CHICAGO – The funny meter of Netflix went off the scale last week, as the animated series “Chicago Party Aunt” made its debut on September 17th. What began as a Twitter account by comic actor Chris Witaske (who also provides his voice talent) has morphed into the cartoon adventures of Aunt Diane Dumbowski, her nephew Daniel, and an array of familiar Chicago-isms and characters.
Sony Pictures Classics
Art Belongs to Daddy! On-Air Review of ‘The Father’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 11, 2021 - 8:48pm 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 March 11th, 2021, reviewing the new film “The Father,” in theaters on March 12th and available through Video-On-Demand March 26th.
A Soul Laid Bare in ‘David Crosby: Remember My Name’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 31, 2019 - 10:22am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Getting into the mind of a creative person requires a delicate brush, or on the opposite end of that spectrum a new wing of a mental hospital. Submitted for your approval, one David Van Cortlandt Crosby, in the new documentary produced by Cameron Crowe, “David Crosby: Remember My Name.”
History & Culture Co-Exist in Exemplary ‘The White Crow’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 5, 2019 - 8:31pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In any ear for pop culture, the name Rudolf Nureyev is well known. A Soviet Russian-born ballet virtuoso nicknamed “Lord of the Dance,” RN lived large until he died, of complications due to AIDS at age 54 in 1993. But before that, he was born into poverty, danced into fame, and historically defected to the West in 1961. “The White Crow,” a new film directed by Ralph Fiennes, tells his story.
Historical Drama is Fortified by Technique in 'Sunset'
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 1, 2019 - 12:13pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – History is made when you’re often busy making other plans. That is ardently illustrated in “Sunset,” a drama set early in the second decade of the 20th Century in the on-the-brink-of-revolution capital of Budapest, Hungary. A retail store is the town’s centerpiece, plus there is a mysterious woman associated with that store, until she isn’t.
‘The Wife’ is Classic Drama & Relevant Social History
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 24, 2018 - 12:54am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of the more fascinating questions about civilization is ‘how much talent went unrealized because of time and place of birth?’ The patriarchy – which denied people of color and women for so long – often reduced fellow travelers into subservient roles. For example, there were women who were just known as “The Wife.”
Armie Hammer Sits for Geoffrey Rush in ‘Final Portrait’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 2, 2018 - 9:06amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Paris in the 1960s seems to be a place where anything was possible. “Final Portrait” is an indication of this, as Armie Hammer portrays a Mad Men style American critic (what!) in 1964, who sits for a portrait painting by eccentric artist Alberto Giacometti, portrayed with relish by Geoffrey Rush.
Helen Mirren Takes Another Ride in ‘The Leisure Seeker’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 11, 2018 - 10:21amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Helen Mirren keeps establishing herself as an international treasure with each new role. She is the prime motivator in the new film “The Leisure Seeker,” about a retired couple taking one last spin in their RV, which takes its nickname from the title of the film. Along the way secrets are revealed and the devastation of dementia is exposed, but the story never gets too serious or heavy handed.
Annette Bening Proves ‘Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 12, 2018 - 12:27pm- Academy Award
- Annette Bening
- Britain
- England
- Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
- Frances Barber
- Gloria Grahame
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- It’s a Wonderful Life
- Jamie Bell
- Julie Walters
- Kenneth Cranham
- Movie Review
- Oscar
- Patrick McDonald
- Sony Pictures Classics
- The Bad and the Beautiful
- Vanessa Redgrave
Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – GEORGE BAILEY: “Hey, you look good. That’s some dress you got on there.” VIOLET: “This old thing? I only wear it when I don’t care how I look.” That is how actress Gloria Grahame (as Violet Bick) was introduced in the classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Now she is portrayed by Annette Bening in “Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool”.
Cautionary ‘Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 7, 2017 - 12:30pm- Bernstein
- Bruce Greenwood
- Deep Throat
- Diane Lane
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Liam Neeson
- Mark Felt - The Man Who Brought Down the White House
- Marton Csokas
- Movie Review
- Noah Wyle
- Patrick McDonald
- peter landesman
- Richard M. Nixon
- Sony Pictures Classics
- Tom Sizemore
- Washington Post
- Watergate
- Woodward
Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Everything old is new again, in the 1970s story of the infamous “Deep Throat” – the source in the FBI who tipped off the Washington Post about the issues surrounding Watergate scandal – who revealed himself in 2005. He is now the subject of a new film, and is portrayed by Liam Neeson, in “Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House.”
Diane Lane Hits the Blacktop in ‘Paris Can Wait’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 19, 2017 - 3:32pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The cache of “Paris Can Wait” is what immediately makes it attractive. It’s Diane Lane road tripping through France on the way to Paris, guided by the script and direction of Eleanor Coppola, in her narrative film debut (at age 80!). Along the way there is food, seduction, incredible sights and Alec Baldwin. That formula was destined to work.
