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+.
Dwayne Johnson
Relentlessly Action-Packed ‘Furious 7’ Actually Has a Story, Too
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on April 3, 2015 - 8:16am- Adam Fendelman
- Chris Morgan
- Djimon Hounsou
- Dwayne Johnson
- Elsa Pataky
- Furious 7
- Gal Gadot
- Gary Scott Thompson
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- James Wan
- Jordana Brewster
- Kurt Russell
- Ludacris
- Luke Evans
- Michelle Rodriguez
- Movie Review
- Nathalie Emmanuel
- Paul Walker
- Tony Jaa
- Tyrese Gibson
- Universal Pictures
- Vin Diesel
Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I’ve never classified myself as a “Fast & Furious” franchise fan. Nor have I been a hater. I’ve fallen somewhere in between – willingly watching the popcorn flicks but then quickly going about my life as fast as the furious action ended. Until “Furious 7”…
Wham Bam Pass the Popcorn, Man For ‘Furious 7’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 2, 2015 - 11:25pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The “Fast & Furious” franchise of films has probably one of the strangest evolutions in action history. What began as a rebellious street race movie, has morphed into a sort of superhero saga. “Furious 7” amps up that element of it, creating a mythic and magical “Kingdom of F&F Cars.”
‘A’ for Effort, ‘C’ for Execution in Dwayne Johnson’s Unmemorable ‘Hercules’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 26, 2014 - 7:01pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I empathize with Dwayne Johnson and simultaneously don’t. Most people never get rich and famous once let alone twice. Sure, it’s hard to rebrand people from the wrestling superstar you once were into the dramatic action star you’re trying to become, but your past is forever immortal.
Formula Takes Another Lap in ‘Fast & Furious 6’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 23, 2013 - 12:53pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “How did you know the car would be there to break my fall?” Everything you need to know about the current tone of the “Fast & Furious” franchise exists in that line. Not only are these people superhero enough to leap through the air from one vehicle to another but this is a world in which automobiles are designed to BREAK falls. It’s ridiculous, insane escapist entertainment, and while the bloated running time and less-exciting setting makes “Fast & Furious 6” a slight step down from the more well-paced “Fast Five,” it’s still a damn fun ride that’s sure to please the audience out to see a sixth installment of vehicular man-sanity.
Clever Cast Can’t Quite Save Crazy ‘Pain & Gain’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 25, 2013 - 9:43amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Michael Bay’s “Pain & Gain” tells such a ridiculous story that it has to be true. Based on the infamous case of the Sun Gym Gang, a trio of bodybuilders who committed some unspeakable, bizarre crimes, “Pain & Gain” nearly works through the sheer charisma and talent of its A-list cast.
‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ Almost Turns Macho Stupidity Into Art
Submitted by BrianTT on March 28, 2013 - 8:36amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” is the kind of dumb summer action blockbuster that works in the season when the kids aren’t in school and the movie theater is used as an excuse to get in the air conditioning as much as see anything approaching filmmaking. It nearly works in March. Nearly.
Despite Low Expectations, Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Snitch’ Leaves You Pleasantly Surprised
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on February 22, 2013 - 1:01amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Dwayne Johnson doesn’t just want to be The Rock. And perhaps he is more after all. Despite his professional wrestling fame, “Snitch” is Johnson’s plea to be respected as a true, dramatic actor. He’s doing it now just like Jackie Chan wanted to evolve beyond being just a funny karate man in the latest “The Karate Kid”.
Don’t Buy Ticket For ‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 10, 2012 - 12:53pmRating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If you hear an unusual sound this weekend, it may be Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Jonathan Swift spinning in their graves. The writers who have become an essential part of any growing person’s library have now been associated with a piece of 3D junk that insults the intelligence of everyone who sees it. “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is not a trip worth taking.
‘Fast Five’ Furiously Finds Fun Factor in Franchise Finest
Submitted by BrianTT on April 29, 2011 - 6:16pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Maybe director Justin Lin learned how to have fun directing the now-classic paintball episode of “Community.” Wherever he figured out that his movies need not be so damn self-serious or wordy, he took that knowledge to the set of “Fast Five,” a movie that this critic who hated “Fast & Furious” absolutely dreaded when it was first announced. Now I can’t wait for the inevitable sixth movie in the most unexpected mega-franchise of the new millennium.
Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton Are Redemptive in ‘Faster’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 24, 2010 - 9:14amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The Action Film is getting a bit creaky, relying more on computer generated eye candy than character or plot. It is refreshing to experience a film like “Faster,” featuring Dwayne Johnson and Billy Bob Thornton, because it is an action film that means something, and puts its inhabitants on a path to their own salvation.