Shailene Woodley

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on February 18th, 2021, reviewing the new film “Mauritanian,” in theaters now and available through Video-On-Demand on March 2nd.

CHICAGO – The experience of director Oliver Stone, to look underneath the slimy rocks of government secrecy and bureaucracy, produces an excellent history lesson in “Snowden,” an overview of Edward Snowden, a whistleblower against the government who is still in exile.

CHICAGO – The “Divergent” series of films are coming to a conclusion, with a two parter adapted from the last book. The first film is “The Divergent Series: Allegiant - Part 1,” and there are some new kids in the mix, with two actors who have made their mark overseas – Nadia Hilker and Bill Skarsgard – joining the series.

CHICAGO – 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 “The Divergent Series: Allegiant - Part 1” starring Shailene Woodley!

CHICAGO – “The Divergent Series: Insurgent” does nothing to change the “Divergent” series status as an off-brand Young Adult epic. As we’ve seen with “The Hunger Games,” these Young Adult franchises can be lots of fun and be faithful to their source material. But “Insurgent” has the same problem as the first two “Harry Potter” films – it’s too faithful, coupled with a dearth of inspiration behind the camera.

CHICAGO – A year ago, we spoke with best-selling Chicago author Veronica Roth along with stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James and Ansel Elgort at the “Divergent” red-carpet premiere. Since then, the 2014 film has earned $288 million globally on an $85 million production budget.

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 pairs of advance-screening IMAX movie passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated new film “The Divergent Series: Insurgent” starring Shailene Woodley!

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 15 pairs of guaranteed fast-pass virtual reality tickets (skip the lines!) up for grabs to the immersive 4D virtual reality experience “Insurgent: Shatter Reality” at Navy Pier in Chicago!

CHICAGO – When is comes to appreciating life, one great practitioner is Anson Williams, better known as the character “Potsie” from the 1970s TV series “Happy Days.” Williams wants to remind everybody to “pay it forward,” as he does in highlighting his unlikely mentor in his new book, “Singing to a Bulldog.”

CHICAGO – Sure, I’ll admit it. With so many new films to screen and review, I’ll choose the sci-fi action/thriller from the man behind the Bourne flicks over a movie that’s being called “the greatest romance story of this decade”.