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+.
Focus Features
Fulfilling Emotion & Sumptuous Animation Awaits in ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 19, 2016 - 5:36pmRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In our short lives, what do we most need? It’s a hard question to answer sometimes, but the new animated film “Kubo and the Two Strings” does a memorable job of answering the query. The journey of Kubo, like Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” leads to a place where he needs to go.
Beneath its Curious Surface, ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ a Dangerous Menace to Society
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on February 14, 2015 - 4:01pm- Adam Fendelman
- Callum Keith Rennie
- Dakota Johnson
- Dana Brunetti
- Dylan Neal
- E.L. James
- Eloise Mumford
- Fifty Shades of Grey
- Focus Features
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jamie Dornan
- Jennifer Ehle
- Kelly Marcel
- Luke Grimes
- Marcia Gay Harden
- Max Martini
- Michael De Luca
- Movie Review
- Rita Ora
- Sam Taylor-Johnson
- Universal Pictures
- Victor Rasuk
Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Strike one of far too many: “Fifty Shades of Grey” author Erika Leonard (better known as E.L. James) has never lived the BDSM lifestyle. And therefore, nor should she be writing about, romanticizing and profiteering on it. On a $40 million budget, the film earned $30.2 million on its opening Friday and is on track for a record-breaking international weekend grab of $158 million.
Meet the Press in Illuminating ‘Kill the Messenger’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 14, 2014 - 12:19pmRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When journalists were heroes and exposed those in power for their sins, movies were made like “All the President’s Men.” Gary Webb of the San Jose Mercury News was one of those journalist heroes during the 1990s, but he wasn’t celebrated in his time. The indictments, induced paranoia and outright lies against him are distinctly chronicled in the luminary “Kill the Messenger.”
Animated ‘The Boxtrolls’ Has British Comic Tone
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 26, 2014 - 10:01pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Monty Python, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, Peter Sellers, Mr. Bean, Alan Partridge – all are examples of British comedy, that off-kilter “are you in on the joke?” point of view. That comic tone has arrived in an animated film, within the stop motion world of “The Boxtrolls.’
‘Wish I Was Here’ Will Make You Wish You Weren’t There
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 18, 2014 - 11:43amRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Writer, director and lead actor Zach Braff has put it on the line for his latest feature, “Wish I Was Here.” He infamously used a crowdfunding Kickstarter campaign to maintain creative control of the film, but he needn’t have bothered. The movie result is a sappy, high concept emotional manipulator with no basis in authenticity, and that might be the best thing that can be said about it.
Cussing Doesn’t Spell Out Comedy in ‘Bad Words’
Submitted by NickHC on March 22, 2014 - 5:13pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In his directorial debut “Bad Words”, Jason Bateman plays Guy Trilby, a foulmouthed 40 year old man who aggressively competes in local youth spelling bees. The children are confused, and their parents are furious. However, the isolated Guy has no fear, with all of the rule loopholes in his back pocket (specifically that he never graduated eighth grade).
‘That Awkward Moment’ Another Dishonest Rom-Com
Submitted by NickHC on January 31, 2014 - 2:28pmRating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “That Awkward Moment” posits its cheeky hashtag of a title concept as one relating to when Friday night flings yield from becoming Saturday daytime couplings (to paraphrase Woody Harrelson’s wisdom in “Friends with Benefits”).
‘Dallas Buyers Club’ is Highly Romanticized Yet Effective
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 8, 2013 - 9:18pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Matthew McConaughey’s performance as a 1980s-era HIV positive man in the drama “Dallas Buyers Club” is a gangbusters piece of acting. However, some highly exaggerated characters and soft soaping of reality creates a more gauzy romance of the situation than true grit.
‘Closed Circuit’ is a Tense Reminder of Our Times
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 28, 2013 - 7:55amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The threat of terrorist acts defies security. That is a fundamental truth. With 7 billion people on the planet – and an infinite number of motivations within them – all the security cameras, techniques and agencies cannot stop a determined group or individual, as depicted in “Closed Circuit.”
Farcical Themes Bring Laughs to ‘The World’s End’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 23, 2013 - 8:22amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In the collaboration of actors Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and director Edgar Wright, the best in life come in threes. Following their sublime “Shaun of the Dead” and the wacky “Hot Fuzz,” comes ther third comic film rendering, “The World’s End.”