CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Liam Neeson
‘Ted 2’ is a Funnier Film Than it Deserves to Be
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 25, 2015 - 7:49pm- Amanda Seyfried
- Dennis Haysbert
- Giovanni Ribisi
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jay Leno
- Jessica Barth
- John Carroll Lynch
- John Slattery
- Liam Neeson
- Mark Wahlberg
- Michael Dorn
- Morgan Freeman
- Movie Review
- Patrick Stewart
- Patrick Warburton
- Sam J. Jones
- Seth MacFarlane
- Spike Walters
- Ted
- Ted 2
- Tom Brady
- Universal Pictures
Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – While it’s cruder and it can’t quite match the original “Ted,” “Ted 2” is still funnier than it has any right to be. It is unmistakably a Seth MacFarlane production, and there are a million reasons why this movie shouldn’t work, chief among them a plot that attempts to plop a foul mouthed talking teddy bear into a moralistic legal parable about civil rights. But I can’t deny I laughed throughout, almost despite myself.
Ramshackle, Rickety ‘Taken 3’ is Far Too Predictable
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 9, 2015 - 3:16pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Taken 3” is more a brand extension than a movie. Seven years after “Taken” turned Liam Neeson into an unlikely action star, “Taken 3” shows this series has completely run out of gas. The novelty of the hulking Oscar-nominee beating bad guys to a pulp wore off a long time ago, and “Taken 3” puts Neeson through the most pedestrian set of paces yet. It says something when the operative word of his first scene is “predictable.” Neeson only says it a half dozen times.
‘A Walk Among the Tombstones’ Solidifies Desire for Liam Neeson to Be Your Dad
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 21, 2014 - 11:37pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I don’t know about your dad, but mine – love him as I do – isn’t Jason Bourne, James Bond or Bryan Mills. At the age of 62, Liam Neeson somehow still kicks ass as Bryan Mills in “Taken” and fans everywhere love riding every minute of his butt-kicking thrill rides.
Liam Neeson in Forgettable ‘A Walk Among the Tombstones’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 19, 2014 - 6:43pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Liam Neeson still looks good being a badass, but “A Walk Among The Tombstones” is a vehicle unworthy of his particular set of skills. It’s not a tightly constructed thriller like “Non-Stop,” and it lacks the sheer over-the-top ludicrousness of “Taken 2.” This is largely a by-the-numbers jalopy that can best be called forgettable.
‘Third Person’ an Intriguing Yet Foreseeable Labyrinth
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 28, 2014 - 8:48amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Don’t you hate it when you figure out where a film is going long before it gets there? That could be a problem with “Third Person,” but writer/director Paul Haggis (“Crash”) also adds enough secrets to chew on and enough multiple pathways to explore. Enter at your own risk.
‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’ Suffers Because Seth MacFarlane Casts Himself
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 31, 2014 - 11:58amRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – A feature-length comedy is a daunting undertaking. But being consistently funny for 2 straight hours is like climbing Mount Everest blindfolded with no arms while taking selfies using your feet.
‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’ Goes in All Directions
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 29, 2014 - 4:51pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Two observations regarding Seth MacFarlane: one, he is a hilarious writer and voiceover talent. Two, he isn’t as good as a comic leading man, on screen and in live action. Those two elements clash brightly in the overlong but funny “A Million Ways to Die in the West.”
Liam Neeson Can’t Bring ‘Non-Stop’ in On-Time
Submitted by BrianTT on February 27, 2014 - 12:22pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
I’m a sucker for a well-toasted slice of escapism that employs a singular setting to maximum impact. Liam Neeson trapped on a plane with a devious killer who’s trying to extort $150 million from him? Where do line up to buy a ticket? Seriously, this is the kind of Oscar counter-programming that I love this time of year—turn off your mind and take a trip with “Non-Stop”.
Big Laughs Await in Sly, Fun ‘The LEGO Movie’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 7, 2014 - 10:31amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The funniest movie in a long while features no human beings, just animated bland faces among interlocking plastic bricks, the toys which inspired the film. “The LEGO Movie” never takes itself seriously, which means huge laughs for the audience.
B-Level Story Sinks Finely Animated ‘The Nut Job’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 17, 2014 - 5:58pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It feels like when any studio besides Disney or Pixar does an animated film with celebrity voices, there is a little less lacquer on it. What the other two remember, and others forget, is that it starts with a script. All the toon landscapes in the world can’t fix a dull story.