CHICAGO – Fact or fiction is a current debate in news programming, especially as people naturally digest “the news” that makes them comfortable. A new five-episode web series created by filmmaker Ashton Swinford, “Miss Information,” is a satire-oriented show that seeks to entertain and educate viewers on the bias, fake news and bot infiltration that litters social media.
Willem Dafoe
‘Aquaman’ is a Watery Sleep with the Fishes
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 20, 2018 - 9:39am Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The dripping sound of water you will hear this upcoming weekend will be the tears of DC Comics fans, as they cry from frustration over the latest cinema hit job on one of the Super-Friends. The tepid and overlong “Aquaman” is another hero movie that tries to combine origin story and “first case” adventure, and fails at both.
‘Vox Lux’ is a Visually Stark Metaphor for a Lost Cause
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 12, 2018 - 5:37pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In the frozen emotional landscape of America, where mass shootings have become as regular as the sunrise, what better symbol for this madness is there than a pop star? Natalie Portman is that singer in “Vox Lux,” a victim and a perpetrator in the sin of mass death, and the soundtrack of gunfire.
Mustache Has More Than ‘Murder on the Orient Express’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 10, 2017 - 12:36pm- 20th Century Fox
- Daisy Ridley
- Derek Jacobi
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Johnny Depp
- Josh Gad
- Judi Dench
- Kenneth Branagh
- Leslie Odom Jr.
- Michael Green
- Michelle Pfeiffer
- Miranda Raison
- Movie Review
- Murder on the Orient Express
- Mustache
- Olivia Colman
- Penelope Cruz
- Spike Walters
- Tom Bateman
- Willem Dafoe
 Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Murder On The Orient Express” is a movie that is never quite as interesting as the main character’s mustache. Kenneth Branagh directs and stars as Agatha Christie’s most famous detective, Hercule Poirot. While it is a departure from the source novel, Branagh sports silver streak facial hair of audacious eccentricity.
Odd Times at the Cinema with ‘The Great Wall’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 17, 2017 - 8:17pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Taking a concept higher than the Wall that inspired it, and mostly succeeding, “The Great Wall” gets a nod as one of the oddest stories in a long time. Pre-supposedly based on a “legend,” it brings Matt Damon into ancient China to help battle lizard monsters at the Great Wall. Book it.
Keanu Reeves in Ludicrous Premise as ‘John Wick’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 24, 2014 - 4:36pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Keanu Reeves has been in a lot of dogs over the years, but rarely has he left such a high body count while avenging one of them. “John Wick” is a brutal revenge thriller where Reeves is a ex-mob enforcer who goes on a murderous rampage leaving blood on every doorstep to avenge the death of his dog. Despite that chuckle-inducing premise, “John Wick” isn’t the dog I expected, but then again that’s not saying much.
Tearjerking ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is ‘The Notebook’ of This Decade
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 6, 2014 - 9:52amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Sure, I’ll admit it. With so many new films to screen and review, I’ll choose the sci-fi action/thriller from the man behind the Bourne flicks over a movie that’s being called “the greatest romance story of this decade”.
Brutal Next Chapter Defines ‘Nymphomaniac: Vol. 2’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 5, 2014 - 8:15amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The exploration of sexuality is a stark breakthrough in the “Nymphomaniac” film series by writer/director Lars von Trier. In the story of a woman interacting with her nature, there are shades of all physically active individuals. “Nymphomaniac: Vol. 1” covered the younger days of the main character of Joe. Vol. 2 takes her to the next, and more brutal phase – challenging her life and her disposition.
‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ is Built by Wes Anderson
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 15, 2014 - 9:34am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The distinct and strangely-alluring style of director Wes Anderson is on opulent display in “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” In what is an eccentric, European style fairy tale, Anderson creates a legend that is forged in his signature, along with the performances of a brilliant cast.
Great Cast Can’t Find Truth in False Plotting of ‘Out of the Furnace’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 6, 2013 - 11:18am Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
One overriding thought dominated my time with Scott Cooper’s stunningly disappointing “Out of the Furnace” – I just don’t care. When I wasn’t picking apart the gigantic plot holes in the narrative, I was marveling at the overheated characters who have been crafted from cliché instead of the real world.
Mesmerizing Performance From Willem Dafoe Carries ‘The Hunter’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 26, 2012 - 3:04pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “The Hunter” is an uniquely mesmerizing film about a man on a complex journey. While the film threatens to fall into cliché (and sometimes hangs on by its fingernails on the precipice of doing so), excellent cinematography and another mesmerizing performance by Willem Dafoe keep it engaging enough to the point that it develops a fascinating rhythm of its own. There’s a lot to like here in this tale of a lonely man, his elusive prey, and the family he meets that gets caught in the middle.
