Spike Walters

‘Oppenheimer’ is a Masterpiece That Allows Us to Think

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 5.0/5.0
Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – With “Oppenheimer,” director Christopher Nolan reminds us of what a blockbuster can be. They need not all be brain dead exercises in grunting and effects. Instead he delivers a thoughtful film that manages to synthesize complex elements like quantum physics into a piece of cinematic entertainment that just might be his most profound film yet.

Indy the Fifth in ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – By all accounts the Indiana Jones series had nowhere to go but up after the woebegone “Crystal Skull.” But “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” manages to clear that admittedly low bar to add a sense of adventure back to the tales of the graying archeologist. That said there’s a certain pointlessness to the whole endeavor.

‘No Hard Feelings’ is Hard-R Exposure for Jennifer Lawrence

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.5/5.0
Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Jennifer Lawrence doesn’t hold back and gives it her all in the “Hard R” rated sex comedy “No Hard Feelings.” But despite her herculean efforts, the film only manages the occasional tee-hee when it should be scoring guffaws. You’ve got to hand it to Lawrence for going all in, I just wish the script rewarded her efforts.

‘The Flash’ Makes a Splash with a Literal Dash

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – It amazes me to say it but with “The Flash” the DC cinematic universe has managed to actually make a movie that’s fun, for at least a little while. Even previously heralded DC movies like “Wonder Woman” left me cold with their incessant insistence on bludgeoning the audience with digital destruction.

Clink, Clank, Calamity! ’Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 1.0/5.0
Rating: 1.0/5.0

CHICAGO – When it comes to bad movies there are three types … fun bad, memorably bad, and ordinary bad. “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” belongs in the latter category. It’s a clinking, clanking calamity that fails on almost every level, which is about par for the course when it comes to this series.

‘Fast X’ is a Full Scale Assault on the Laws of Logic

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.0/5.0
Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – A lot of blockbusters require you to check your brain at the door. “Fast X” requires a full scale lobotomy. To the uninitiated, Vin Diesel’s blatant disregard for the laws of gravity and physics represents a full scale assault on the senses, reason, and logic in its effort to bring audiences down to its star’s lunkheaded level.

Pocket Rocket in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The Guardians of the Galaxy have lost some of their freshness over the years. They’re no long the scrappy obscurities who came out of nowhere to deliver one of the more idiosyncratic and enjoyable adventures in the Marvel Cinema Universe. But while familiarity has taken some of the elements of surprise, they’re still an agreeable bunch to watch.

‘Evil Dead Rise’ Rambles Along Until Doomed to Fall

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 0.5/5.0
Rating: 0.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Watching “Evil Dead Rise,” i was reminded of Roger Ebert’s one and only review of “Friday the 13th Part 2.” In that review Ebert found little to stir him on the screen and instead lamented the audience that would willingly go to see the latest in a string of dead teenager movies.

Mellow Fellow Owen Wilson Channels Bob Ross in ‘Paint’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.0/5.0
Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – The newly released “Paint” film offers an amiable enough premise that’s amusing in a two minute trailer, but entirely out of gas 20 minutes into the story, and then plods around for a whole other hour. While it’s hard to hate it, but I don’t think my time was very well spent either.

Wild Ride for Keanu Reeves in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The John Wick films have always contained body counts that reach well into triple digits. But in “John Wick: Chapter 4” the series indulges in some serious overkill. Everything you liked about the previous three films is on display, with about 20 percent more of the franchise’s growing mythology surrounding the High Table.

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TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • Manhunt

    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+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

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