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+.
Patrick McDonald
Film Review: Life’s a Transition for Fanny Ardant in ‘Bright Days Ahead’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 13, 2014 - 10:02amCHICAGO – We are victims of our own circumstances, says the old adage. We are also prone to transitions, some caused by decisions we make, others thrust upon us through life itself. In a fascinating new French film, Fanny Ardant embraces a character transforming through such circumstance, and trying to understand what aging means to her in “Bright Days Ahead.”
Interview: Bob Saget Reveals His ‘Dirty Daddy’ Side
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 12, 2014 - 4:20pmCHICAGO – There are a couple directions to the long career of Bob Saget. The first is of Danny Tanner, the Dad he portrayed in the 1980s sitcom “Full House,” and the second is his stand-up act, with a reputation for filthy jokes that has no boundaries.
Film Review: ‘Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return’ is For Kids Only
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 10, 2014 - 8:20amCHICAGO – The so-called “legend of Oz” will cease to be legendary if they keep producing lame re-engineerings of the 1939 classic “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” Close on the heels of last year’s dud, “Oz the Great and Powerful,” comes the dully rendered “Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return.”
Film News: Chicago Critics Film Festival Opens May 9, 2014, With Full Lineup of Appearances
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 9, 2014 - 4:45pm- American Ham
- Animals
- Bobcat Goldthwait
- Chicago Film Critics Festival
- Colin Schiffti
- David Dasmalchian
- David Wain
- Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead
- Dick Miller
- Film News
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jocelyn Deboer
- Jordan Vogt-Roberts
- Martin Starr
- Patrick McDonald
- That Guy Dick Miller
- They Came Together
- Willow Creek
CHICAGO – Now in its second year, the Chicago Film Critics Festival opens tonight, May 9th, 2014, with the Chicago Premiere of “They Came Together,” starring Paul Rudd, Amy Poelher, Ellie Kemper, Bill Hader and Ed Helms, and directed by David Wain. Wain makes an appearance after the 7pm screening at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago. Click here for details and the complete schedule for the week long festival.
Theater Review: Passionate ‘Hit the Wall’ Feels Like Revolution
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 9, 2014 - 12:59pmCHICAGO – There are few civil rights events shrouded in mystery like the Stonewall Inn Riots – a June night in 1969 in New York City, when gay liberation was born. Witnesses and participants in the riots have grown exponentially over the years (“I was there.”) and the who, what and how the riots began have also been in dispute as time goes by. All of that perspective is realized in Ike Holter’s incendiary stage play “Hit the Wall,” presented by the Chicago Commercial Collective at the Greenhouse Theater in Chicago.
Film News: Actor Fred Savage to Open CineYouth Fest in Chicago on May 8, 2014
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 7, 2014 - 2:17pmCHICAGO – One of the big kicking-off-the-summer film events is the “CineYouth Fest,” presented by Cinema/Chicago and The Chicago International Film Festival. Opening night is May 8th, 2014, and the special guest is actor, producer and director Fred Savage (“The Wonder Years”), who will participate in a career perspective and audience Q&A. The event is free and open to the public, click here for details and the CineYouth schedule.
Film Review: Irish Friends Go Stag in ‘The Bachelor Weekend’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 6, 2014 - 8:37amCHICAGO – What truths are contained in the male ritual of the bachelor party? Alcohol/substance consumption sure, maybe discomfort at being yourself, or perhaps a bit of accidental emotion? All is realized in the Irish comedy “The Bachelor Weekend,” brought to life by six members of the pre-wedding team, off on a stag weekend.
Film Review: Kevin Spacey on Power of ‘NOW: In the Wings on a World Stage’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 5, 2014 - 7:01pmCHICAGO – “Hi-diddle-dee-dee, the actor’s life for me!” Kevin Spacey, who took a considerable break from movie acting to become Artistic Director of the Old Vic Theater in London, puts the fruit of those labors in a new documentary, “NOW: In the Wings on a World Stage.” The film chronicles the international tour of Spacey and the troupe performing William Shakespeare’s “Richard III.”
Film Review: Warm ‘Fading Gigolo’ Has Odd Romance, Woody Allen
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 5, 2014 - 5:10pmCHICAGO – How do you make a Woody Allen style film? You hire Woody Allen to act in it. Writer, director and lead actor John Turturro channels the soul of Allen’s films by creating a strange and romantic scenario with different types of relationships, including one with Woody himself in “Fading Gigolo.”
Film Review: Big Spectacle, Small Heart in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 2, 2014 - 5:22amCHICAGO – For a film with so much eye candy that it threatens ocular diabetes, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is decidedly low in story rhythm and energy – even with a villain named Electro. The story also has the “three villain syndrome,” which allows for a lack of focus and heart.