December 2022

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 29th, 2022, reviewing “Women Talking” a new film by adapter/director Sarah Polley, currently in theaters.

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 29th, 2022, reviewing “The Whale” a new film by director Darren Aronofsky (“The Black Swan”), currently in theaters.

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 22nd, 2022, reviewing “Babylon” a new film by writer/director Damien Chazelle (“La La Land”) currently in theaters.

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio DVD review for “The Silent Twins,” the story of a famous case regarding British twins who only speak to each other and not the outside world. This is currently available in a Blu-ray DVD package from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 8th, 2022, reviewing “Sr.,” a documentary about Robert Downey “Sr,” produced by Robert Downey Jr. Currently streaming on Netflix.

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on The Eddie Volkman Show with Hannah B on WSSR-FM (Star 96.7 Joliet, Illinois) on December 23rd, reviewing the new Whitney Houston movie bio “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” in theaters beginning December 23rd.

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio DVD reviews for Paramount Home Entertainment in 2022, including their special series “Paramount Presents … “ In two parts, reviews for “Good Burger” (1997), “Event Horizon” (1997), “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), “Grease 2” (1982), “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” (1962), “Blue Hawaii” (1961), “Ordinary People” (1980) and the double feature package of “War of the Worlds”/“When Worlds Collide” (1953/51).

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – The Shrek franchise, which had been showing signs of creative exhaustion dating all the way back to “Shrek The Third,” gets an unexpected dose of new life with this belated – and better than it has any right to be – sequel “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish,” focusing on the swashbuckling feline (voice of Antonio Banderas).

CHICAGO – There is no bigger current icon in American ballet than Misty Copeland. The dancer, who experienced a meteoric rise nearly from the moment she took First Position, was the first black dancer to be named to Principal at the American Ballet Theatre. She has written a new book, about her mentor Raven Wilkinson, entitled “The Wind at My Back.”

CHICAGO – The story of an unusual turn in a 1920s Irish friendship captured the hearts of the Chicago Film Critics Association, as they named “The Banshees of Inisherin” – written and directed by Martin McDonagh – as Best Picture at their annual awards announcement banquet on December 14th, 2022.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on The Eddie Volkman Show with Hannah B on WSSR-FM (Star 96.7 Joliet, Illinois) on December 9th, reviewing the worldwide sensation from India “RRR,” an action movie featuring love and country, currently streaming on Netflix.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 8th, 2022, reviewing “Avatar: The Way of Water,” the highly anticipated sequel to the 2009 original, directed by James Cameron. In theaters beginning December 16th, with 3D and IMAX screen options.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 8th, 2022, reviewing “Empire of Light,” the latest from director Sam Mendes, about a memory of the cinema. In theaters beginning December 9th.

CHICAGO – This year was the 100th anniversary for the birth of the classic movie star/singer/performer Judy Garland. In 1963, as part of her regular CBS-TV variety series, she presented a Christmas episode, featuring her family … including Liza Minnelli. Playwright Desiree Burcum has created a musical comedy about this historic moment in television, appropriately titled “A Judy Christmas.” The show, presented by FAMOUS IN THE FUTURE productions, will have three performances the week before Christmas, December 15th, 16th and 17th, at the Den Theatre in Chicago. For tickets and more information, A JUDY CHRISTMAS.