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+.
20th Century Fox
‘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 - 10:04am Rating: 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.
‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ is a Marvel Entertainment Gem
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 25, 2016 - 8:11am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In doing “comic book” movies right, Marvel Entertainment has established a formula of decent back stories, complex villainy and probable scenarios. In continuing to tell a history of the second half of the 20th Century in “X-Men Apocalypse,” they also add a historical parallel universe that works.
‘Eddie the Eagle’ is Predictable But Pleasant Tale
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 27, 2016 - 8:32am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Eddie The Eagle” is thoroughly predictable underdog story, but this picture won me over with a plucky persistence fitting for its peculiar protagonist. It’s an admittedly minor but mostly true tale of an oddball outsider overcoming overwhelming odds.
Anti-Heroism of ‘Deadpool’ Revels in Sass & Violence
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 14, 2016 - 10:55amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It was inevitable that we would get an “R-rated” superhero movie, and “Deadpool” fits the bill with its swears, violence and a little sex/nudity. It also has Ryan Reynolds as that hero, doing his “Van Wilder” smarmy act to the nth degree. How that all works will determine how you like the film.
‘The Peanuts Movie’ Honors Legacy of Charlie Brown
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 6, 2015 - 12:21pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – They didn’t screw it up, and that is good. Eschewing modern conventions or typical animation pop culture jokes, “The Peanuts Movie” honors its source (Charlie Brown and the gang) and its creator, Charles M. Schultz, in a joyous and nostalgic celebration.
Entertaining ‘The Martian’ is a Hollywood Space Opera
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 5, 2015 - 1:47pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It’s all based on science, they told us! “The Martian” is an old fashion feel-good movie about the hard working astronauts and scientists of the good old American space program, trying to rescue a stranded spaceman from Mars, aided by a brave cast of astro-colleagues.
‘Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials’ is Dystopian Rambling
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 18, 2015 - 7:50am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Movie pundits are falling all over themselves to point out there is no maze running in “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials,” so buyer beware! What began in the first film as a new take in the dystopian Young Adult movie genre, has become a scattered, uninteresting mess.
Fresh Blast of Funny From Melissa McCarthy in ‘Spy’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 5, 2015 - 9:53amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It can be argued that Melissa McCarthy, with a film a year and a TV sitcom still running, is topping out on exposure. But as long as she teams with writer/director Paul Feig, as she did on “Bridesmaids” and “The Heat,” she will continue to be an original comic force. Their latest is “Spy.”
