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+.
Vanessa Redgrave
Annette Bening Proves ‘Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 12, 2018 - 12:27pm- Academy Award
- Annette Bening
- Britain
- England
- Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
- Frances Barber
- Gloria Grahame
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- It’s a Wonderful Life
- Jamie Bell
- Julie Walters
- Kenneth Cranham
- Movie Review
- Oscar
- Patrick McDonald
- Sony Pictures Classics
- The Bad and the Beautiful
- Vanessa Redgrave
 Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – GEORGE BAILEY: “Hey, you look good. That’s some dress you got on there.” VIOLET: “This old thing? I only wear it when I don’t care how I look.” That is how actress Gloria Grahame (as Violet Bick) was introduced in the classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Now she is portrayed by Annette Bening in “Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool”.
Human Emotions Transcend Wealth in ‘Foxcatcher’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 21, 2014 - 12:37pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In the memorable film “Barton Fink,” the title character is asked to write a wrestling movie for Wallace Beery. If Fink had isolated himself long enough, he might have come up with “Foxcatcher,” demonstrating once again that a true story is much stranger than fiction.
Ralph Fiennes Modernizes Shakespeare in ‘Coriolanus’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 21, 2012 - 6:55pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The plays of William Shakespeare, influencing culture and morality for over 400 years, continue to open themselves up to new interpretations and settings. Ralph Fiennes directs and stars in a film version adaptation of “Coriolanus,” set against the modern day machinations of politics and war.
‘Anonymous’ Such Stuff as Bad Movies Are Made On
Submitted by BrianTT on October 28, 2011 - 8:27am Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Roland Emmerich has been commonly mocked for his larger-than-life blockbusters that include “Godzilla,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” and “2012.” I would rather sit through a marathon of all three of those works back-to-back-to-back than suffer through “Anonymous” one more time. While those movies have undeniable flaws, they do so on a grand scale common with the words guilty pleasure. There’s absolutely nothing pleasurable about this self-serious and remarkably stupid drama.
Rachel Weisz Anchors Melodrama of ‘The Whistleblower’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 12, 2011 - 4:23pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Rachel Weisz elevates the harrowing true story of “The Whistleblower,” a pull-no-punches drama about a disturbing international conspiracy to cover up a sex trafficking ring involving the men tasked with protecting the innocent who turned to exploiting them. This is a graphic, dark, violent piece of drama, as it should be given its subject matter, but it’s the work of one of our best working actresses that truly makes it worth venturing into the darkness.
Vanessa Redgrave Shines in ‘Letters to Juliet,’ But Romantic Leads Bore
Submitted by BrianTT on May 14, 2010 - 2:46pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I want to live in the alternate universe where Vanessa Redgrave’s Claire is the lead of “Letters to Juliet” and the two vapid dorks who trail her on a journey of lost love can learn a lesson or two but never take the spotlight. Sadly, such is not the case with this Amanda Seyfried and Christopher Egan vehicle, a romantic drama entirely stolen from its young stars by a timeless actress.
