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+.
Movie Review
Film Review: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling in Great ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’
Submitted by BrianTT on July 28, 2011 - 3:20pmCHICAGO – “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” is undeniably clichéd, broad in its humor, and a bit manipulative in its sentimentality, but it should be. This is a movie about grand statements, soulmates, and true passion, a film that unabashedly believes in the craziness and the stupidity of what we call love. It’s also one of the most purely entertaining films of the year.
Feature: Limited-Release Sarah Palin Film ‘The Undefeated’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 25, 2011 - 11:34amCHICAGO – Spending nearly two hours with Sarah Palin, midday on a Saturday, is a questionable use of time at best, especially when not an admirer of the half term governor and defeated vice presidential candidate. Producer Stephen Bannon creates an irony with the title of the Palin documentary, “The Undefeated,” but supporters don’t seem to notice.
Film Review: Despite Disastrous Skinny Steve, ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ is Perfectly Imperfect
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 23, 2011 - 2:10amCHICAGO – With mammoth special effects budgets carelessly puked into blockbuster films these days without story or heart, it’s effortless to wow audiences with beguiling explosions and one or two trademark, “The Matrix”-like innovations.
Film Review: ‘Snow Flower and the Secret Fan’ Could Be Cure For Insomnia
Submitted by BrianTT on July 22, 2011 - 12:45pmRating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Wayne Wang’s “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” is such a stunningly inert film that it’s almost worth seeing to watch a movie with no thrust whatsoever. Probably due to a language barrier, the film features two of the least effective lead performances of the year, which keeps the audience from engaging in the story emotionally and just leaves them wondering how this book became a bestseller.
Film Review: ‘Terri’ Paints Honest Portrait of Adolescent Alienation
Submitted by mattmovieman on July 22, 2011 - 10:22amCHICAGO – Nothing says “Official Selection at Sundance” quite like an obese teen grappling with an angst-ridden existence. There have been countless pictures centering on young, plus-size protagonists, though few feel three-dimensional. Tracy Turnblad and Claireece Precious Jones aren’t people so much as they are symbols of survival in the face of adversity. It’s easy to root for them, but it’s more than a little difficult to believe in them.
Film Review: Mila Kunis, Justin Timberlake Try ‘Friends With Benefits’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 22, 2011 - 12:13amCHICAGO – It seems that carnal canoodling without strings attached seems all the rage in romantic comedies these days. The twentysomething set, having seen their share of divorces and break-ups, prefer the Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis method in “Friends with Benefits.”
Film Review: Hip-Hop Gets Personal in ‘Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 15, 2011 - 12:50pmCHICAGO – Fueling his passion for hip-hop, director Michael Rapaport premieres his new documentary, “Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest”. Proving that show biz never changes despite the category, this is a backstage look at the triumphs, misunderstandings, fall and rise again of the rap group “A Tribe Called Quest.”
Film Review: Traditional, Silly Fun in Disney’s ‘Winnie the Pooh’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 15, 2011 - 10:39amCHICAGO – Walt Disney Pictures goes old school with their latest animated tale, a return to the Hundred Acre Woods and the adventures of “Winnie the Pooh.” Using the style of the classic “2-D” cartoon method, and crafting a story that is decidedly old fashioned, the folks at the Mouse Factory resisted updating the Pooh formula.
Film Review: ‘Tabloid’ From Errol Morris Teases, Tantalizes, Entertains
Submitted by mattmovieman on July 15, 2011 - 8:27amCHICAGO – Errol Morris’s “Tabloid” is the sort of documentary so probing and inquisitive that it can’t help questioning its own validity. It’s a story about storytelling, a documentary that deconstructs the artifice of documentary filmmaking and a nonfiction narrative that may very well be comprised entirely of fiction. Such boundless ambition and self-reflexive irony is only typical of Morris, who is surely one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of the medium.
Film Review: It All Ends With Satisfying ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’
Submitted by BrianTT on July 14, 2011 - 7:56pmCHICAGO – So this is how it ends – not with a whimper but with a big, magical bang. After a decade of captivating movie audiences worldwide, will “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” appease the fans who have been eagerly anticipating the end of the saga of the boy who lived? It almost certainly will. It’s hard to imagine fans leaving the final “Potter” film with deep disappointment in this satisfying conclusion. But “satisfying” is not the same as captivating, magical, or spectacular. “Deathly Hallows” is none of those things. It’s a well-executed slice of fantasy entertainment that nonetheless fails to rise to the level of true classic.