CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the doc series “Charlie Hustle & the Matter of Pete Rose,” about the rise and bitter fall of the major league legend, the MLB’s all-time hits leader, only to be banned from the sport because of gambling. Streaming on MAX and on HBO since July 24th.
Universal Pictures
N.W.A. Influences an Era in ‘Straight Outta Compton’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 13, 2015 - 7:28pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Gangsta rap, like all the revolutionary and society bending genres before it, was formulated from dire frustration and a need to shake up the surroundings that encased their creators. The prime movers of gangsta was the group N.W.A., and their story is told in “Straight Outta Compton.”
Amy Schumer Way Too Conventional in ‘Trainwreck’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 21, 2015 - 7:48am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In one of the most anticipated comedies of the summer, Amy Schumer breaks out of her edgy role as a stand-up and sketch artist to put her spin on the film universe in “Trainwreck.” She plays the lead role, is directed by the comic-reputable Judd Apatow, and she wrote the script. Why is it so “meh”?
Nothing of Substance in Cute, Fluffy ‘Minions’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 9, 2015 - 9:24pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – They’re cute, they talk like babies, and they already have “brand recognition.” In what feels like a product exercise rather than a movie, “Minions” extends its story from the dawn of time to 1968. Did we need that much back story? The voices of Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm star.
‘Ted 2’ is a Funnier Film Than it Deserves to Be
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 25, 2015 - 7:49pm- Amanda Seyfried
- Dennis Haysbert
- Giovanni Ribisi
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jay Leno
- Jessica Barth
- John Carroll Lynch
- John Slattery
- Liam Neeson
- Mark Wahlberg
- Michael Dorn
- Morgan Freeman
- Movie Review
- Patrick Stewart
- Patrick Warburton
- Sam J. Jones
- Seth MacFarlane
- Spike Walters
- Ted
- Ted 2
- Tom Brady
- Universal Pictures
Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – While it’s cruder and it can’t quite match the original “Ted,” “Ted 2” is still funnier than it has any right to be. It is unmistakably a Seth MacFarlane production, and there are a million reasons why this movie shouldn’t work, chief among them a plot that attempts to plop a foul mouthed talking teddy bear into a moralistic legal parable about civil rights. But I can’t deny I laughed throughout, almost despite myself.
More Than a Popcorn Flick, ‘Jurassic World’ Makes a Climactic Comeback Worth Making
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 14, 2015 - 4:39pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Blockbuster films are obsessed with bigger, louder and faster. They often think they need to spend more money to outdo what they’ve done before – especially when coming from a beloved original like “Jurassic Park”.
Sequel’s Tune is Off Key in ‘Pitch Perfect 2’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 15, 2015 - 5:51pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Pitch Perfect 2” wasn’t bad. There was the same off-kilter weirdness and funny lines of the first film, but in this sequel there were also stretches of boring, seemingly made-up stuff to slog through. I guess repeating a premise about college singing groups doesn’t offer much more to say.
Relentlessly Action-Packed ‘Furious 7’ Actually Has a Story, Too
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on April 3, 2015 - 8:16am- Adam Fendelman
- Chris Morgan
- Djimon Hounsou
- Dwayne Johnson
- Elsa Pataky
- Furious 7
- Gal Gadot
- Gary Scott Thompson
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- James Wan
- Jordana Brewster
- Kurt Russell
- Ludacris
- Luke Evans
- Michelle Rodriguez
- Movie Review
- Nathalie Emmanuel
- Paul Walker
- Tony Jaa
- Tyrese Gibson
- Universal Pictures
- Vin Diesel
Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I’ve never classified myself as a “Fast & Furious” franchise fan. Nor have I been a hater. I’ve fallen somewhere in between – willingly watching the popcorn flicks but then quickly going about my life as fast as the furious action ended. Until “Furious 7”…
Wham Bam Pass the Popcorn, Man For ‘Furious 7’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 2, 2015 - 11:25pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The “Fast & Furious” franchise of films has probably one of the strangest evolutions in action history. What began as a rebellious street race movie, has morphed into a sort of superhero saga. “Furious 7” amps up that element of it, creating a mythic and magical “Kingdom of F&F Cars.”
Beneath its Curious Surface, ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ a Dangerous Menace to Society
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on February 14, 2015 - 4:01pm- Adam Fendelman
- Callum Keith Rennie
- Dakota Johnson
- Dana Brunetti
- Dylan Neal
- E.L. James
- Eloise Mumford
- Fifty Shades of Grey
- Focus Features
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jamie Dornan
- Jennifer Ehle
- Kelly Marcel
- Luke Grimes
- Marcia Gay Harden
- Max Martini
- Michael De Luca
- Movie Review
- Rita Ora
- Sam Taylor-Johnson
- Universal Pictures
- Victor Rasuk
 Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Strike one of far too many: “Fifty Shades of Grey” author Erika Leonard (better known as E.L. James) has never lived the BDSM lifestyle. And therefore, nor should she be writing about, romanticizing and profiteering on it. On a $40 million budget, the film earned $30.2 million on its opening Friday and is on track for a record-breaking international weekend grab of $158 million.
Following a Two-Year Delay, ‘Seventh Son’ Should Have Been Shelved
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on February 8, 2015 - 3:35pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I can’t decide which is worse: the “fake deep talk” from Jeff Bridges in “Seventh Son” or the “angry whisper talk” from Eddie Redmayne in “Jupiter Ascending,” which also opened on Friday. Both speech impediments are ugly fish out of water, both films are getting punished by critics and both are underperforming at domestic box offices.
