CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the streaming series “Emily in Paris” the adventures of Emily Cooper and her fanciful/fashionable Paris friends and lovers, now in its fourth season. Episodes 1-5 currently on Netflix.
Colin Firth
Silver Screen Dream! On-Air Film Review of ‘Empire of Light’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 12, 2022 - 11:56am 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.
Firth and Tucci Deliver Stellar Performances in 'Supernova'
Submitted by JonHC on January 31, 2021 - 5:46amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Stars are a concept that I don’t think I will ever understand. Giant celestial bodies of gas and fire that burn and shine with an unimaginable intensity. Their spherical appearance masks a double-edge that can both bring and sustain life, or out-right end it. Love is much the same way, simultaneously nurturing us up until the moment it isn’t. Although Supernova doesn’t take us on the incredible interstellar adventure its title suggests, the grounded, emotional journey is still otherworldly.
You’ll Be Wild About Magical ‘Mary Poppins Returns’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 19, 2018 - 6:49am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – They did it. Walt Disney Studios took one of their most beloved live action/animated films and rebooted it for a new millennium. “Mary Poppins Returns” is a song-filled, emotional and magical celebration of all things Mary P, combining the elements that made it great the first time with the modern movie strengths of today.
‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ is a Bubbly Musical
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 20, 2018 - 10:26am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I give in. “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” the sequel to the much derided “Mamma Mia,” is a bubbly, frothy here-come-the-good-times musical that fits summer like a glove. The flashback format will also answer all the burning questions that were left unanswered from the first film, and the cast includes Cher!
‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ is High-Flying Spy Fun
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 22, 2017 - 9:41amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” is a hard “R”-rated sequel with a thoroughly juvenile soul. It pairs silly wordplay, dirty jokes and a startling amount of bloody and gratuitous violence while its tongue remains thoroughly in cheek. This is a James Bond movie as made by an unusually sadistic 16-year-old under the influence of some not entirely legal substances.
‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ Offers Labored Attempt at Humor
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 16, 2016 - 11:08am Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Bridget Jones’s Baby” is the kind of geriatric sequel that makes you retroactively question whether the original film that inspired it was all that good to begin with – it’s less a film than a labored collection of contrived situations involving pregnancy and pratfalls. It’s not painfully unwatchable, but it’s unlikely to inspire anything remotely resembling amusement in its audiences.
‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ is Fun, Very Odd
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 13, 2015 - 10:09amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Part James Bond, part absurdist adventure, “Kingsman: The Secret Service” is nonetheless a romp, with Colin Firth handling the Brit spy role with a natural aplomb. If the notion of a super secret rogue spy agency under a London tailor shop is something that sounds intriguing, that doesn’t even begin to tell the tale.
‘Before I Go to Sleep’ Not Worth Remembering
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 31, 2014 - 11:56am Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Before I Go To Sleep” is a lobotomized amnesiac thriller that sure hopes its audience can’t remember “Memento.” It presents its promising concept as a slow, poorly paced potboiler that is packed with unpleasantness.
‘Magic in the Moonlight’ is Woody Allen By the Book
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 25, 2014 - 3:49pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – After last year’s powerful “Blue Jasmine,” writer/director Woody Allen’s trajectory seemed destined toward another film masterpiece, but “Magic in the Moonlight” isn’t it. Colin Firth and Emma Stone are an unlikely pairing in this seen-it-before-Woody film trifle.
Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman on Track in ‘The Railway Man’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 18, 2014 - 4:26pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of the hidden implications of World War II was the suffering of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) from the millions of soldiers who survived the horrors of that war. The difficulties associated with PTSD are communicated with honor by Colin Firth in “The Railway Man”
