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+.
HollywoodChicago.com DVD Reviews
DVD Review: ‘Terra Nova: The Complete Series’ Hints At What Could Have Been
Submitted by BrianTT on September 19, 2012 - 6:07pmCHICAGO – I really wish “Terra Nova” had worked. I not only wanted to like it more myself but it’s the kind of unique program that I wanted audiences to hook on to so its creators could iron out the problems and deliver true sci-fi greatness on network TV. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be, and “Terra Nova: The Complete Series” merely serves as a bittersweet reminder of what could have been.
DVD Review: Detailed Featurettes Round Out Set For ‘Blue Bloods: The Second Season’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 19, 2012 - 6:04pmCHICAGO – Honestly, most special features on DVD-only season releases for shows that don’t have gigantic followings are pure filler. They’re typically made up of the talking-head footage that a network uses to sell a show to publicists or advertisers and offer little insight into the series. That’s why it’s nice to see a show like “Blue Bloods,” a modest hit but far from a big one, get some strong supporting material for its diehard fans.
DVD Review: Funny ‘Suburgatory: The Complete First Season’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 19, 2012 - 6:01pmCHICAGO – NBC has long owned Thursday night comedy but ABC has staked claim to Wednesday nights in the last few years with a two-hour block of comedy anchored by the highly-acclaimed and beloved “Modern Family.” While that Emmy winner is an undeniably great show, the rest of last year’s line-up was underrated including the reliable “The Middle” and the increasingly funny “Suburgatory,” a show that started off with a few problems but ironed them out to become one of the funnier shows on TV this spring.
DVD Review: Latest Season of CW Hits ‘Supernatural,’ ‘The Vampire Diaries’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 17, 2012 - 5:47pmCHICAGO – As The CW continues to struggle to find a new hit (which could very easily change with the upcoming premiere of the very-promising “Arrow”), Warner Bros. releases two of the networks most reliable programs, arguably the two biggest success stories for the network right now in “Supernatural: The Complete Seventh Season” and “The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Third Season.”
DVD Review: Emmy-Nominated Third Season of CBS’s ‘The Good Wife’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 14, 2012 - 1:58pmCHICAGO – Whenever a TV critic argues that network TV drama is dead and that it’s all moved to basic cable, there’s usually a solitary show that they point to as the exception — CBS’s “The Good Wife.” This critical darling, an Emmy winner for Best Actress in Dramatic Series last year (and Supporting Actress the year before and multiple nominee for this season), was recently released in a modest third-season DVD set from CBS and Paramount. It’s disappointing that the show isn’t available in HD and the special features are pretty light for what is arguably network TV’s best remaining drama.
DVD Review: Robin McLeavy Knocks ‘Em Dead in ‘The Loved Ones’
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 13, 2012 - 9:02amCHICAGO – Sean Byrne’s “The Loved Ones” is one of those cinematic curiosities so gleefully depraved and unapologetically looney that it appears to have been conceived in an insane asylum. There is no logical reason why this picture should work at all, and yet it has been made with such conviction that I couldn’t help watching it in a state of slack-jawed awe.
DVD Review: NBC Comedies ‘30 Rock,’ ‘The Office,’ ‘Parks and Recreation,’ ‘Up All Night’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 10, 2012 - 11:49amCHICAGO – NBC/Universal released a wave of Blu-ray and DVD releases last week as four of their comedies came home with “30 Rock: Season 6,” “The Office: Season Eight,” “Parks and Recreation: Season Four,” and “Up All Night: Season One.” For some reason, “The Office” is the only NBC comedy available in HD (with an UltraViolet copy to boot) but all four sets are well-transferred and three of them feature impressive bonus material. Get your laugh on.
DVD Review: Mediocre Release For Reboot Season of ‘Two and a Half Men’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 5, 2012 - 6:49pmCHICAGO – It’s funny that after all of the build-up, all of the headlines, and all of the hype that the ninth season of “Two and a Half Men” proved to be so lackluster.
DVD Review: ‘Nate and Margaret’ Marks Superb Debut of Director Nathan Adloff
Submitted by mattmovieman on August 31, 2012 - 9:11amCHICAGO – Nothing forms the basis of a friendship quite like a shared understanding. When the hearts and minds of two people are compatible. everything else falls into place. It doesn’t matter if one happens to be a 52-year-old woman and the other is a 19-year-old man. That’s one of the simple truths that “Nate & Margaret” illuminates without drawing too much attention to it.
Blu-ray, DVD Review: First Seasons of ABC Hits ‘Revenge,’ ‘Once Upon a Time’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 30, 2012 - 10:28amCHICAGO – Why on Earth is ABC/Disney releasing “Revenge” on DVD-only but “Once Upon a Time” on Blu-ray and DVD? It doesn’t make any sense. Both shows were surprisingly robust hits this year for ABC and are clearly building buzz as they head into their sophomore outings in a few weeks. Wouldn’t fans of “Revenge” deserve to be treated as well as “Once Upon a Time”?
