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+.
Chloe Grace Moretz
Story Lets Down Chloe Grace Moretz in Stupid ‘Hick’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 25, 2012 - 2:34pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It’s understandable that people from the Southern or rural United States would criticize the general media. With films like “Hick,” which generally portray them as idiots or sociopathic, there is no balance or honest characterizations. Chloe Moretz, Blake Lively, Eddie Redmayne and Alec Baldwin add their take on it all.
Keep Tim Burton’s ‘Dark Shadows’ Out of the Light
Submitted by BrianTT on May 11, 2012 - 11:38amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Tim Burton’s “Dark Shadows” is one of the most inconsistent and frustrating major films in a long time. There are elements here and there that work but Burton and writer Seth Grahame-Smith seem incapable of figuring out how to wrangle them into a coherent, successful film.
Gorgeous ‘Hugo’ Plays Like Cinematic Snow Globe
Submitted by BrianTT on November 23, 2011 - 1:58pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” is a deeply personal piece, a magical tale about imagination and the importance of film preservation presented with some of the most technical expertise in years. It is also a strikingly cold film, an adventure that doesn’t contain the whimsy, pace, or charm that it really needed to in order to connect emotionally as well as intellectually.
Incomprehensible Story, Uninteresting Characters Sink in ‘Texas Killing Fields’
Submitted by BrianTT on October 21, 2011 - 1:53pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Ami Canaan Mann’s “Texas Killing Fields” is further proof of just how difficult it is to do what David Fincher does so well. “TKF” may have echoes of “Seven” and “Zodiac” but none of the character, mood, or even cohesion of those films. The best word to describe this misstep is a “mess” as the movie jumps around between plotlines and characters and never gives the viewer the footing that would make them resonate as something worth caring about or entertaining.
Harrowing ‘Let Me In’ Stands Tall Next to Original
Submitted by BrianTT on October 1, 2010 - 8:37amRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Believing all remakes are pointless is as narrow-minded as suggesting that they’re all worthwhile. It’s not an all-or-nothing proposition. Like a fantastic cover version of an amazing song, there can be room for more than one cinematic interpretation of the same story.
Wildly Entertaining ‘Kick-Ass’ Lives Up to Its Title
Submitted by BrianTT on April 16, 2010 - 8:07pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – With a half dozen superhero movies every year that feel as if they were created by a Hollywood blockbuster machine, it’s so refreshing to see one with its own distinct, subversive personality like Matthew Vaughn’s “Kick-Ass”.