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+.
Johnny Depp
Keep Tim Burton’s ‘Dark Shadows’ Out of the Light
Submitted by BrianTT on May 11, 2012 - 11:38am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Tim Burton’s “Dark Shadows” is one of the most inconsistent and frustrating major films in a long time. There are elements here and there that work but Burton and writer Seth Grahame-Smith seem incapable of figuring out how to wrangle them into a coherent, successful film.
Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum Have Fun on ‘21 Jump Street’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 16, 2012 - 6:58am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There are various opinions about TV-to-movie remakes, mostly negative. That is why “21 Jump Street,” based on a 1980s TV show, manages some grudging respect. Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Rob Riggle, Nick Offerman and Ellie Kemper create some goofy laughs in this farce.
Adam Sandler Sticks to Formula in ‘Jack and Jill’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 11, 2011 - 8:37amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – No one will ever accuse Adam Sandler of not knowing his audience and the reason they keep coming back to his “Happy Madison” genre of films – he delivers the oddball characters, lots of bodily fluids/sounds, physical beatings and the know-it-all straight man. Add the gooey sentiment and out spews the latest, “Jack and Jill.”
Johnny Depp is On, Story is Off in ‘The Rum Diary’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 27, 2011 - 5:55pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Johnny Depp has a Hunter S. Thompson obsession, that is career apparent. After playing the journalist’s alter-ego Raoul Duke in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” Depp gives a turn as Hunter’s younger self in a film based on Thompson’s 1998 novel, “The Rum Diary.”
Johnny Depp in Entertaining ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 19, 2011 - 2:24pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It’s easy to remember that the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series is on its fourth formulaic film, but harder to remember that it’s based on a freaking amusement park ride! Director Rob Marshall livens it up with “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.”
Johnny Depp Spins Animation Gold in Hilarious ‘Rango’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 4, 2011 - 3:44pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When we first see the chameleon named Lars (Johnny Depp), soon to be ‘Rango,’ he is doing acting voice exercises. He is basically warming up a film that is a real hoot, and has wonderful heart.
‘The Tourist’ Twists Predictably, Lacks Chemistry Between Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on December 10, 2010 - 4:24pm Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Though you probably don’t know his name, Christopher McQuarrie’s involvement might sell you on paying to see “The Tourist” even more than “A”-list stars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. After all, McQuarrie is the writer behind 1995’s Oscar-winning magnum opus by the name of “The Usual Suspects”.
Go Ask ‘Alice in Wonderland’ With Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 5, 2010 - 8:23am Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It’s like living in a dream. Director Tim Burton’s adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” uses 3-D magic for a timeless classic and creates gratitude for this current era of technology and creativity.
Heath Ledger Still Lives in ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 8, 2010 - 9:00amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Bogart, James Dean and Heath Ledger are not dead, they’re just stuck in the Netflix queue. And Ledger, with a little help from some friends, gets one more theatrical release in “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.”
Johnny Depp’s ‘Public Enemies’ Delivers Bona Fide Chicago Powerhouse
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 1, 2009 - 2:24pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Was John Dillinger an Adolf Hitler-level criminal mastermind or a modern-day Robin Hood superman? In the authentic reality portrayed by the god-like Johnny Depp in the Chicago-filmed “Public Enemies,” he’s a little bit of both for blockbuster filmmaker Michael Mann.
