CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on The Eddie Volkman Show with Hannah B on WSSR-FM (Star 96.7 Joliet, Illinois) on August 12th, reviewing Season Three of the hit TV series “Never Have I Ever,” streaming on Netflix beginning on August 12th.!—break—>
Bradley Cooper
Carney Brad! On-Air Review of ‘Nightmare Alley’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 17, 2021 - 3:41pm- 1930s
- Bradley Cooper
- Carnival
- Cate Blanchett
- Chicago
- David Strathairn
- Film Noir
- Guillermo del Toro
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Mary Steenburgen
- Monroe
- Movie Review
- Nightmare Alley
- Pat Über TV
- Patrick McDonald
- Remake
- Richard Jenkins
- Ron Perlman
- Rooney Mara
- Scott Thompson
- Searchlight Pictures
- The Great Stanton
- The Morning Mess
- Toni Collette
- WBGR-FM
- Willem Dafoe
- Wisconsin
![]() Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 16th, 2021, reviewing the film noir remake of “Nightmare Alley,’ directed by Guillermo del Toro, in theaters on December 17th, 2021.
Spin on the ‘70s! On-Air Review of ‘Licorice Pizza’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 3, 2021 - 12:31am- 1970s
- Alana Haim
- Ben Thompson
- Boogie Nights
- Bradley Cooper
- Cooper Hoffman
- Gas Crisis
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Licorice Pizza
- Los Angeles
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Monroe
- Movie Review
- Pat Über TV
- Patrick McDonald
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Scott Thompson
- Sean Penn
- The Morning Mess
- Tom Waits
- Water Beds
- WBGR-FM
- Wisconsin
![]() Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Ben Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 2nd, 2021, reviewing the latest film by director Paul Thomas Anderson (“Boogie Nights”), the back to the 1970s relationship epic “Licorice Pizza,” currently in select theaters.
Journey to Conclusion is the Thrill of ‘Avengers: Endgame’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 24, 2019 - 11:15am![]() Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When it comes down to this, and the creators do it right, there is no more satisfying conclusion than “Avengers: Endgame.” Admirers of this magnificent Marvel (Studios) Universe story will get everything they want. It is the “Gone with the Wind” of superhero epic films.
Lady Gaga Characterizes the Title ‘A Star is Born’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 4, 2018 - 3:53pm![]() Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Stefani Joanne Angelina Gemanotta, also known as Lady Gaga, is the only reason to see the latest iteration of ‘A Star is Born.’ The luminous stage presence that propelled her to music superstardom is present in her major film debut, taking the female lead reins from Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand.
Cut of Nostalgia in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 5, 2017 - 12:31pm![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When I first saw “Guardians of the Galaxy” I was unfamiliar with the comic book source. I enjoyed the film, but worried it might be just a little too nerdy and obscure to develop a following. Now with “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” the series has solidified itself as the class clowns of the Marvel Studios cinematic universe, and it’s been embraced for it.
‘War Dogs’ Fires Blanks in a Sorry Attempt at Satire
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 19, 2016 - 6:39am![]() Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “War Dogs” is an insufferable, self important, and heavy handed attempt at satire that can’t stop congratulating itself for all the big truths it’s blowing up, bro. “Old School” and “Hangover” director Todd Phillips fancies himself an auteur, but here it seems like he’s imitating David O Russell imitating Martin Scorsese.
Unusual, Passionate ‘Aloha’ is Deeply Resonant
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 29, 2015 - 9:34am![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Films with major movie stars that take real chances on story formula are rare. “Aloha” is one such example, and produces considerations that are way off the beaten path. Is it an allegory? An absurdity? An homage to 1960s paranoia? Only writer/director Cameron Crowe knows for sure.
Bradley Cooper’s ‘American Sniper’ is Entertaining, One-Sided American Propaganda
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on January 18, 2015 - 7:22pm![]() Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I understand why they did it. But that doesn’t make it right to do.
In order to earn sign-off from Chris Kyle’s family and the U.S. Navy – and to appease the patriotic American public – “American Sniper” needed to make the U.S. military’s most lethal sniper nicer than he actually was and generalize a people as people you should hate.
Lack of Full Disclosure Trips Up ‘American Sniper’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 15, 2015 - 11:27pm![]() Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – A straightforward story about the military marksman Chris Kyle is pretty much told in “American Sniper,” by director Clint Eastwood. But what is left out of the movie – Kyle’s right wing politics and a depiction of his fate – is more curious than what is actually presented.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ a Gleeful Space Romp
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 3, 2014 - 6:57am![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Guardians Of The Galaxy” is a gleeful Star Wars knockoff dressed up in Marvel Comics clothing. It occupies the same universe as Marvel’s other properties, but its tone is decidedly sillier. It has a spirit more akin to the later joke heavy installments of the Star Trek franchise or low budget exploitation mogul Roger Corman’s “Battle Beyond The Stars” than the ponderous pontificating of “Thor.”
