January 2014

Interviews: Women in Film Chicago at the 2013 Focus Awards

Women in Film Chicago Logo

CHICAGO – Women in Film Chicago is one of the greatest Midwest advocates for women filmmakers. Every year, they present “Focus Awards” to honor notable female breakthroughs in the film and television business. Last October, they awarded their 2013 Focus Awards to Ky Dickens, Katy Mindeman and Lisa Wiegand.

2014 Sundance Diary, Day 3: Comedies with an Edge

I’ve only seen three movies since my last dispatch — Sundance is about finding the time to write whenever you have it and it just comes earlier today than it did yesterday — but one was a true gem. So I’ll be brief.

2014 Sundance Diary, Day 2: New Filmmakers Lead the Way

Sundance has always been an interesting blend of new and old; domestic and international; star power and new faces. In the last 24 hours, the two movies that struck the loudest chord with me come from young filmmakers, and that couldn’t make me happier.

Film Review: Character Reboot ‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’ Pales as Compared to Masterful Predecessors

CHICAGO – It’s been 12 years since we’ve seen Tom Clancy’s masterful, Jason Bourne-esque character Jack Ryan in 2002’s “The Sum of All Fears” (led by Ben Affleck), which itself was a character reboot.

Character Reboot ‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’ Pales as Compared to Masterful Predecessors

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.5/5.0
Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – It’s been 12 years since we’ve seen Tom Clancy’s masterful, Jason Bourne-esque character Jack Ryan in 2002’s “The Sum of All Fears” (led by Ben Affleck), which itself was a character reboot. We first saw Jack in 1990’s “The Hunt For Red October” as Alec Baldwin and then twice in the body of Harrison Ford with 1992’s “Patriot Games” and 1994’s “Clear and Present Danger”.

2014 Sundance Diary, Day 1: The Truth is in the Journey

I’m back in Park City for another week of premieres, interviews, and screenings of at least a few films that the community will be talking about all year. Last year’s Sundance produced “The Spectacular Now,” “Stories We Tell,” “Mud,” “Upstream Color,” “Before Midnight,” “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” and more. What will impact this year?

Interview: ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ Star Jon Heder Drops Into Chicago

Napoleon Dynamite

Those who live in Chicagoland but can’t make it to Sundance 2014 this weekend are invited to ring in a ten-year anniversary of one of the festival’s biggest premieres, “Napoleon Dynamite.”

Film Review: B-Level Story Sinks Finely Animated ‘The Nut Job’

CHICAGO – It feels like when any studio besides Walt Disney or Pixar does an animated film with celebrity voices, there is a little less lacquer on it. What the other two remember, and others forget, is that it starts with a script. All the toon landscapes in the world can’t fix a dull story.

B-Level Story Sinks Finely Animated ‘The Nut Job’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.5/5.0
Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – It feels like when any studio besides Disney or Pixar does an animated film with celebrity voices, there is a little less lacquer on it. What the other two remember, and others forget, is that it starts with a script. All the toon landscapes in the world can’t fix a dull story.

Film Review: High-Level Reboot for ‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’

CHICAGO – Actor Chris Pine should use the term “Rebooter” as his middle name. After taking on the Captain Kirk role in the “Star Trek” series, he now is the latest to portray CIA super spy as “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” a literate and pulse racing adventure directed by Kenneth Branagh.

High-Level Reboot for ‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.0/5.0
Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Actor Chris Pine should use the term “Rebooter” as his middle name. After taking on the Captain Kirk role in the “Star Trek” series, he now is the latest to portray CIA super spy as “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” a literate and pulse racing adventure directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Film News ‘12 Years a Slave,’ ‘American Hustle’ Lead Oscar Nominees

After an intense season of outside-industry kudos delivery, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has proclaimed its favorites of a memorable award season. “12 Years a Slave” continues its momentum with nominees for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay and more.

Feature: HollywoodChicago.com 10 Best Interviews of 2013

CHICAGO – Every year, the movie stars, actor/actresses and filmmakers come knocking, and HollywoodChicago.com is there to answer. Film Critics Brian Tallerico and Patrick McDonald have combined their best-of interviews for 2013, and it’s an intriguing and eclectic mix.

Film Feature: Predictions For the 2014 Oscar Nominees

It’s that most wonderful time of the year in which one group of people (journalists) try to figure out what another group of people (Academy members) think are the best films and performances of the year. Sure, we have the Guild nominees, critics awards, and general buzz but there’s only one thing that I can tell you for sure — one of the predictions below will be wrong. And yet we go out on that limb again every year.

Blu-ray Review: Don’t Miss Remarkable Honesty of ‘Short Term 12’

Short Term 12

Short Term 12” is a special film. If through some true miracle, Brie Larson’s name is announced on Oscar nominations morning, that sound you hear is me screaming in childish glee. She certainly deserves it for this daring, honest piece of work, one that dares to suggest that there are numerous ways to stop the emotional bleeding. It could be rap, it could be art, it could be taking a bat to a car, or it could be love. Destin Cretton won the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Filmmaker and it was one of this year’s winners of which I was most proud we were recognizing. This is a special movie.

