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+.
Patrick McDonald
Don’t Say That You Love Me in Kevin Smith’s ‘Tusk’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 20, 2014 - 8:08am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The headline is a quote (“Don’t say that you love me!”) from Fleetwood Mac’s song “Tusk,” which Kevin Smith gratefully includes in his film of the same name. The movie is either the most outrageous audacity of the year or a blatant middle finger from Smith to the audience. You decide.
‘The Maze Runner’ a Cut Above Teenage Dystopia Genre
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 19, 2014 - 9:38am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Yes, the future world of teenage bleakness, so popular in “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent,” now has its own genre. “The Maze Runner” is an excellent entry, and gets over its stilted dialogue and scary monsters by adding in surprises and atmospheric mystery.
Superlative ‘The Guest’ Returns a Soldier to Our Times
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 17, 2014 - 5:48pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The essential killing machine to protect the Homeland hasn’t been invented yet. Or has it? Filmmakers Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett combine “The Terminator” with a perfect metaphor for perpetual war in a new release, “The Guest.”
Parts Are Better Than the Whole in ‘The Skeleton Twins’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 12, 2014 - 9:50pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Live from the movies, it’s Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig! The two “Saturday Night Live” veterans are “The Skeleton Twins,” and both have more to do than just be funny. There are moments that sink or swim, depending on the “Twins,” and those parts are greater than the narrative sum.
‘Dolphin Tale 2’ is Fantastic Family Entertainment
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 12, 2014 - 10:15amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – They don’t come along often, the rare fun-for-the-whole-family film. But “Dolphin Tale 2” fits that description perfectly, throws in some idealistic symbolism, and more importantly follows those symbols through to the end.
Kevin Kline in Like Flynn For ‘The Last of Robin Hood’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 5, 2014 - 4:37pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The term “in like Flynn” still gets used, when delusional dudes think they have the score. The saying is a product of former matinee idol Errol Flynn, whose tastes in young girls inspired the saying. Kevin Kline portrays him, and his tastes, in “The Last of Robin Hood.”
A Fashionable Man is Captured in ‘Yves Saint Laurent’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 1, 2014 - 9:19amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Fashion is art, and the canvas is provided by the wearer of that fashion. The designer biography depicted in “Yves Saint Laurent” is one of tortured genius, as Saint Laurent influenced and commodified the world of clothing and accessory creation for over 50 years.
Celebrating the Ordinary Couple in ‘Love is Strange’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 29, 2014 - 6:50amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It is a time, and the time is now. Leave it to filmmaker Ira Sachs to break a barrier simply by having the right timing. Exploring a longtime gay couple, right at the cusp of their now-legal marriage, opens the door to an odd series of ordinary circumstances in “Love is Strange.”
‘Are You Here’ Feels Like Mashup of Two Different Films
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 25, 2014 - 10:20am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – You would think that a film written and directed by Matthew Weiner – the creator of “Mad Men” – would be worthwhile company, especially when the cast includes Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson and Amy Poehler. It is disappointing to note that not only was this cliché-ridden mess unpalatable, but it also switched gears two-thirds of the way through to evoke a different mood, and that schizophrenia didn’t help the overall product.
Psychological, Religious Edge to ‘The Possession of Michael King’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 22, 2014 - 5:52pmRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The problem with most horror films is that they don’t understand what really scares us, and substitute bloody messes or the jack-in-the-box “boo!” in place of what really gets under our skin. “The Possession of Michael King” is a rare and special exception, taking demonic possession to broad depths of psychological and religious symbolism.
