zombie movie and a satire of the original Jane Austin “Pride and Prejudice” story, which was its only achievement as a final result.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 40 Pairs of Passes to ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on February 1, 2016 - 11:04amCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new film “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” starring Lily James based on the novel by Jane Austen!
Film Review: ‘Cinderella’ Finds New Magic in Old Fairy Tale
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 13, 2015 - 12:23amCHICAGO – In the years since “Shrek,” the fractured fairy tale has become Hollywood’s default approach. We’ve been treated to so many irreverent and increasingly labored treatments of storybook characters, that Disney’s new live-action “Cinderella” comes off as relatively fresh by comparison.
