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 Content
Elle Fanning Delivers Her Best Performance in ‘Ginger and Rosa’
Submitted by mattmovieman on March 22, 2013 - 9:26am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There are plenty of good reasons to see Sally Potter’s beguiling, tenderly bittersweet coming-of-age drama, “Ginger & Rosa,” but one reason trumps them all. Her name is Elle Fanning. The enormous potential she exuded in everything from art house gems (“Somewhere”) to mainstream blockbusters (“Super 8”) pays off in this sterling showcase, solidifying her status—at age 14—as one of the top talents in modern film acting.
Tina Fey Difficult to Get Into in ‘Admission’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 22, 2013 - 2:14am Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Tina Fey, love her. Paul Rudd, like his work, he’s a Judd Apatow guy. Wallace Shawn in “The Princess Bride,” exquisite. Lily Tomlin is a comedy legend. All these great and interesting performers participated in “Admission,” for which they all get an “F.”
Great Performance From Abbie Cornish Carries ‘The Girl’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 21, 2013 - 11:04am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Let’s get this out of the way first – Abbie Cornish is simply great in David Riker’s “The Girl,” opening this weekend in Chicago at the AMC River East 21. She’s genuine, believable, and emotional resonant in ways that make this critic truly wish she would get more great roles (go rent “Bright Star” for further proof of her immense talents). Having said that, “The Girl” only barely works.
Bikini Girls with Machine Guns in Mesmerizing ‘Spring Breakers’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 21, 2013 - 10:52am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Already hailed as this generation’s “Fight Club,” Harmony Korine’s “Spring Breakers” is a mesmerizing piece of satire, a journey into the dark side of teenage excess. And what’s a better symbol of excess than the ritual of spring break? But lest you think this is like MTV’s watered-down version of pop bands and bikini girls, Korine has something much more intense in store for you.
Breathtaking Oscar-Nominee ‘War Witch’ Honors Youthful Resilience
Submitted by mattmovieman on March 21, 2013 - 9:57am Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If last year’s group of Best Picture nominees are any indication, American filmmakers seem convinced that in order for their work to be taken seriously, it has to be super-long. I understand why a picture like “Lincoln” would have an epic scope, but did disposable novelties like “Django Unchained” and “The Hobbit: Vol. 1” really have to clock in around three hours?
Gerard Butler Stars in Violent, Stupid ‘Olympus Has Fallen’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 19, 2013 - 2:37pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Antoine Fuqua’s “Olympus Has Fallen” (or “Die Hard in the White House”) is a stupid, exploitative movie that wants to be “Call of Duty: Black Ops” in film form but ends up more like one of its countless, ineffective rip-offs. There are moments of goofy, B-movie fun (certainly more of them than in the much-worse “A Good Day to Die Hard”) but not enough to get over the brutal nonsense that makes up most of this action flick.
Odd Fairy Tale of ‘Upside Down’ is Also Inside Out
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 16, 2013 - 12:44amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Definitely one of the strangest films so far in 2013 is “Upside Down,” featuring a dream pairing of Kirsten Dunst and Jim Sturgess. The problem is they exist as disparate lovers on opposing planets, with opposite gravitational pulls. Thus what is up for Kirsten is down for Jim, or vice-versa?
Tense Thriller Has Halle Berry Answering ‘The Call’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 16, 2013 - 12:20amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “The Call” rises above the usual crime drama for a couple of reasons. First, it is a thriller that runs at a breakneck speed, using the driving culture of Los Angeles in a cat-and-mouse chase. Secondly, it symbolically emphasizes the plight of women, and honors their empowerment.
Portrait of a Cynical Genius in ‘The Bitter Buddha’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 15, 2013 - 2:42pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – We live in such a cynical world that when a film critic tells you a stand-up comedian is damn funny, it might not hold as much weight as it did in a universe before everyone had an opinion on everything online. So how can I convince you that Eddie Pepitone, the subject of Stephen Feinartz’s “The Bitter Buddha,” opening this weekend at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, is damn funny? Do you like Marc Maron, Sarah Silverman, Dana Gould, or the amazing Patton Oswalt? They think he’s hilarious. And if that doesn’t do it, the movie will. Just trust us.
Nothing Magical About ‘The Incredible Burt Wonderstone’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 15, 2013 - 9:50amRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It’s this simple – “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” just isn’t funny. Sure, there are a few laughs here and there and some of the supporting cast works but the leads are woefully miscast and most of the jokes hit with all the awkward silence of a Bennigan’s tableside magician who guesses the wrong card.