What to Watch: Jan. 14-27, 2014

Enough Said

We’re breaking form this week and going alphabetical instead of preference order because of the INCREDIBLE diversity of product available for you to rent, buy, or stream over the next ten days. How does someone really compare “Sunrise” to “You’re Next”? Why bother?

Film Review: Twisted Thrill Ride of Intense ‘Big Bad Wolves’

“Big Bad Wolves” pulls no punches. It rips off toenails instead. This incredibly dark thriller, courtesy of the twisted folks who made the indie horror hit “Rabies,” built notable buzz at its Tribeca Film Festival and Chicago International Film Festival screenings but really took off when Quentin Tarantino named it his favorite film of 2013.

Twisted Thrill Ride of Intense ‘Big Bad Wolves’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.0/5.0
Rating: 4.0/5.0

“Big Bad Wolves” pulls no punches. It rips off toenails instead. This incredibly dark thriller, courtesy of the twisted folks who made the indie horror hit “Rabies,” built notable buzz at its Tribeca Film Festival and Chicago International Film Festival screenings but really took off when Quentin Tarantino named it his favorite film of 2013.

Film Feature: 10 Movies to Watch For From Sundance 2014

The Sundance Film Festival kicks off this Thursday night, January 16, 2014 and history tells us that one of your favorite films will premiere there. Last year, we covered the Sundance premieres of “Before Midnight,” “Upstream Color,” “The Way Way Back,” “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” “We Are What We Are,” and many more. And Chicago Critics Film Festival hits “Stories We Tell,” “The Spectacular Now,” and “The Kings of Summer” premiered in Park City in 2013.

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 50 Pairs of Passes to ‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’ with Chris Pine

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated new thriller “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” starring Chris Pine!

TV Review: FX Finds Partner For Brilliant ‘Archer’ in Promising ‘Chozen’

FX has built a loyal following for the twisted genius of their animated hit “Archer,” which returns tonight, January 13, 2014 to start an incredibly strong series of episodes that spoof “Miami Vice” under the banner of “Archer Vice.” While “Archer” seems to garner more fans every year (helped ably by the popularity of the episodes on Netflix), FX has struggled to find it a partner. Maybe an obnoxious, fat, gay white rapper is just what Sterling Archer needed.

Film, TV News: The Winners of the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards

The winners of the 71st Annual Golden Globes were handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on Sunday, January 12, 2014 and they were as follows:

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 25 Pairs of Passes to ‘Ride Along’ with Kevin Hart, Ice Cube

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 25 pairs of advance-screening passes up for grabs to the new comedy “Ride Along” starring Kevin Hart, Ice Cube and John Leguizamo!

Blu-ray Review: Neon Brilliance of Michael Mann’s Influential ‘Thief’

Thief

Michael Mann’s “Thief” is a crime movie that’s more about the criminal than his illegal acts. It’s about a man who has been torn down to nothing who slowly puts pieces back into his life, like a love affair and a family, only to learn that he has to give all of them up for his own safety. It’s a fascinating film, stunning in its technical acumen and with stellar performances from James Caan, Tuesday Weld, and Robert Prosky (making his film debut). It’s also a great inclusion in The Criterion Collection, perfectly remastered and with some interesting interview insights.

Film Review: Kellan Lutz as ‘The Legend of Hercules’ a Summer Blockbuster Action Wannabe

CHICAGO – Big-budget Hollywood is struggling to find new stories, which is why we sometimes see the same ones two, three or even 10 times. Sometimes they’re days or months apart. And sometimes they shouldn’t have been made in the first place and just were to profit from a beloved story or hero.

Kellan Lutz as ‘The Legend of Hercules’ a Summer Blockbuster Action Wannabe

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 1.0/5.0
Rating: 1.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Big-budget Hollywood is struggling to find new stories, which is why we sometimes see the same ones two, three or even 10 times. Sometimes they’re days or months apart. And sometimes they shouldn’t have been made in the first place and just were to profit from a beloved story or hero.

Exclusive Portrait: Cameron Diaz Promotes New Book in Chicagoland

Cameron Diaz, Portrait by Joe Arce

CHICAGO – Cameron Diaz is on a noble mission in 2014. Her crusade is about women’s body issues, to encourage girls – in addition to female teens and adults – to pay mind to body image and power. Her new book is “The Body Book: The Law of Hunger, The Science of Strength, and Other Ways to Love Your Amazing Body,” and she appeared to promote it at Wentz Concert Hall (North Central College) in Naperville, Ill., hosted by Anderson’s Bookshop.

Film Review: Asghar Farhadi’s ‘The Past’ Finds Resonance Through Subtlety of Human Interaction

Filmgoers may bash the January to October movie fare for being boisterous, obnoxious, directed by Michael Bay, etc. However, even during the supposedly tasteful sanctuary that is the award season of November to January, those films themselves can be lumped together to sponsor their own lack of subtlety.

Asghar Farhadi’s ‘The Past’ Finds Resonance Through Subtlety of Human Interaction

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.0/5.0
Rating: 4.0/5.0

Filmgoers may bash the January to October movie fare for being boisterous, obnoxious, directed by Michael Bay, etc. However, even during the supposedly tasteful sanctuary that is the award season of November to January, those films themselves can be lumped together to sponsor their own lack of subtlety.

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  • Manhunt

    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+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

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