CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on May 5th, reviewing the new miniseries “The Offer,” about the creation of the classic film “The Godfather,” currently streaming on Paramount+.
Penelope Cruz
M is for the Many! On-Air Review of ‘Parallel Mothers’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 22, 2022 - 11:57am![]() Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on January 20th, 2022, reviewing the 22nd film of writer/director Pedro Almodóvar, “Parallel Mothers,” in select theaters now.
Ass Kicker of the Wrong Kind is Downfall of ‘The 355’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 7, 2022 - 8:53am![]() Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There’s something to be said for a well done ass kicker in January that provides an entertaining distraction from the ice and snow outside. “The 355” is not it, offering a typical quick cutting action thriller that plods along in the most formulaic and least exciting manner possible. There’s nothing in this movie that hasn’t been done to death already.
Mustache Has More Than ‘Murder on the Orient Express’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 10, 2017 - 12:36pm- 20th Century Fox
- Daisy Ridley
- Derek Jacobi
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Johnny Depp
- Josh Gad
- Judi Dench
- Kenneth Branagh
- Leslie Odom Jr.
- Michael Green
- Michelle Pfeiffer
- Miranda Raison
- Movie Review
- Murder on the Orient Express
- Mustache
- Olivia Colman
- Penelope Cruz
- Spike Walters
- Tom Bateman
- Willem Dafoe
![]() Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Murder On The Orient Express” is a movie that is never quite as interesting as the main character’s mustache. Kenneth Branagh directs and stars as Agatha Christie’s most famous detective, Hercule Poirot. While it is a departure from the source novel, Branagh sports silver streak facial hair of audacious eccentricity.
‘Zoolander 2’ Continues Silly, Surreal Hilarity
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 12, 2016 - 9:42am![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Humor is subject to the receiver, of course, and what is funny is as distinct to each individual as a fingerprint. Having said that, I found “Zoolander 2” to be hilarious, as it delivered again what made the first film work – tweaking the self-importance of fashion and celebrity.
‘The Counselor’ Disguises Lackluster Storytelling in Philosophy
Submitted by BrianTT on October 24, 2013 - 2:51pm![]() Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “That’s not what greed does; that’s what greed is.” Cormac McCarthy’s script for “The Counselor” is so weighed down with allegedly insightful philosophy like this that it collapses into a heap of laughable, unbelievable exchanges between characters who simply don’t exist in the real world.
Woody Allen’s ‘To Rome with Love’ is Episodic, Choppy
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 29, 2012 - 4:50pm![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Writer/director Woody Allen continues his film travelogues in “To Rome with Love,” touring The Eternal City with four separate vignettes. An all-star cast – including Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Alec Baldwin, Penélope Cruz and Woody himself – hit and miss with this varying blend of stories.
Johnny Depp in Entertaining ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 19, 2011 - 2:24pm![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It’s easy to remember that the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series is on its fourth formulaic film, but harder to remember that it’s based on a freaking amusement park ride! Director Rob Marshall livens it up with “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.”
Star-Studded ‘Nine’ With Daniel Day-Lewis Delivers Grand Musical Spectacle
Submitted by BrianTT on December 24, 2009 - 2:41pm![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Rob Marshall’s highly anticipated “Nine” isn’t quite the complete piece that it could have been, but its flaws are easy to overlook in favor of the spectacle of old-fashioned, pure entertainment. It is what so many musicals are remembered for being: a series of memorable moments, the toe-tapping sum of which makes a missed beat or two easier to overlook.
Hit-or-Miss Mastermind Woody Allen Recaptures Genius With Eccentric ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on August 15, 2008 - 12:01am![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – While legendary writer and director Woody Allen can’t always be equated with sheer genius these days and is more accurately described as a hit-or-miss proposition, the sorely undermarketed and film-festival touring “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” serves as unquestionable retribution for his recently questionable work.
