CHICAGO – Theatrical satires of the Star Wars Universe are like the number of TV series the universe has wrought … too many to figure out if anything is worthwhile. But “Trade Federation” (subtitled “Or Let’s Explore Globalization Through the Star Wars Prequels”), presented by Otherworld Theatre in Wrigleyville Chicago, gets it right on.
David Oyelowo
Spaced Out! On-Air Review of ‘The Midnight Sky’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 18, 2020 - 10:26pm 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 17th, 2020, reviewing the new film “The Midnight Sky,” which will stream on Netflix beginning December 23rd.
Jessica Chastain, Oscar Isaac Endure ‘A Most Violent Year’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 17, 2015 - 10:20am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The effect of violence, centering on the roughest statistical year for it (1981) in New York City history, becomes a flashpoint for the way business has always been done. If someone isn’t intimidating their competitor with lawyers or shady marketing practices, a few hired goons can do the trick. Oscar Isaac takes the beating, both real and metaphorical, in writer/director J.C. Chandor’s “A Most Violent Year.”
‘Selma’ a Powerful Reminder that History Does Repeat
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 1, 2015 - 9:55am Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – With exquisite timing, the historical docudrama “Selma” will ring in 2015, and adds to the race-oppression-in-America debate that everything old is new again. Set in 1965, it is the courageous story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the ordinary citizens that fought for the right to vote.
Christopher Nolan’s Riveting Story Shines Brightest in Imperfectly Cast ‘Interstellar’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 7, 2014 - 2:45pm- Adam Fendelman
- Anne Hathaway
- Casey Affleck
- Christopher Nolan
- Collette Wolfe
- David Oyelowo
- Ellen Burstyn
- Elyes Gabel
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- IMAX
- Interstellar
- Jessica Chastain
- John Lithgow
- Jonathan Nolan
- Leah Cairns
- Mackenzie Foy
- Matt Damon
- Matthew McConaughey
- Michael Caine
- Movie Review
- Topher Grace
- Wes Bentley
 Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It was Monday, Nov. 3, 2014 at 10:15 p.m. Leaving Navy Pier IMAX, I was driving north on Lake Shore Drive – a constantly busy, multi-lane highway that hugs the east of Chicago and separates it from water. What I saw next with fellow staff critic Patrick McDonald might have been normal for 3 a.m., but discussing Christopher Nolan’s new sci-fi “Interstellar” and being the only one on the road in either direction felt otherworldly.
Werner Herzog Towers Over Miscast ‘Jack Reacher’ Star Tom Cruise in Five Mere Scenes
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on December 21, 2012 - 1:17am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – While normally I’d never think the date I screened a film was newsworthy, being subjected to “Jack Reacher” on Dec. 13, 2012 turned out to put even a therapist into therapy. The very next day, well, just two words: Sandy Hook.
Ava DuVernay’s ‘Middle of Nowhere’ Resonates by Valuing Truth Over Melodrama
Submitted by BrianTT on October 18, 2012 - 3:58pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Ava DuVernay’s Sundance award-winning drama “Middle of Nowhere” is a confident, engaging drama strengthened by genuine, moving performances, particularly the stunningly good one at its center from Emayatzy Corinealdi. The movie sometimes falters due to some melodramatic, on-the-nose dialogue, but there’s an honesty, compassion, and genuine quality here that’s too often missing from adult dramas. It’s a striking debut.
Nicole Kidman is Unique in Fluttery ‘The Paperboy’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 5, 2012 - 2:37pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – With all the steamy heat, and the thick, gluey southern accents from mostly non-southern actors, the audience for “The Paperboy” might need to wear lawyer-like suspenders and flap a funeral home fan to take it all in. The sweaty new film features Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey and John Cusack, all chewing the scenery.
