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
Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman on Track in ‘The Railway Man’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 18, 2014 - 4:26pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of the hidden implications of World War II was the suffering of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) from the millions of soldiers who survived the horrors of that war. The difficulties associated with PTSD are communicated with honor by Colin Firth in “The Railway Man”
‘A Haunted House 2’ Spoofs Better Than the Original
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 18, 2014 - 8:04amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The parody industry that the Wayans comedy machine has generated has provided big laughs and big box office for years. In 2013, Marlon Wayans launched another series, with “A Haunted House.” Faster than the fastest green light, that success led to ‘A Haunted House 2.’
Spirituality Over Dogma Uplifts ‘Heaven Is for Real’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 16, 2014 - 9:51amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It would be easy to dismiss “Heaven Is for Real,” given that it is based on the visions of the afterlife by a child, that just happens to coincide perfectly with Christian doctrine (Jesus, Angels, etc.). But there is more to this film in the sincerity of its spirituality, and it succeeds with that inspiration.
Facing Life Transitions in ‘Hide Your Smiling Faces’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 14, 2014 - 3:04pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The pain and passion of prepubescent youth and adolescence unravels in the excellent directorial debut of Daniel Patrick Carbone, “Hide Your Smiling Faces.” Carbone captures the isolation and meticulous boredom at a time of life when everything conspires to happen on a daily basis.
Jude Law Tolls the Bell for ‘Dom Hemingway’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 12, 2014 - 9:57pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Dom Hemingway” begins with a tight close-up on a barely recognizable Jude Law, portraying the title character. He’s giving a monologue, literally spraying the words. When the circumstance is revealed as to what is happening to him, there is an awareness that this is not going to be your Daddy’s petty safecracker ex-con film.
‘Draft Day’ is Daft, Except as an NFL Infomercial
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 11, 2014 - 4:37pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Kevin Costner has defined a career in sports-themed movies. From the Iowa farmer building a baseball diamond in “Field of Dreams,” to “Bull Durham,” to “For the Love of the Game,” he exemplified game day heroics. Yet being an NFL executive in “Draft Day” isn’t quite as exciting.
Thought-Illuminating, Mind-Blowing ‘Under the Skin’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 11, 2014 - 10:07am Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Imagine a stranger taking a journey around the landscape of their destiny. That only begins to describe the audacity and power of director Jonathan Glazer’s “Under the Skin.” Scarlett Johansson creates a character of undeniable mystery and truth, a stranger in a strange land.
Courage of Testimony is Remembered in ‘Anita’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 8, 2014 - 10:29amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The saga of Anita Hill, an African American law professor from Oklahoma, electrified the United States in the early 1990s. During the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Ms. Hill testified that Thomas had created a workplace atmosphere of sexual harassment. The story is told in the new documentary, “Anita.”
Brutal Next Chapter Defines ‘Nymphomaniac: Vol. 2’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 5, 2014 - 8:15amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The exploration of sexuality is a stark breakthrough in the “Nymphomaniac” film series by writer/director Lars von Trier. In the story of a woman interacting with her nature, there are shades of all physically active individuals. “Nymphomaniac: Vol. 1” covered the younger days of the main character of Joe. Vol. 2 takes her to the next, and more brutal phase – challenging her life and her disposition.
‘Cesar Chavez’ is Stiff History of a Heroic Man
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 29, 2014 - 11:02am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – How can one man bring down a ruthless industry? By building a union that never backs down, because he never backed down. ‘Cesar Chavez’ depicts the United Farm Workers union organizer in the 1960s who sought justice against virtual slave conditions for immigrant labor, assuring his place in history.
