Amy Poehler

CHICAGO –Pixar Studios rediscovers some of its movie magic with the thoughtful and sophisticated “Inside Out 2.” It’s the sequel that doesn’t feel like a retread of what came before but instead is a natural progression of the story we’re already invested in … as early adolescence and puberty arrive to crash the kid party.

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on February 17th, reviewing “Lucy and Desi,” a new documentary that made its debut at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, and is streaming on Amazon Prime Video beginning March 4th.

CHICAGO – One of the prime Chicago-centric documentaries at the 56th Chicago International Film Festival is “For Madmen Only: Stories of Del Close.” Del Close was a legendary instructor in the Chicago comedy improv scene, and director Heather Ross created this multi-layered doc of his comic force.

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The premiere of LOVE GILDA at the Beacon Theatre

NEW YORK CITY – The 17th Tribeca Film Festival opened on April 18, 2018, opened with New York City centered film, the documentary “Love, Gilda.” Directed by Lisa Dapolito, the film tells the story of Gilda Radner, an original cast member in 1975 on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL). The doc featured past and present members of SNL, relating their stories on the meteoric rise and later battles of Gilda, who almost by accident became famous.

CHICAGO – Bring your sister! In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new comedy “Sisters” starring Amy Poehler and Tina Fey! Bring your biological or sorority sister!

CHICAGO – It starts with the imagination, and the story that comes from that lightning inner creativity. Nobody, it seems, does it better than Pixar Animation, and they are taking it all to a new level. For your consideration, and in a perfect world a candidate for Best Picture, “Inside Out.”

CHICAGO – The best of 2014 in film and TV was celebrated at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards on January 11th, 2015. Co-hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the first big and splashy awards ceremony of the season honored the films “Boyhood” (Drama) and “The Grand Budapest Hotel (Comedy), plus continued to recognize the current influence of online TV series by awarding honors to “Transparent” (Amazon Prime) and its lead actor, Jeffrey Tambor.

CHICAGO – You would think that a film written and directed by Matthew Weiner – the creator of “Mad Men” – would be worthwhile company, especially when the cast includes Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson and Amy Poehler. It is disappointing to note that not only was this cliché-ridden mess unpalatable, but it also switched gears two-thirds of the way through to evoke a different mood, and that schizophrenia didn’t help the overall product.

CHICAGO – Matt Walsh has been more visible lately, and it has much to do with his approach to character roles, beginning as Mike McLintock on the HBO series “Veep” and currently in the new film “Into the Storm.” For a Chicago native who began doing comedy improvisation here, he is moving on up.

CHICAGO – If there is any genre of film that needs a good blasting, it is the romantic comedy. These silly fantasies practically seem like satires anyway, so when the comic genius of writer/director David Wain ponders them, and casts Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler as the “couple,” the funny will fly.