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+.
HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Reviews
Blu-Ray Review: ‘South Park’ Rocks in HD With 12th Season Blu-Ray Box Set
Submitted by BrianTT on March 11, 2009 - 4:53pm Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I honestly never though Trey Parker and Matt Stone would still be pumping out “South Park” episodes in the era of HD Blu-Ray. It’s not that I’m not a fan. I’ve seen the brilliant movie, “South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut” a dozen or so times, but I thought that would be near the end of the phenomenon of Stan, Kyle, Kenny, & Cartman. Years later, it looks like it was just the beginning.
Blu-Ray Review: Disposable ‘Beverly Hills Chihuahua’ Given Royal Disney Treatment
Submitted by BrianTT on March 10, 2009 - 6:01pmBlu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Disney’s “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”, now on Blu-Ray and DVD, is so generic and disposable that it’s easy for an adult to forget they’re watching it while it’s playing. It’s one of those movies that appeals to the little ones because talking animals naturally do so, but so little was done beyond the casting and the concept that adults are going to get bored quickly.
DVD, Blu-Ray Round Up, Mar. 10, 2009: ‘Scarlett Johansson Collection,’ ‘Brokeback Mountain,’ ‘Witch Mountain’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 10, 2009 - 1:02pmCHICAGO – The Round-Up, HollywoodChicago.com’s famous recurring column about lesser Blu-Ray and DVD titles that may have slipped through your fingers at the store recently, is in clean-up mode this week. With a DVD collection for a famous young actress, an old cartoon, a straight-to-video horror movie, and three movies with the word “Mountain” in the title, the only word that comes to mind to tie these titles together is “random”.
Blu-Ray Review: Sean Penn’s Oscar-Winning ‘Milk’ Will Recruit Movie Fans Around the World
Submitted by BrianTT on March 10, 2009 - 8:17am Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – With the help of Dustin Lance Black’s Oscar-winning screenplay, Sean Penn’s Oscar-winning performance, Josh Brolin’s Oscar-nominated performance, James Franco’s Spirit Award-winning performance and Gus Van Sant’s Oscar-nominated direction, Harvey Milk has been brought back from the dead.
Blu-Ray Review: Sink Your Teeth Into One of the Best of 2008: ‘Let the Right One In’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 9, 2009 - 10:31amBlu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Tomas Alfredson’s “Let the Right One In” was one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2008, an arthouse sensation that has been so beloved by everyone who has seen it that it ranks among the best films of all time on IMDB based on user votes.
Blu-Ray Review: 70th Anniversary Two-Disc Edition of ‘Pinocchio’ One of the Best Releases Yet
Submitted by BrianTT on March 9, 2009 - 7:22am Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The Blu-Ray revolution seems stuck in neutral. It’s going to take a major title to push it over the edge as a must-have technology. Some of us thought it would be “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man,” or “The Godfather,” but the worsening economic times seem to have put the HD switch on hold.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Australia’ Continues to Waste Talent of Cast, Crew on Blu-Ray
Submitted by BrianTT on March 5, 2009 - 1:03pm Blu-Ray Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Visionary director Baz Luhrmann would probably like people to watch his grandiose, old-fashioned, epic “Australia” on the big screen, but HD Blu-Ray seems made for this vibrant, colorful director. At first. This Luhrmann fan, like a lot of people who loved “Strictly Ballroom,” “Romeo + Juliet,” and “Moulin Rouge!” was let down by Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in theaters and the disappointment continues on Blu-Ray.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Role Models’ With Paul Rudd Good Movie, Great Blu-Ray
Submitted by BrianTT on March 5, 2009 - 11:36amBlu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – David Wain’s “Role Models” is far from a perfect comedy, but the Universal Blu-Ray release of it is one of the best of the year so far. The release of “Role Models” includes a great video transfer, entertaining series of special features, and a comedy that holds up pretty well on repeat viewing. What more do you want?
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic’ New Way to Read a Great Book
Submitted by BrianTT on March 3, 2009 - 10:55am Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Reviewing “Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic” is extremely difficult. The source material is absolutely fantastic, one of the best graphic novels in the history of the form and one of the most influential books of any kind from the last few decades. And the “Motion Comic” is incredibly loyal. But it’s hard not to say “just read the book”.
Blu-Ray Review: Barry Levinson Wastes Great Ensemble in ‘What Just Happened’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 2, 2009 - 2:02pm Blu-Ray Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – They made a movie about Bruce Willis’ beard. “What Just Happened” is yet another head-scratcher from one of the more acclaimed directors of the ’80s and ’90s, Barry Levinson. Like “Envy” and “Man of the Year” before it, Levinson has spit out yet another inert comedy with a great ensemble but no passion, creativity or life to it. A mediocre Blu-Ray presentation does nothing to enhance the film.
