CHICAGO – In anticipation of the scariest week of the year, HollywoodChicago.com launches its 2024 Movie Gifts series, which will suggest DVDs and collections for holiday giving.
HollywoodChicago.com Arts & Entertainment News
Film Review: Holidays Granted in ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 22, 2022 - 1:16pmCHICAGO – The Shrek franchise, which had been showing signs of creative exhaustion dating all the way back to “Shrek The Third,” gets an unexpected dose of new life with this belated – and better than it has any right to be – sequel “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish,” focusing on the swashbuckling feline (voice of Antonio Banderas).
Podtalk: Film Influencer Michael Kutza Wants You to Get ‘Starstruck’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 21, 2022 - 1:34pm- Chicago International Film Festival
- Colleen Moore
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Interview
- Jack Nicholson. West Side
- Manor Theatre
- Martin Scorcese
- Michael Kutza
- Mimi Plauché
- Pat Über TV
- Patrick McDonald
- Podcast
- Podtalk
- Starstruck
- Starstruck: How I Magically Transformed Chicago into Hollywood for More than 50 Years
- Steven Spielberg
- Tom Hanks
- Vivian Teng
CHICAGO – Looking for a last minute book gift for the Chicago film buff? Well, it doesn’t get any more insider than “Starstruck: How I Magically Transformed Chicago into Hollywood for More than 50 Years” by Michael Kutza … the founder of the Chicago International Film Festival and a film influencer for a couple generations.
Via Zoom: Misty Copeland on Her Book ‘The Wind at My Back’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 19, 2022 - 9:46pmCHICAGO – There is no bigger current icon in American ballet than Misty Copeland. The dancer, who experienced a meteoric rise nearly from the moment she took First Position, was the first black dancer to be named to Principal at the American Ballet Theatre. She has written a new book, about her mentor Raven Wilkinson, entitled “The Wind at My Back.”
Film News: Movies for 2022 Season with ‘Pat & Ken At the Holidays’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 19, 2022 - 12:38pmCHICAGO – It’s Christmas countdown week and the first day of Chanukah, so what better time to serve up “Pat & Ken At the Holidays” for 2022, featuring Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com and his faithful companion Ken Candela, whose off-kilter commentary has blessed him with the nickname, The Movie Wag.
Film News: Chicago Film Critics Association 2022 Best Film is ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 17, 2022 - 10:57am- Actor
- Actress
- Austin Butler
- Best
- Cate Blanchett
- CFCA
- Chicago Film Critics Association
- Colin Ferrill
- Decision to Leave
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
- Film News
- Fire of Love
- Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Martin McDonagh
- Patrick McDonald
- Picture
- TÁR
- The Banshees of Inisherin
CHICAGO – The story of an unusual turn in a 1920s Irish friendship captured the hearts of the Chicago Film Critics Association, as they named “The Banshees of Inisherin” – written and directed by Martin McDonagh – as Best Picture at their annual awards announcement banquet on December 14th, 2022.
On-Air Film Review: The Resister’s Life for Thee in ‘RRR’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 16, 2022 - 3:38pmCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on The Eddie Volkman Show with Hannah B on WSSR-FM (Star 96.7 Joliet, Illinois) on December 9th, reviewing the worldwide sensation from India “RRR,” an action movie featuring love and country, currently streaming on Netflix.
On-Air Film Review: A Blue Xmas with ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 15, 2022 - 1:17pmCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 8th, 2022, reviewing “Avatar: The Way of Water,” the highly anticipated sequel to the 2009 original, directed by James Cameron. In theaters beginning December 16th, in 3D and IMAX screen options.
On-Air Film Review: Silver Screen Dreams in ‘Empire of Light’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 12, 2022 - 10:59amCHICAGO – 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. Currently In theaters.
Podtalk: Richard Knight Jr. on Chicago Live Staging of ‘Scrooge & Marley,’ Dec. 12, 2022
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 11, 2022 - 10:42amCHICAGO – Ten years ago, an Independent film was released in Chicago, co-written and co-directed by Richard Knight Jr., an entertainment fixture in the Windy City. “Scrooge & Marley” offered a bit more than the previous versions of the familiar “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, it was the first to filter the story through same sex coupling and LGBTQ+ themes. A new staged version of the film, complete with the featured songs, will be presented at Chicago’s Center on Halsted on December 12th, 2022, at 7pm. It’s a FREE event, register for tickets by clicking SCROOGE & MARLEY.
Podtalk: Playwright Desiree Burcum Wishes You 'A Judy Christmas’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 10, 2022 - 11:12am- 1963
- A Judy Christmas
- assassination
- Chicago
- Desiree Burcum
- Frank Carr
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Interview
- Jack Jones
- Joey Luft
- John F. Kennedy
- Judy Garland
- Liza Minnelli
- Lorna Luft
- Mel Tormé
- Michael Hora
- Patrick McDonald
- Podcast
- Podtalk
- The Den Theatre
- The Judy Garland Show
- Tina Teske
- Theater, TV, DVD & Blu-Ray
CHICAGO – This year was the 100th anniversary for the birth of the classic movie star/singer/performer Judy Garland. In 1963, as part of her regular CBS-TV variety series, she presented a Christmas episode, featuring her family … including Liza Minnelli. Playwright Desiree Burcum has created a musical comedy about this historic moment in television, appropriately titled “A Judy Christmas.” The show, presented by FAMOUS IN THE FUTURE productions, will have three performances the week before Christmas, December 15th, 16th and 17th, at the Den Theatre in Chicago. For tickets and more information, A JUDY CHRISTMAS.
On-Air Film Review: Pure Artistry in Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 9, 2022 - 3:33pmCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 8th, 2022, reviewing “Pinocchio,” an adaptation of the legendary story through the eyes of filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. In select theaters and streaming on Netflix beginning December 9th.
Podtalk: Director, Co-Writer & Lead Actor Nate Boyer is an ‘MVP’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 5, 2022 - 11:34amCHICAGO – What links the military and football players? The uniforms, the camaraderie and a shared purpose are some examples. The new film “MVP,” currently available through Video On Demand, explores those links and what happens when those careers get separated from the individual. Nate Boyer co-wrote, directed and is the lead actor in the film.
On-Air Film Review: No Static at All in Adaptation of ‘White Noise’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 3, 2022 - 8:17amCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Jason Makos on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 1st, 2022, reviewing “Emancipation,” featuring Will Smith and set in the Civil War period and within the eradication of slavery, in theaters on December 2nd.
