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+.
Helen Mirren
‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’ Not Worth the Trip
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 8, 2014 - 1:29pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “The Hundred-Foot Journey” is as manufactured and flavorless as a frostbitten Lean Cuisine. However as the impresario of a Michelin-starred Restaurant in the south of France, Helen Mirren implores her staff that food is not an old tired marriage, it is a passionate affair. It’s ironic that the film containing that speech is such a limp, forgettable piece of Oprah endorsed uplift with not one genuine emotion to be had.
Despite Flopping as a Comic Book Movie, ‘Red 2’ Coasts By with Well-Written Characters
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 20, 2013 - 12:29pm- Adam Fendelman
- Anthony Hopkins
- Bruce Willis
- Byung-hun Lee
- Catherine Zeta-Jones
- Cully Hamner
- David Thewlis
- DC Entertainment
- Dean Parisot
- Erich Hoeber
- Garrick Hagon
- Helen Mirren
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- John Malkovich
- Jon Hoeber
- Jong Kun Lee
- Mary-Louise Parker
- Movie Review
- Neal McDonough
- Red
- Red 2
- Warren Ellis
Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If you didn’t see the DC Entertainment splash screen when this “Red 2” sequel kicks off with the fake death of one of its usual suspects, you wouldn’t mind that the rest of the film feels nothing like a comic book movie except for its animated transitions between scenes.
Pixar Scores Again With Delightful ‘Monsters University’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 21, 2013 - 8:50am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Let’s everybody say it together, “the key to great animation is a great story.” This has to be the motto for Pixar Animation – now part of Disney. Their latest, “Monsters University,” is a prequel with a heart, soul and attention to what makes this type of entertainment work.
‘Hitchcock’ at its Heart is a Relationship Film
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 21, 2012 - 7:01pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The great director Alfred Hitchcock had morphed to legend rather than a man, so it’s interesting that two films have recently been released about his all-too-human foibles. The feature film, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins as the director, gets inside the man’s relationships in “Hitchcock.”
Performance of Exemplary Cast Collects on ‘The Debt’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 31, 2011 - 6:54am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Re-imagining, almost re-engaging the evil of the Holocaust has been thoroughly examined in film for years. “The Debt” looks at another angle, that of revenge and how much that revenge can wreak havoc on the truth.
‘Brighton Rock’ Remake Fails to Justify its Existence
Submitted by BrianTT on August 26, 2011 - 3:56pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Rowan Joffe’s long-gestating remake of “Brighton Rock” (the 1947 noir classic was based on the beloved book by Graham Greene) raises the question least-desired in one of these situations – why bother? Sure, the story is a nifty little tale of a rising criminal undone by his own avarice and the love of a girl and the cast assembled for the remake is an undeniably talented ensemble.
Russell Brand Tries Too Hard in Lame ‘Arthur’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 8, 2011 - 7:49am Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There are many problems inherent in film remakes, starting with comparisons to the original source. The first “Arthur,” while not a classic, did have a warm, funny story and Dudley Moore’s title performance. The current remake has none of that.
Talented Ensemble Wasted on Incredibly Dull ‘Red’
Submitted by BrianTT on October 15, 2010 - 9:51am Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – They say you can learn as much from a bad movie as you can from a good one. If that’s true, what’s the lesson to be taken from the extremely boring and misguided “Red”? Perhaps that moviemaking is not the sum of its parts and that you can’t just get together an amazing cast, shout action, and expect magic.
Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck Bring Spark to Mediocre ‘State of Play’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 17, 2009 - 1:21am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I’ll be the first critic to tell you that they don’t make adult thrillers often enough. I was very disappointed by the lackluster box office take of Tony Gilroy’s ” Duplicity”. But does that mean that we should give all intellectual mysteries a pass? Of course not. And while I want to love Kevin Macdonald’s “State of Play,” a few poor decisions during production keep it back from being the excellent film it could have been.
