CHICAGO – It began with a boy and his dream (nightmare?). John LaFlamboy, to be exact, as he took an idea he had in college and made it his life’s work. He owns and operates the HellsGate Haunted House in Lockport (Illinois), which was designed, built and put together by Haunted House experts expressly for the spookiest month of the year. For info on how to purchase tickets, click HellsGate.
Jack Reynor
The Mother Also Rises! On-Air Review of ‘Flora and Son’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 29, 2023 - 11:40am 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 September 29th, 2023, reviewing “Flora and Son,” written/directed by John Carney (ONCE). In select theaters and streaming on Apple TV+ on September 29th.
Tom Holland Daze! On-Air Review of ‘Cherry’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 12, 2021 - 10:12amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on The Eddie Volkman Show on WSSR-FM (Star 96.7 Joliet, Illinois) on February 26th, 2021, reviewing the new release “Cherry,” streaming on Apple TV+ beginning on March 12th, 2021.
Mind-Blowing ‘Midsommar’ is Disturbing and Beautiful
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 4, 2019 - 11:27am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Midsommar” is beautifully composed, disturbing in nature and very very Swedish. Writer/Director Ari Aster creates a stunning sophomore effort (after his brilliant debut “Hereditary”) that is pure cinema, and weaves a fantastical tale of humanity stripped to its bare bones. It moves a bit slow, but it also builds to something completely original and unexpected.
‘Kin’ Overcomes Early Portrayal Issues to Score Big
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 31, 2018 - 10:08am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The concept of “family” has been romanticized to death in the movies in the last generation, coinciding with the increasing decline of actual togetherness. The new film “Kin” is essentially about family, but it also is about otherworldly weaponry, gritty crime lords and the old on-the-road story.
'Free Fire' Knows That Happiness is a Warm Gun
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 26, 2017 - 2:21pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In a film that had a sassy, arbitrary perspective on its own flipped-out story, “Free Fire” sought to out-Quentin Tarantino in freaky funny characters and ammo-splurging gun battles. Director Ben Wheatley (“High-Rise”) took an ensemble cast to rarified heights of insult comedy, revenge dynamics and bullets that hit the bone.
‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ Most Tolerable of Series
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 26, 2014 - 10:28pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I’ll say this for “Transformers: Age Of Extinction,” it’s the most tolerable Transformers movie Michael Bay has ever made. The substitution of Mark Wahlberg for Shia LaBeouf is a big part of that – and for its first two hours at least, Bay realizes less is more.
Though a Failed Comedy, ‘Delivery Man’ Shows Vince Vaughn’s Lesser-Seen Dramatic Side
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 22, 2013 - 3:48pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Has Vince Vaughn peaked?
Since hit films like “Swingers” and “Wedding Crashers,” critical flops like “Couples Retreat” and “The Dilemma” have shown he’s fighting an uphill battle to find redemption. While “Delivery Man” isn’t his re-breakout role, it does show you a lesser-seen side: his drama instead of his comedy.
