CHICAGO – Theatrical satires of the Star Wars Universe are like the number of TV series the universe has wrought … too many to figure out if anything is worthwhile. But “Trade Federation” (subtitled “Or Let’s Explore Globalization Through the Star Wars Prequels”), presented by Otherworld Theatre in Wrigleyville Chicago, gets it right on.
Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson Guides a Basketball Team in ‘Champions’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 10, 2023 - 12:40pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Champions” is a predictable and formulaic, but it’s ultimately a good natured trip into a world of sports comedy clichés. It’s never particularly laugh out loud funny, but its heart is in the right place, which makes it hard to root against the film.
‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ is One of the Worst Modern-Era Comic Book Films
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 1, 2021 - 2:39pm Rating: 0.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The best that can be said for “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” is that it is mercifully short. Otherwise this is an appalling incomprehensible mess of misbegotten ideas, uninspired action sequences, and truly woeful performances. Those expecting some comic book fun are treated instead to the bizarre odd couple act of Tom Hardy arguing with himself …
'Zombieland: Double Tap' Not As Fresh But Still Has Some Life Left
Submitted by JonHC on October 21, 2019 - 2:04pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO - Zombieland: Double Tap lacks the freshness or the belly laughs of its predecessor, but I was surprised to see that this outrageously overqualified cast has not worn out its welcome. It’s ridiculous that three Oscar nominees and one Oscar winner headline a movie devoted solely to blowing zombies up. But when you employ Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin, you’re going to get some unexpected surprises.
Spreading Comic Book Fatigue to Everyone, ‘Venom’ Poisons the Well
Submitted by JonHC on October 5, 2018 - 5:20am Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I was one of the last sentinels; a conscientious objector in the war against comic book films. The handful of these that come out yearly had yet to weigh heavy on my film soul, especially when so many of the newer ones creating unique experiences, like “Deadpool” and “Thor: Ragnarok”. Even DC films, in all their failure, are products of their time. “Venom” changed all that.
Story is Just a So-So for ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 23, 2018 - 1:51pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Solo: A Star Wars Story” is one intergalactic space adventure that sadly never makes the jump to light speed. The end result Is not awful, it’s not great, it’s just kinda okay… it slavishly attends to the beats hinted at in the original trilogy without offering much in the way of surprises, or freshness.
‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ Examines Our Violence
Submitted by JonHC on November 20, 2017 - 9:12pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Film is often an expression of our society, either as a depiction of how it really is or how it should be. Few films are as daring as Martin McDonagh’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” which isn’t afraid to show us the state of our society and offer a realistic solution through a grim drama that is as humorous as it is devastating.
‘LBJ’ is Important American History Brought to Light
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 3, 2017 - 9:22am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The circumstances surrounding the John F. Kennedy assassination on November 22nd, 1963, put a man into the presidential spotlight who never thought he would get there… Lyndon Baines Johnson. The story of that strange time and the man who “would be king” is told in ‘LBJ.’
‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ Delivers Old Hollywood Glory
Submitted by JonHC on July 13, 2017 - 10:45pmRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Since the Golden Age of cinema, theaters have tried countlessly to deliver up big budget films. Summer is here and the public is showing that they are cooling off these blockbusters, no longer fooled by the thought that cost equates to quality. “War for the Planet of the Apes” shows us that blockbusters may still be redeemed by channeling some Old Hollywood magic.
Edge Ebbs & Flows in ‘The Edge of Seventeen’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 17, 2016 - 12:52pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “The Edge of Seventeen” does attempt to do some different things with the growing-up-too-soon teenager soap opera – it throws in a authentic parent, contemporary sex issues and truthful awkwardness. But it can’t help being too heroic, and too “everything’s all right.”
Waste of Talent, Sequel Energy in ‘Now You See Me 2’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 12, 2016 - 7:34amRating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Separately, you love all these movie star icons and funny people – Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Caine, Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman, Lizzy Caplan and Dave Franco. Together, they add up to a terrible sequel, “Now You See Me 2.”
