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+.
TV Review
TV Review: ABC’s ‘Once Upon a Time’ Gets ‘Lost’ in Faerie Tale Land
Submitted by mattmovieman on October 23, 2011 - 8:27amCHICAGO – With two “Snow White” films currently in production, it’s tempting to believe that Hollywood’s well of originality has run dry. Sure, faerie tales have always been reinterpreted for new generations, but how many re-imaginings does one generation need?
TV Review: ABC’s Abysmal ‘Man Up’ Inspires Hatred of Mankind
Submitted by mattmovieman on October 18, 2011 - 7:15amCHICAGO – What can be said about “Man Up” that wasn’t already said about “Last Man Standing”? Neither show has the slightest shred of insight into the mind of modern man. They appear to have been conceived by network executives who hate men with a fiery passion. How else to explain the thoroughly insulting, utterly asinine portraits of masculine arrested development?
TV Review: Tim Allen Sinks to Idiocy & Beyond in ‘Last Man Standing’
Submitted by mattmovieman on October 11, 2011 - 7:27amCHICAGO – There’s something inherently unmanly about the need to prove one’s own manliness. What passes for virility in the mind of Mike Baxter (Tim Allen) is clearly masking a deep well of insecurity. He never passes up an opportunity to prove that he is, in fact, a man.
TV Review: Second Season of ‘Happy Endings’ Delivers More Hilarity
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 28, 2011 - 10:21amCHICAGO – It’s a good thing ABC’s sitcom “Happy Endings” is only 20 minutes, since the frenzied pace of its gags run the risk of exhausting its audience. With so many rapid fire punch-lines bouncing off the screen, one quickly suspects that the perpetually hyper energy level is a sign of desperation. Sampling any given moment from this show could easily repel potential viewers.
TV Review: Torturous ‘Suburgatory’ Ineptly Imitates Diablo Cody
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 27, 2011 - 7:12amCHICAGO – ABC reaches a new low with “Suburgatory,” one of the least funny comedies of the fall TV season. It’s only appropriate that the pilot premieres after ABC’s other torturous suburban sitcom, “The Middle,” since neither show seems to have been conceived by a writer willing to step foot outside of the L.A. city limits. Yet while “The Middle” was admittedly likable during its first season, “Suburgatory” tanks in its opening moments.
TV Review: Breezy ‘Pan Am’ Pilot Exudes Promise in Flawed Launch
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 24, 2011 - 2:33pmCHICAGO – Feminism continues to be redefined for a new generation in this season’s slate of TV dramas. While NBC’s “The Playboy Club” makes the age-old error of confusing exploitation with empowerment, ABC’s “Pan Am” argues that flight attendants paved the way for the modern woman.
TV Review: ABC’s Latest ‘Charlie’s Angels’ Reboot Fails to Take Flight
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 21, 2011 - 7:25pmCHICAGO – Out of all the franchises recently resurrected on the small screen, “Charlie’s Angels” is perhaps the least necessary. Does the world really need yet another rehash of the hit ’70s show that has been hailed for its female empowerment but was mainly popular because of its scantily clad female ensemble?
TV Review: Entrancing ‘Revenge’ Serves Up Plentiful Guilty Pleasures
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 21, 2011 - 7:13amCHICAGO – With lobbyists controlling the nation’s capital and the middle class perched on the edge of poverty, an increasing number of American viewers are seeking modes of escapism. And what better way to escape than watch a wronged girl wreak havoc on a cultish clan of rich snobs? Creator Mike Kelley (“Swingtown”) has the current economic woes to thank for making his new ABC drama serial, “Revenge,” all the more enticing.
TV Review: ‘Combat Hospital’ Fails to Get the Pulse Pounding
Submitted by mattmovieman on June 21, 2011 - 7:33amCHICAGO – Is there a script doctor in the house? ABC is in dire need of one. How could the network possibly greenlight “Combat Hospital” in light of its recently botched, strikingly similar effort, “Off the Map”?
TV Review: Dramatic Season-Three Premiere of ‘HawthoRNe’ With Jada Pinkett Smith
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 14, 2011 - 10:09amCHICAGO – The popular cable TV series “HawthoRNe” throws down a dramatic Season 3 premiere, featuring the star talents of Jada Pinkett Smith and a great supporting cast. The medical series returns on TNT Network on June 14th.