CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
September 11th
Coming Together! On-Air Review of ‘Come From Away’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 10, 2021 - 11:44pmRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on September 9th, 2021, reviewing the new film “Come From Away” – a staged version of the Broadway musical hit – streaming on AppleTV+ beginning September 10th, 2021.
Prisoner of Politics! On-Air Review of ‘The Mauritanian’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 20, 2021 - 1:32pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on February 18th, 2021, reviewing the new film “Mauritanian,” in theaters now and available through Video-On-Demand on March 2nd.
‘Vice’ Proves It’s Okay to Laugh at Dick Cheney
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 27, 2018 - 6:46pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Vice” is an occasionally very funny attempt to demystify the life and legacy of former Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney. Using some of the same gimmicks and narrative trickery he employed to great effect in “The Big Short,” writer/director Adam McKay goes deep into the weeds to try to explain how Cheney made it to the second highest office in the land.
‘12 Strong’ Wins the Battle as it Loses the War
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 19, 2018 - 9:08amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In the 16 years of the U.S. and Afghanistan war, which began a month after Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. has spent trillions of dollars and lost 2,400 soldiers. The story of that war’s first battle, “12 Strong,” would probably be more revelatory if we weren’t still there.
SNL Rightly Touts Its Influence in ‘Live From New York!’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 15, 2015 - 11:32am- 1975
- Abramorama
- Alec Baldwin
- Andy Samberg
- Chevy Chase
- Dana Carvey
- Garrett Morris
- George Carlin
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jane Curtin
- Julia Louis-Dreyfuss
- Laraine Newman
- Live From New York!
- Lorne Michaels
- Movie Review
- New York City
- Patrick McDonald
- Rudy Giuliani
- Saturday Night Live
- September 11th
- SNL
- Steve Martin
- Tina Fey
Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Love, hate or maintain indifference to it, the TV dinosaur “Saturday Night Live” has and will continue to influence American culture as long as it may reign. To celebrate its 40th Anniversary, filmmaker Bao Nguyen takes a fresh look at the iconic television show in “Live From New York!”
Errol Morris’ ‘The Unknown Known’ Seeks Donald Rumsfeld
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 21, 2014 - 5:35pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The reason some people fit into government service is fairly well-defined in the latest film by iconic documentary-maker Errol Morris. His profile of ex-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in “The Unknown Known” is a tale of history – affected by war, death, torture and justification. The power of government men in suits and what happens when the power is realized flows through Rumsfeld like water through a faucet, and who or what shuts it off, is often determined by the title of the film.
Profiling Transforms ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 3, 2013 - 4:03pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Given the recent media coverage of the Boston bombings, the issue of profiling – judging a individual as suspect based on religion or appearances – is an ongoing problem. Director Mira Nair explores profiling in the context of September 11th in “The Reluctant Fundamentalist.”
Robert Pattinson Anchors the Forgettable ‘Remember Me’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 12, 2010 - 9:47amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The hottest actor of the moment, smoldering Robert Pattinson, gets the opportunity to ditch the “Twilight” fangs and sink his teeth into a drama about New York City and the splintering factions of family in “Remember Me.”