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+.
Steve Carell
Nothing Magical About ‘The Incredible Burt Wonderstone’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 15, 2013 - 9:50am Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It’s this simple – “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” just isn’t funny. Sure, there are a few laughs here and there and some of the supporting cast works but the leads are woefully miscast and most of the jokes hit with all the awkward silence of a Bennigan’s tableside magician who guesses the wrong card.
Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones Elevate ‘Hope Springs’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 6, 2012 - 9:29am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It can be argued that Meryl Streep is in the most fruitful period in her long and illustrious career, at least as far as the variety of character parts she has undertaken. She co-stars in “Hope Springs” with Tommy Lee Jones, as a mousy Omaha wife who is looking for a change in her marriage.
‘Seeking a Friend for the End of the World’ Can’t Find Honest Emotion
Submitted by BrianTT on June 22, 2012 - 11:12amRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Lorene Scafaria’s “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” is a manipulative mess that’s only slightly redeemed by yet-another engaging performance from one of the best actresses of her generation. Even the always-great Keira Knightley can’t hold back the deluge of clichés and false characters that drag this piece down into the kind of dreck that would be universally derided if it just had the name “Nicholas Sparks Presents” in front of it.
Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling in Great ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’
Submitted by BrianTT on July 28, 2011 - 3:17pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” is undeniably clichéd, broad in its humor, and a bit manipulative in its sentimentality, but it should be. This is a movie about grand statements, soulmates, and true passion, a film that unabashedly believes in the craziness and the stupidity of what we call love. It’s also one of the most purely entertaining films of the year.
‘Despicable Me’ With Steve Carell Falls Short of World Domination
Submitted by BrianTT on July 9, 2010 - 11:19am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Despicable Me” is a mildly entertaining diversion on a summer afternoon. It’s a film that’s as equally difficult to hate as it is to love — kind of like its morally complex lead Gru (Steve Carell) — that falls just short of animation domination.
In ‘Get Smart’ Lifeless Retread, Steve Carell Can’t Fill Don Adams’ Shoe
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 20, 2008 - 12:23pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Observing the new “Get Smart” film, which is based on the 1960s TV sitcom of the same name, is to note how much has changed since the Cold War ended.
KAOS and CONTROL – the U.S. and Russian spy agencies that square off in the movie – seem like relics of another era.
Dr. Seuss’ ‘Horton Hears a Who!’ Heard Loudly Into Instant Children’s Classic
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on March 13, 2008 - 9:15pm
CHICAGO – One of Dr. Seuss’ most famous storybooks has finally been granted life with its self-titled animated feature “Horton Hears a Who!,” which involves a morally righteous elephant, philosophical timbre and Dr. Seuss’ ingenious lyrical rhymes.
