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.
Cloris Leachman
Film Review: Stone Aged! On-Air Review of ‘The Croods: A New Age'
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 26, 2020 - 10:33pmCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on November 26th, 2020, reviewing the new animated sequel “The Croods: A New Age,” featuring the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Peter Dinklage.
Film Review: It Hurts Trying to Laugh at ‘The Comedian’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 3, 2017 - 12:04pmCHICAGO – Mention this possibility…Robert De Niro portrays an aging stand-up comic who once had a popular sitcom in the 1980s…and 99% of filmgoers are in. Add that he beds a woman 25 years his junior, does community service, roasts Cloris Leachman and becomes a reality show host, and suddenly 80% of that 99 are out. That’s just part of the over-extension and dread in “The Comedian.”
Film Review: Kevin Hart Takes a Plunge in ‘The Wedding Ringer’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 16, 2015 - 1:12pmCHICAGO – “The Wedding Ringer” is a Wedding Stinker. It’s a misogynistic trip through a barren land of hackneyed premises, stock characters, female stereotypes and strained physical gags that exemplifies everything that is wrong with big studio comedies today.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 5 Blu-ray, DVD Combo Packs to ‘The Croods’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on October 8, 2013 - 10:47pmCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Combo Pack with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 5 free Blu-ray and DVD combo packs up for grabs for the home entertainment release of “The Croods” starring Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds and Emma Stone!
TV Review: ‘Mel Brooks: Make a Noise’ Captures Comedy Genius
Submitted by BrianTT on May 20, 2013 - 9:47amCHICAGO – I’m a huge Mel Brooks fan, one of those critics who bows at the altar of arguably the two best comedies of all time, “Blazing Saddles” & “Young Frankenstein.” I’ve seen them both a dozen times and can’t wait to watch them again.
Film Review: ‘The Croods’ Rip a Funny Page Out of Pre-History
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 22, 2013 - 8:40pmCHICAGO – Good cartoons know that we’re in on the joke, that all the surreal actions will satisfy our basic funny bone. Great cartoons give us a little bit more, an empathy or a story that really goes beyond expectations. “The Croods” is a great cartoon, and a wonderful achievement in animation evolution.
Interview: Directors Kirk De Micco, Chris Sanders of ‘The Croods’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 22, 2013 - 3:20amCHICAGO – The fast, funny and brightly thematic “The Croods” is the latest animated epic to come out of DreamWorks Studios, and a couple of veterans in the cartoon game, Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders, are both the writers and directors of this vivid look into a prehistoric cave family and their evolutionary adventures.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 25 Pairs of Family 4 Packs to ‘The Croods’ With Nicolas Cage
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on March 14, 2013 - 11:35pmCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 25 pairs of family 4 packs of movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of “The Croods” starring Nicolas Cage!
TV News: FOX Renews Comedies ‘Glee,’ ‘New Girl,’ ‘Raising Hope’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 9, 2012 - 1:28pmCHICAGO – FOX announced today that they have renewed their three biggest critical hits, the Tuesday night comedies “New Girl,” “Raising Hope,” and “Glee.” Kevin Reilly, President of Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company, made the announcement via press release, in advance of the company’s official May Fall schedule announcement. The renewals for smash hit “New Girl” and reliable performer “Glee” came as a surprise to no one. “Raising Hope” was closer to the bubble and so the early renewal makes for good news for its fans.
DVD Review: First Season of Great FOX Comedy ‘Raising Hope’
Submitted by BrianTT on October 5, 2011 - 6:49pmCHICAGO – I fall a bit more in love with “Raising Hope” every week. I went as far as to suggest that the series deserved Emmy nominations for Best Comedy Series, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (Martha Plimpton), and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Garrett Dillahunt) — one out of three came true as Plimpton actually made a run at the trophy. This show just kept getting better as the first season progressed. Check it out now on DVD and see what the growing buzz is about.