The Beatles

CHICAGO – The final studio album from The Beatles was entitled “Abbey Road,” which was named after the studio they recorded their run of now-iconic musical history. That history and more about the studio is highlighted in the new documentary “If These Walls Could Sing.” The doc is directed by Mary McCartney, daughter of Paul.

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review on The Beatles “Get Back” Part Three, part of a three-part documentary series directed by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings series) and premiering on the Disney+ streaming service on November 27th, 2021.

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review on The Beatles “Get Back” Part Two, a three-part documentary series directed by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings series) and premiering on the Disney+ streaming service on November 26th, 2021.

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review on The Beatles “Get Back” Part One, a three-part documentary series directed by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings series) and premiering on the Disney+ streaming service on November 25th, 2021.

LOS ANGELES – Peter Fonda, part of Hollywood acting royalty, had many memorable roles in his long career. But he will forever be known as the “Easy Rider,” the 1969 feature (coincidentally, the film was the number one film exactly 50 years ago today) that ushered in a new wave of filmmaking. Portraying a biker named Captain America, his character was “born to be wild” as he motored across the country. Peter Fonda died in Los Angeles due to complications of lung cancer. He was 79.

CHICAGO – 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.

CHICAGO – Hey, hey, he (was) a Monkee, and Peter Tork liked Monkee-ing around. The eternally optimistic-but-doofus character of the “Pre-Fab Four” 1960s pop group The Monkees was also a consummate musician, and was one the first members of the made-for-TV band that protested the false backing tracks to their playing and singing. Tork died on February 21st, 2019. He was 77.

CHICAGO – The story of a drop-out rock and roll star… usually disappearing at the height of their fame… has fascinated the movies in both fiction (“Eddie and the Cruisers”) and documentary (“Waiting for Sugarman”). “Juliet, Naked” takes the premise and creates a charming, romantic story about fandom and redemptive decisions.

LOS ANGELES – When Adam West had a voice role on “The Simpsons,” portraying the Batman – as he had in the iconic TV series from 1966 through 1968 – he remarked, in reference to the rubber muscle costume that the movie actors wore, that his Batman was “All Pure West.” West died on June 9th, 2017, at the age of 88.

CHICAGO – When The Beatles changed pop music forever in the early 1960s, they also launched a worldwide revolution of bands and songwriters. One such star was Teddy Robin Kwan, who founded Teddy Robin & the Playboys in Hong Kong, and rightly took the crown as “The King of Asian Pop.” And for his second act, the small-but-mighty Kwan became one of Hong Kong’s top film composers, as well as a director and actor of note. He was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Asian Pop-Up Cinema series Closing Night Gala in Chicago on May 11th, 2017.