CHICAGO – The funny meter of Netflix went off the scale last week, as the animated series “Chicago Party Aunt” made its debut on September 17th. What began as a Twitter account by comic actor Chris Witaske (who also provides his voice talent) has morphed into the cartoon adventures of Aunt Diane Dumbowski, her nephew Daniel, and an array of familiar Chicago-isms and characters.
1980s
Papa Can You Hear Me! On-Air Review of ‘Flag Day’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 19, 2021 - 4:25pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on August 19th, 2021, reviewing the new film “Flag Day” – featuring and directed by Sean Penn – In theaters on August 20th, 2021.
Save the American Farm! On-Air Review of ‘Minari’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 26, 2021 - 5:18pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on February 25th, 2021, reviewing the new film “Minari,” in theaters and available through Video-On-Demand on February 26th.
Truth Upstages Fiction Again in ‘Three Identical Strangers’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 6, 2018 - 9:58amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The eternal debate of what affects human development more, our nature or our nurturing, opens up again in the wild story of “Three Identical Strangers,” a new documentary about triplets who were separated at birth, only to discover each other by chance and uncover some difficult truths about that separation.
Tom Cruise in ‘American Made’ Never Gets Off the Ground
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 29, 2017 - 10:24am Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Tom Cruise was once a Top Gun, but his newest film “American Made” never really takes off. It wants to be a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction kind of satire where commercial airline pilot Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) winds up getting involved in the Iran Contra Affair and the Medellín drug cartel, but it never creates an enthralling place or story.
Matthew McConaughey is All That Glitters in ‘Gold’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 27, 2017 - 12:19pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The relish that Matthew McConaughey displays in creating his latest character in “Gold,” a Willy Loman-type mining exec who is looking for his biggest score, is most of the reason to experience the film. However, there isn’t exactly a motherlode when it comes to the story.
‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ Gets Lost in Misty Nostalgia
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 1, 2016 - 2:02pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When the first strains of “My Sharona” by The Knack come out of the car speakers of a dude going to college in 1980, as “Everybody Wants Some!!” began, my do-you-remember-when sense tingled. The film’s story, unfortunately, could not match that feeling of nostalgia.
Philip Seymour Hoffman Lives Again in ‘God’s Pocket’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 20, 2014 - 11:34amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Watching Philip Seymour Hoffman perform, now that he has passed on, is a bittersweet reminder of his ability and power to embody his deeply felt characters. He does it again in one of his last roles, adding his special brand of acting to the messy story within the gritty noir drama, “God’s Pocket.”
‘Dallas Buyers Club’ is Highly Romanticized Yet Effective
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 8, 2013 - 9:18pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Matthew McConaughey’s performance as a 1980s-era HIV positive man in the drama “Dallas Buyers Club” is a gangbusters piece of acting. However, some highly exaggerated characters and soft soaping of reality creates a more gauzy romance of the situation than true grit.
Miscarriage of Justice Befalls ‘The Central Park Five’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 7, 2012 - 10:57amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It takes a provocative subject to capture the attention of famous documentarian Ken Burns. There are few things more provocative than the story of “The Central Park Five.” Burns, his daughter Sarah Burns and son-in-law David McMahon were co-directors for this exploration of justice denied.
Whale of a Tale For Drew Barrymore in ‘Big Miracle’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 3, 2012 - 9:09amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Whale of a tale (chuckle), no other headline writer has thought of that. “Big Miracle” is a family movie with Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Kristen Bell, Ted Danson and the voice of Ronald Reagan, that will not have adults seeking the emergency exits. It’s about whales.
