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+.
Reese Witherspoon
Interview: Producer, Actors of ‘The Good Lie’ Tell Us the Truth
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 16, 2014 - 3:19pmCHICAGO – “The Good Lie” is a honorable film overview of the Sudanese “Lost Boys,” who were refugees from a horrific civil war in that African country. Many of those boys came to America, and producer Molly Smith (“The Blind Side”), with actors Ger Duany and Emmanuel Jal, were part of the team that brought the film to life.
Film News: Sneak Peek at the 50th Annual Chicago International Film Festival
Submitted by NickHC on October 7, 2014 - 8:29pm- Chicago International Film Festival
- Colin Farrell
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jessica Chastain
- Kathleen Turner
- Liv Ullman
- Michael Moore
- Miss Julie
- Oliver Stone
- Reese Witherspoon
- Richard Lagravanese
- Short Films
- Speed Walking
- St. Vincent
- Taylor Hackford
- Ted Melfi
- The Last 5 Years
- Timbuktu
- Wild
- World Cinema
CHICAGO – One of the finest places in the world to witness its best cinema is the Chicago International Film Festival, which is now hitting its golden year of 50. This year’s festival boasts a lineup of top tier entries from world renowned filmmakers, packaged in the distinct Chicago flavor that keeps the city on a level all its own.
Blu-ray Review: ‘Mud’ Has the Feel of a Modern American Classic
Submitted by BrianTT on August 14, 2013 - 1:59pmCHICAGO – Maybe it’s the indeterminate time period that doesn’t rely on modern pop culture references or technology. Maybe it’s the sense that we’re watching a great Young Adult novel turned into a film. Maybe it’s the timeless themes of rebellion, love, and loss. Whatever it is, “Mud” already feels like a classic.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 50 Pairs of Passes to ‘Mud’ With Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on April 18, 2013 - 3:01pmCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 50 pairs of movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the highly anticipated “Mud” with Matthew McConaughey!
Blu-ray Review: Terrible ‘This Means War’ Denies Its Obvious Romantic Subtext
Submitted by mattmovieman on May 30, 2012 - 4:59amCHICAGO – McG’s “This Means War” could’ve been an interesting comedy if it had actually been about the undeniable love between its two male leads. Not since Lynn Shelton’s “Humpday” has a film so blatantly portrayed the homoerotic tendencies within close male friendships. Yet by denying its own subtext, the film is ultimately as clueless and insufferable as its one-note characters.
Film Review: ‘This Means War’ With Reese Witherspoon is an Attack on Movie Decency
Submitted by BrianTT on February 17, 2012 - 9:16amCHICAGO – McG’s “This Means War” with Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, and Reese Witherspoon is an aggressively annoying movie. It isn’t just bad. It grates. It frustrates. It baffles with its incompetence.
Blu-ray Review: Old-Fashioned Melodrama of Effective ‘Water For Elephants’
Submitted by BrianTT on November 10, 2011 - 12:43pmCHICAGO – Given my general aversion to modern soap operas, I was understandably nervous about reviewing Francis Lawrence’s “Water For Elephants,” an over-heated romance based on the best-selling book. Much to my surprise, this is an effective drama that should remind viewers of “the kind of movies they don’t make any more.” It would have been right at home in the Hollywood of the ’40s and ’50s and should make a satisfying rental for nearly any audience willing to go for the cheesy ride.
Trailer Tracking: ‘Wanderlust,’ ‘Safe House,’ ‘This Means War,’ More
Submitted by BrianTT on November 8, 2011 - 11:16amCHICAGO – Now that we’re so close to the holiday season, it means that the whole movie trailer landscape has changed yet again. We’ve spent the last three months watching the previews for the Christmas season blockbusters and the end-of-the-year Oscar hopefuls nonstop.
Film Review: Tensionless ‘Water For Elephants’ Fatally Mismatches Leads, Casts Spot-On Supporters
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on April 23, 2011 - 1:47amCHICAGO – While Robert “Twilight” Pattinson has persuasively branched out beyond his typecasting of reanimated and preternatural corpses, his miscast union in the tensionless “Water for Elephants” with pin-up circus spectacle Reese Witherspoon works as well as an elephant trying to spoon a sworn-enemy lion.
DVD Review: Great James L. Brooks Misfires With ‘How Do You Know’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 4, 2011 - 12:11pmCHICAGO – You won’t find a much bigger fan of James L. Brooks’ “Broadcast News,” one of my favorite romantic comedies of the ’80s, but there’s simply no denying that he’s lost his touch for character that once made him one of the best living writers. It may not be quite as big a disaster as “Spanglish,” but his newest romantic comedy “How Do You Know,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, is a mess, a blend of unbelievable characters, awkward pacing, and forgettable plotting that makes it one of the biggest disappointments of 2010.