CHICAGO – TV fans know Monica Raymund as paramedic Gabby Dawson on the long-running “Chicago Fire.” But the talented actor is expanding her range, debuting her first film as director, “Tanya,” at the Midwest Independent Film Festival on Tuesday, August 1st, 2017. The short film – written by Sam Forman – will be part of “Female Filmmakers Night” at the Midwest Indie, and is part of Raymund’s involvement with Hidden Tears Project, an organization dedicated to raising consciousness by creating media on gender inequality, sexual abuse and human trafficking.
20th Century Fox
‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ Delivers Old Hollywood Glory
Submitted by JonHC on July 13, 2017 - 10:45pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Since the Golden Age of cinema, theaters have tried countlessly to deliver up big budget films. Summer is here and the public is showing that they are cooling off these blockbusters, no longer fooled by the thought that cost equates to quality. “War for the Planet of the Apes” shows us that blockbusters may still be redeemed by channeling some Old Hollywood magic.
‘Alien: Covenant’ is a Pale Copy of Previous Best Films
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 18, 2017 - 6:30pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It’s worth noting that the Alien series extends back nearly 40 years, and yet the chest-bursting Xenomorphs have produced a grand total of exactly two good movies. The orginal “Alien” and “Aliens” are great films that stand the test of the time, while every other entry in this series would require a significant stretch of the imagination to be called barely watchable.
Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn Bring Hilarity to ‘Snatched’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 12, 2017 - 9:11am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – This is the Amy Schumer-in-the-movies we’ve all been waiting for… the brash zing factory who has a bit of insecurity behind her adventurous and licentious ways. Schumer teams with Goldie Hawn in a mother and daughter laugh factory called “Snatched.”
Alec Baldwin Puts the Funny in ‘The Boss Baby’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 30, 2017 - 6:50pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The young Alec Baldwin (think “Prelude to a Kiss”) never seemed as prevalent as the today’s Alec Baldwin. Taking his “30 Rock” persona to a different level, he voices the title character of ‘The Boss Baby,” the latest from Dreamworks Animation and director Tom McGrath.
‘Assassin’s Creed’ Has Odd Breeding for a Movie
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 26, 2016 - 5:30pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I’m not a gamer, but of course I’ve heard about “Assassin’s Creed.” The film based on the video game is a wild and undisciplined attempt to expand that particular universe, but does succeed in creating an oddball science fiction that has implications in geo-religious power and control.
Brainiac Fulfillment is the Key to ‘Hidden Figures’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 25, 2016 - 10:00amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In America, there is the history we have, and the history that we want to have happened. “Hidden Figures” falls into the second category, but it’s presented in such a way that it fulfills the goal – tell an amazing story about a group of African American women who helped launch men into space.
Two Stories Clash in Uneven ‘Rules Don’t Apply’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 24, 2016 - 9:41amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Movie icon Warren Beatty had wanted to make a film about 20th Century billionaire Howard Hughes for close to 40 years. On the heels of Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator,” Beatty has written, directed and portrays Hughes in “Rules Don’t Apply,” and has created a strange farce about the mogul and a romance tale around him.
‘Trolls’ is Catchier Than it Has a Right to Be
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 4, 2016 - 8:24am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Trolls” isn’t the type of confection that I would normally subject myself to, but at least it didn’t make me want to stick knitting needles in my ears. That’s because “Trolls” aspires to be this season’s “Frozen,” a full blown animated musical jam packed with songs you can’t get out of your head as much as you might try.
No Need to Bother ‘Keeping Up with the Joneses’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 25, 2016 - 10:04amRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Keeping Up With The Joneses” illustrates how hard it really is to make a funny action comedy. After watching this, I have begun to think that the ones that work are something of anomaly – more often than not they’re like this. An amiable but aimless project that can’t quite grasp what it wants to be and doesn’t have the vision or the laughs to sustain itself.
‘Morgan’ Takes Out Intelligence in Artificial Intelligence
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 4, 2016 - 9:08pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There is nothing like the feeling of watching a completely immersive sci-fi film that delivers the complexity of technology in a modest package, and uses elements of nature to create a beautiful contrast. Unfortunately, “Morgan” doesn’t deliver on the enlightenment it promises.
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