Alien

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on August 13th, 2020, reviewing the new films (VOD, virtual theaters online, actual theaters) “Sputnik” and “Red Penguins.”

CHICAGO – One of the great movie character actors is hale and hearty at age 85. Tom Skerritt has over 50 years of roles, and has appeared in such film classics as “M*A*S*H,” “Harold and Maude,” “Up in Smoke,” “Top Gun” and “Steel Magnolias.” Skerritt was at the 7th Chicago Critics Film Festival for the 40th Anniversary of “Alien.”

CHICAGO – Tonight what heights we’ll hit. The 7th Chicago Critics Film Festival (CCFF) begins on Friday, May 17th, 2019, and offers a week of 2019 film greatness, selected by Chicago Film Critics from the major festivals so far. This will be a whole week at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre, Click here for the schedule.

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated new film “Alien: Covenant” starring Michael Fassbender!

CHICAGO – Combining the invasion elements of “Alien” with the life-raft-in-space morbidity of “Gravity,” the new film “Life” maintains a grip from the enlightened beginning to the twisted end. Mars is the origin, so the film joins “The Martian” and “The Space Between Us” in sourcing the red planet.

CHICAGO – Is there ever an end to the Young Adult Dystopia genre (“Hunger Games,” “Maze Runner,” etc.)? Or are we cursed with the end of the world every year, if it weren’t for those meddling kids? “The 5th Wave” is the latest adaptation, and if you haven’t read the source novel, good luck following it.

CHICAGO – Imagine a stranger taking a journey around the landscape of their destiny, and that only begins to describe the audacity and power of director Jonathan Glazer’s “Under the Skin.” Scarlett Johansson creates a character of undeniable mystery and truth, a stranger in a strange land.

CHICAGO – The buzz for the new film, “Under the Skin,” is tremendous, both for Scarlett Johansson’s performance and the amount of symbolic and real exposure for the actress. Director Jonathan Glazer (“Sexy Beast,” “Birth”) has fashioned a metaphoric gem based on a novel by Michel Faber, about an alien visitor.

CHICAGO – I’m old enough dear readers to remember when books were more interesting tie-ins for feature films than websites and video games. When we fell in love with a movie, we had action figures, Happy Meal toys, and, believe it or not, books. There was a time when collecting everything related to your favorite flick meant a novel adaptation and one of the absolute best, the graphic novel edition known as “Alien: The Illustrated Story” has just been reissued to show readers why this is an art form they should miss.

CHICAGO – How excited are you for “Prometheus”? The highly-anticipated Ridley Scott prequel to one of the most influential films ever made, his masterful “Alien,” will finally hit domestic theaters on June 8, 2012 (we’ve seen it and will have a review for you on Thursday). Are you ready? Have you watched the Quarilogy again? What else can you do to prepare?