CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 16th, 2023, reviewing “Boston Strangler,” another film version of one of the most notorious crimes of the 1960s. Streaming on HULU beginning March 17th.
Rosario Dawson
Snoochie Boochies! On-Air Film Review of ‘Clerks III’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 15, 2022 - 5:49pm![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on September 15th, 2022, reviewing “Clerks III,” the third film in Kevin Smith’s New Jersey convenience story trilogy. Currently in theaters after opening on September 13th.
'Zombieland: Double Tap' Not As Fresh But Still Has Some Life Left
Submitted by JonHC on October 21, 2019 - 2:04pm![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO - Zombieland: Double Tap lacks the freshness or the belly laughs of its predecessor, but I was surprised to see that this outrageously overqualified cast has not worn out its welcome. It’s ridiculous that three Oscar nominees and one Oscar winner headline a movie devoted solely to blowing zombies up. But when you employ Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin, you’re going to get some unexpected surprises.
‘The LEGO Batman Movie’ Delivers the Usual Laughs
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 10, 2017 - 10:51am![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “The LEGO Batman Movie” is more of a parody than the laugh-out-loud hijinks of the surprising “The LEGO Movie,” but the legend of The Bats is ripe for a good skewering, and the movie has a lot of fun doing it. Will Arnett reprises the voice as the title character, with Zach Galifianakis taking on the antics of The Joker.
Surprisingly Weird, Wacky ‘Puerto Ricans in Paris’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 12, 2016 - 11:14pm![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Occasionally, a film breaks through the miasma of images, and proclaims its uniqueness by just being weird. Case in point, the strange and wacky “Puerto Ricans in Paris,” which may have been created after two rich film producers made a one dollar bet (ala “Trading Places”) that they could come up with a movie simply based on the title.
Schizophrenic ‘Top Five’ is Evolution for Chris Rock
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 12, 2014 - 4:59am![]() Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Chris Rock wants you to take him seriously, so he has made a comedy with inconsistent laughs, and a nod towards the weird fishbowl lives that today’s celebrities endure. It’s a rare film where the last part is stronger than the first few acts, a mishmash that is “Top Five.”
More Risqué ‘Sin City: A Dame to Kill For’ Doesn’t Dare to Trailblaze Again
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 22, 2014 - 9:36pm- Adam Fendelman
- Bruce Willis
- Christopher Lloyd
- Dennis Haybert
- Eva Green
- Frank Miller
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jeremy Piven
- Jessica Alba
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt
- Josh Brolin
- Julie Garner
- Lady Gaga
- Mickey Rourke
- Movie Review
- Powers Boothe
- Ray Liotta
- Robert Rodriguez
- Rosario Dawson
- Sin City
- Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
![]() Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Sex sells, sure, but the film-noir sequel “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” makes you feel dirty if you’re left thinking that’s enough.
Nine years since the visually groundbreaking, avant-garde hit “Sin City,” Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s biggest mistake with their next incarnation is replacing the first film’s bloodthirsty impact with too much nudity.
‘Sin City: A Dame to Kill For’ Breaks No New Ground
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 21, 2014 - 8:44pm- Bruce Willis
- Christopher Lloyd
- Dennis Haybert
- Eva Green
- Frank Miller
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jeremy Piven
- Jessica Alba
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt
- Josh Brolin
- Mickey Rourke
- Movie Review
- Patrick McDonald
- Powers Boothe
- Ray Liotta
- Robert Rodriguez
- Rosario Dawson
- Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
- The Weinstein Company
![]() Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When the first “Sin City” (2005) was released – based on the graphic novels by Frank Miller – the conversion of a film to a noir-like comic book atmosphere was pioneering. The sequel “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” has heightened that look, but this time has much less to say.
‘Cesar Chavez’ is Stiff History of a Heroic Man
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 29, 2014 - 11:02am![]() Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – How can one man bring down a ruthless industry? By building a union that never backs down, because he never backed down. ‘Cesar Chavez’ depicts the United Farm Workers union organizer in the 1960s who sought justice against virtual slave conditions for immigrant labor, assuring his place in history.
Earnest ‘Gimme Shelter’ Needs More Truth
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 24, 2014 - 7:53am![]() Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The balancing act between reality and drama in based-on-truth narratives is as delicate as walking the high wire. Pour in too much drama, and a story can feel like a soap opera. “Gimme Shelter,” although earnestly and achingly performed, has that sudsy protocol.
Danny Boyle Nearly Mesmerizes with ‘Trance’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 11, 2013 - 3:07pm![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Danny Boyle’s “Trance” is an undeniably well-made thriller that works back in on itself a few too many times for disbelief to stay suspended but delivers enough escapist entertainment to be considered a success. It’s totally ridiculous and yet never boring, propelled by the quick-cut style of the man who brought similar momentum to “Shallow Grave,” “Trainspotting,” and “28 Days Later.”
