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
Audio Film Review: Watery ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 22, 2023 - 9:25pmCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review for “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” part of the DC Comics Universe directed by James Wan and featuring … in this second outing as the watery character … Jason Momoa. In theaters beginning on December 22nd.
On-Air Film Review: ‘American Fiction’ Generates Nom de Plumage
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 22, 2023 - 8:45pmCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 21st, 2023, reviewing “American Fiction,” the directorial debut of Cord Jefferson, who also adapted the screenplay. In theaters December 21st, 2023.
Film Review: Zac Efron the Weak Link in Wrestling Drama ‘The Iron Claw’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 22, 2023 - 4:56pmCHICAGO – An epic piece of miscasting puts “The Iron Claw” in a sleeper hold it’s never quite able to escape from … the pint sized gaping empty hole at its center has a name, and it is Zac Efron. Efron mistakenly believes that his admittedly drastic physical transformation will do his acting for him.
DVD Gift Ideas: Paramount Home Entertainment ... Anniversary & Special Editions, Including 4K
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 22, 2023 - 3:39pm- Anniversary
- Chicago
- Deep Impact
- Dragonslayer
- DVD Review
- Eddie Volkman
- Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
- Flashdance
- Hannah B
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Paramount Home Entertainment
- Pat Über TV
- Patrick McDonald
- Pulp Fiction
- Roman Holiday
- School of Rock
- Scott Thompson
- Special Edition
- Titanic
- Transformers
- WBGR-FM
- WSSR
- Theater, TV, DVD & Blu-Ray
CHICAGO – DVD editions from Paramount Home Entertainment’s most popular films are on tap for holiday and general gift giving, and several are in the latest 4K ULTRA HD format … providing high definition pixel imagery that is PERFECT for backyard or any projected film nights.
DVD Gift Ideas: Three Titles for the Film Elite AKA Geeks in Your Life
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 22, 2023 - 2:53pm- Blonde: The Marilyn Stories
- Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
- DVD Review
- Early Short Films of the French New Wave
- Eddie Volkman
- Film Chest Media Group
- Film Movement
- Hannah B
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Icarus Films
- Marilyn Monroe
- Pat Über TV
- Patrick McDonald
- Scott Thompson
- WBGR-FM
- WSSR
- Theater, TV, DVD & Blu-Ray
CHICAGO – Film elites are a particularly hard category of movie buffs to satisfy come gift giving time. When they drop terms like auteur and film movements and directors you’ve never heard of, what’s the best DVDs to give them? Here are three notables that have been released in the last couple of years.
Film Feature: The 10 Best Films of 2023, By Patrick McDonald
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 20, 2023 - 2:42pm- 10
- 10 Best Movies 2023
- 2023
- Asteroid City
- Barbie
- Dream Scenario
- Eddie Volkman
- Film News
- Fremont
- Hannah B
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Landscape with Invisible Hand
- List
- May December
- Origin
- Patrick McDonald
- Poor Things
- Scott Thompson
- Ten
- Ten Best Films 2023
- The Boy and the Heron
- The Iron Claw
- Top Ten 2023
- WBGR-FM
- WSSR-FM
CHICAGO – Here we are again, the end of another year, and it’s time to momentarily look back. Thus opens the 10 BEST FILMS OF 2023, the list that represents one soul interacting with the art of cinema. That soul belongs to Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, WBGR-FM and WSSR-FM.
On-Air Film Review: Eggy Fun in ‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 15, 2023 - 12:28pmCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Ben Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 14th, 2023, reviewing “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” the animated sequel to 2000’s “Chicken Run.” Steaming on Netflix beginning December 15th, 2023.
Film Review: Charming Timothée Chalomet Brings the Willy to ‘Wonka’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 15, 2023 - 9:06amCHICAGO – “Wonka” is a sweet, perhaps too sweet, musical origin story of the world famous cantankerous candy man. Timothée Chalomet has got a song in his heart and sweets up his sleeve in a movie that threatens to give old fashioned “family films” a good name once again.
Interview, Film Review: Um Tae-hwa and His ‘Concrete Utopia’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 12, 2023 - 12:55pmCHICAGO – There is a thoughtfulness in the top South Korean films that cannot be duplicated in any other cinema culture. Along with now classics like “Oldboy” and “Parasite,” another Korean visionary emerges with a story about humanity … co-writer and director Um Tae-hwa has created a “Concrete Utopia.” The film is in U.S. theaters on December 15th.
In Memoriam: Rocker Denny Laine of Band on the Run ‘Wings’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 10, 2023 - 4:01pmCHICAGO – Denny Laine is a historic force in both the British Invasion of the 1960s with the Moody Blues, and as a member of “Wings” the band formed by him plus Paul and Linda McCartney in the 1970s. Laine died on December 5th, 2023, in Naples, Florida. He was 79.
Podtalk: Playwright Desiree Burcum Wishes Us ‘A Judy Christmas’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 10, 2023 - 2:28pm- 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 Bratta
- Michael Hora
- Patrick McDonald
- Podcast
- Podtalk
- The Den Theatre
- The Judy Garland Show
- Tina Teske
- Theater, TV, DVD & Blu-Ray
CHICAGO – In 1963, Judy Garland had a CBS-TV variety series, and in December there was a Christmas episode featuring her kids … including Liza Minnelli. Playwright Desiree Burcum and the comedy troupe FAMOUS IN THE FUTURE have created (click link) ”A Judy Christmas” as a stage play.
Podtalk: Costume Designer Holly Waddington of ‘Poor Things’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 9, 2023 - 1:44pmCHICAGO – One of the great “characters” in Yorgos Lanthinmos excellent new film “Poor Things” is undoubtably the costumes that Bella (Emma Stone) wears. The costume designer behind those works of art is Holly Waddington, and HollywoodChicago.com talked to her at the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) in October.
In Memoriam: Icon Norman Lear is Just Another Version of You
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 9, 2023 - 10:54amCHICAGO – In his humility, Norman Lear liked to express that he was “just another version of you.” In our humanity, we are different renderings, but all related, as the titan of TV philosophically said. Norman Lear died at his home in Los Angeles on December 5th, 2023. He was 101 years old.
