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.
Will Forte
Wheel Goes Round! Audio Review of ‘Drunk Bus’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 2, 2021 - 8:24am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review on the new film “Drunk Bus,” an indie about an aimless bus driver in a college town, and his unlikely friendship with a man named Pineapple, currently in select theaters and through Video On Demand.
HollywoodChicago.com on the Air Reviews “Scoob!”
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 16, 2020 - 1:28amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It was inevitable that the iconic cartoon character Scooby Doo would get the modern animation treatment, and the new film “Scoob!” opens May 15th, 2020 on VOD platforms. Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, reviewed the film during the Eddie Volkman Show (Star 96.7 FM in Joliet, Illinois).
‘Good Boys’ Misses the Mark But Manages to Land
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 16, 2019 - 5:08pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The innocence of childhood is about to be wrecked for the gazillionth time, c’est la vie. “Good Boys” is a raunchy film with foul-mouthed middle schoolers going on wacky adventures. The pretzel logic to set up these adventures are weak, but the core of the conclusion is the strength.
Emotionally Animated ‘My Life as a Zucchini’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 11, 2017 - 9:40amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Leave it to the Europeans to inject some realistic drama into the art of animation. The recently Oscar nominated “My Life as a Zucchini” is opening in Chicago this weekend, and tells the story of parental abandonment, orphanages and finding family. Co-produced by France and Switzerland, it uses a familiar claymation stop-motion style for more emotional resonance.
Quiet Desperation Gets Louder in ‘Nebraska’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 21, 2013 - 1:13amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Bruce Dern is an actor who has turned in some indelible performances in his over 50 year film career. He saves one of the best for now, as he breathes life into an old man who wants one more time in the sun. So begins a journey with his son, portrayed by Will Forte, in “Nebraska.”
‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2’ Wins with Foodimals, Overemphasizes Humans
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 27, 2013 - 12:01amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I was paying attention to the movie. Correction: I was mostly paying attention to the movie. It was challenging to ignore my angry, empty stomach and fully enjoy the food coma that is “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2”. Just don’t make the same mistake I did and eat before you do.
Dance is the Highlight in Simplistic ‘Step Up Revolution’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 28, 2012 - 10:33amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The beauty of the movies is their ability to create weird parallel universes, where young dance crews have the choreography skills of a hip-hop Bob Fosse, the time/funding to create this dance and a law enforcement culture that allows it. Welcome to the “Step Up Revolution.”
Ben Stiller in ‘The Watch’ Needs a Better Mechanism
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 27, 2012 - 9:42amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Star studded, special effects ladened “comedies” featuring aliens should have been put to rest after last year’s “Paul.” But “The Watch” is here, and it features Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and an odd Richard Ayoade as four suburban neighborhood watch volunteers who end up hunting space men. Yep, right after “Paul.”
‘A Good Old Fashioned Orgy’ Can’t Get it Up
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 2, 2011 - 8:45am Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Rarely have so many talented comedians been sucked into a more depressing morass of bad comic timing and worse writing than in the dreadful “A Good Old-Fashioned Orgy,” a movie with a bunch of people I like making a comedy I really, really hate. This movie knows nothing about friendship, sex, or, most importantly, comedy.
Will Forte, Kristen Wiig Explode a Megaton Bomb in ‘MacGruber’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 21, 2010 - 3:57am Rating: 0.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In a parallel universe, perhaps a version of “MacGruber” exists that actually understands that comedy should be funny…oh what a beautiful world that would be. Here in this astral plane Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe and Val Kilmer, plus the writers, director and craft services obviously conspired to create a movie bomb that no one could diffuse.
