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
Daniel Radcliffe Finds a Beat in ‘Kill Your Darlings’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 1, 2013 - 4:15pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The movies has been berry berry good to 1950s Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsburg. For the sixth time since 2009, his persona is actualized on celluloid – this time by Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe – in the coming-of-age part of the poet’s story, “Kill Your Darlings.”
‘Blue is the Warmest Color’ Expands a True Coupling
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 1, 2013 - 9:06am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Deliberate and passionate relationships – with all the initial upbeat highs and subsequent heart-breaking lows – may never get as deep a treatment as the winner of the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or, the challenging and expressive “Blue is the Warmest Color.”
‘Escape from Tomorrow’ Blasts America’s Sacred Mice
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 25, 2013 - 12:57pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of America’s family traditions has become the trip to Disney World (or land). In one of the most highly charged anarchistic films in memory, this “tradition” is set on its mouse ears, as writer/director Randy Moore allows everyone to “Escape from Tomorrow.”
Two Old Dogs Prove Very Entertaining in ‘Escape Plan’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 18, 2013 - 5:51pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Great action movies have one truth in common – they mix their face-offs with a psychological battle, which complements the pyrotechnics of invincible super humans. “Escape Plan,” with grizzled veterans Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, is true to that form.
Gothic Originality in ‘We Are What We Are’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 12, 2013 - 7:58amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Finding something truly original in the horror genre is rare. The most effective scare tactics are ones that touch the heart of our familiarity and psychosis. Re-imagining a Mexican film from 2010, director Jim Mickle gets right to the gothic heart of it all in “We Are What We Are.”
‘Machete Kills’ So Over the Top, it Has No Bottom
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 11, 2013 - 8:16amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – You gotta love director Robert Rodriguez. When other filmmakers are slogging through their important films, he’s out convincing big stars to blow off cinematic fireworks, giggling all the time. The excess is the thing, more so and more so, in his new film “Machete Kills.”
‘Gravity’ is a Visionary Expansion on Our Humanity
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 5, 2013 - 6:23pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Space looks like a vast, dark ocean in the new film “Gravity,” with the sparkling blue orb of our planet Earth beckoning the voyagers on that ocean homeward. Co-writer/director Alfonso Cuarón fashions a metaphoric dreamscape that places the small molecules of human beings within the vast expanse, fighting to understand the value of their place in that sea of cosmos.
‘Parkland’ Starkly Recreates November 22, 1963
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 4, 2013 - 5:39pmRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It’s been close to 50 years since 11/22/1963, the day when a certain American innocence was lost with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In time for that anniversary, is the excellent film overview entitled “Parkland.”
Ben Affleck Can’t Save Limp ‘Runner Runner’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 4, 2013 - 9:03am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Off shore internet gambling sites, tons of money, glorious glamorous women, parties all the time – how the heck can all of that be dull? The new film “Runner Runner” found a way. Ben Affleck phones it in and Justin Timberlake is name recognition window dressing in this limp drama.
‘Inequality for All’ Becomes a Cry for Democracy
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 28, 2013 - 6:00amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of the more underreported stories of the past year is that income inequality – the gap between the wealthiest one percent in the U.S. versus the rest of the population – is at historic highs. When that balance of power is tilted, the result is documented in the new film, “Inequality for All.”
