CHICAGO – The State of Hawaii may be one of the most misunderstood in America. Because of its reputation as a tourist mecca, the fact that native peoples live and work there like any other place is hard to imagine. Also unimaginable is the drug use of island residents, but playwright and Hawaiian native Hannah li-Epstein wrote about it in her stage play “Not One Batu,” now in its Premiere Chicago run at the Berger Park Coach House through July 28th, 2018. For more information, including tickets, click here.
Patrick McDonald
Vigilante Overkill Defines Ultra-Violent ‘Death Wish’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 2, 2018 - 10:22am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Man, talk about bad timing. With the Stoneman Douglas shootings still making news, America will now entertain itself with a vigilante doctor shooting anything he sees? Yeesh. Bruce Willis is game in the watchable-but-ultra-violent “Death Wish.”
Consider the Meaning of Life Force in ‘Annihilation’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 23, 2018 - 8:19am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Alex Garland, the standout creator/director of “Ex Machina,” is back with “Annihilation,” another science fiction story. And like the previous film, it explores implications of a sci-fi event, in this case an outer space incident that restructures a cellular code, that ends up destructive.
‘Early Man’ is Unabashedly Freaking Hilarious
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 19, 2018 - 2:08pm Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Humor flows from one individual, and reaches another. Whether the receiver laughs or not is subjective, based on experiences and worldview. It can be agreed, however, that animator Nick Park (“Wallace & Gromit”) is hilarious, and he’ll make the world laugh in “Early Man.”
All Forms of Heroism Available in ‘Black Panther’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 15, 2018 - 10:50amRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The fortune of the latest Marvel Studios superhero epic, “Black Panther,” lies in its solid foundation in African mythos and intelligent storytelling. And with Ryan Coogler (“Creed”) as director, there are still major confrontations and battles, intertwined into the soul.
Diversity & High Quality in 2018 Oscar-Nominated Live Action Short Films
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 13, 2018 - 9:02amRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – From deafness to religious conflict to one of the most vicious events in American history, the Oscar nominated Live Action short films fulfill the drama, emotions and even laughs in a compact form. The 2018 Live Action Shorts nominees are being shown in one program, locally at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema in Chicago. Click here for more information. The Animations Shorts are also being shown.
Strange ‘15:17 to Paris’ Can’t Make the Connection
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 11, 2018 - 12:48pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – What’s up with Clint Eastwood, and why in the Sam Hill did he attach himself as director to this film? Also, why was the decision made to use the actual rescuers as the actors in a true terrorist train incident? Nothing adds up in the strangely disconnected “15:17 to Paris.”
Zen and the Art of Cinema in ‘24 Frames’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 11, 2018 - 11:10am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The legendary Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (“Certified Copy”) passed away in 2016, but he left one more meditation on cinema and illusion, in the artistic “24 Frames.” Yes, it refers to the number of still photos that make up a second of film, but in this case it is also Kiarostami’s observations of stillness in motion.
Humankind Gets a Necessary Lesson in ‘The Insult’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 2, 2018 - 12:14pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The clash of ideologies or religion that result in war is one of the most emotional of reasons to fight (and convenient for those who manipulate such emotions). “The Insult,” a contender for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, shows how feelings can escalate to bitter conflict.
‘Maze Runner: The Death Cure’ Has Run Out of Life
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 26, 2018 - 12:31pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The third part of the “Maze Runner” trilogy is called “The Death Cure,” and that cure best describes the faint pulse of this run-out-of-steam dystopia aimed at “young adults.” It is mostly warring and not much more, except for a stab (literally) at misplaced emotion.
Inflammatory ‘In the Fade’ is the State of Our Now
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 25, 2018 - 10:05amRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In one of the more truthful and contemporary films of 2017, “In the Fade” is a German/French production about the fallout due to a terrorist act. What it also emphasizes is the generated hatred, frustration and waste of such acts, and its textual story is stunning and distressing.
