Film Review

Film Review: ‘Springsteen & I’ is Cinematic Love Letter to The Boss

CHICAGO – I must admit that my fandom for Bruce Springsteen played a factor in how I responded to a review outreach for “Springsteen & I,” playing in special engagements around the country, including tonight, July 22, 2013 at AMC River East 21 and Regal City North 14 in Chicago (and again on July 30). If it had been called “Nickelback & I,” I probably wouldn’t have responded.

Film Review: Exhausting ‘A Hijacking’ Captures Waking Nightmare

A Hijacking
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Tobias Lindholm’s “A Hijacking” is exhausting. It’s what could be called a Dogme thriller, a film that doesn’t use clichéd editing techniques, music cues, or exaggerated dialogue but focuses on a nightmarish situation from a realistic aesthetic. One forgets how American thrillers release their tension through the common techniques of the genre when presented with a film this bleak and dark. It’s an effective piece of work that will leave you longing for a shower, a nap, and a warm meal.

Film Review: Symbolism Crushes Human Connection at ‘The Wall’

The Wall
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.0/5.0
Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “The Wall,” opening today at the Music Box in Chicago, is a numbingly frustrating film in that it constantly defies audience involvement by reminding viewers of its self-importance, tedious degree of seriousness, and general lack of anything approaching common human behavior. Told almost entirely through the narration of its lead character, “The Wall” starts with an interesting concept but goes nowhere with it, giving the viewer too little with which to relate or comprehend and asking them to mistake the clunky narrative as “deep.”

Film Review: Clever ‘100 Bloody Acres’ Finds Horror-Comedy Balance

100 Bloody Acres
HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – “We’re not psychos, all right?!?! We’re small business operators.” It’s been awhile since there was a horror-comedy as fun as “100 Bloody Acres,” opening today in Chicago at the Music Box Theatre, and playing in some other markets around the country.

Film Review: Jason Statham Shows Range on Road to ‘Redemption’

CHICAGO – Stephen Knight, the writer of brilliant scripts for “Eastern Promises” & “Dirty Pretty Things,” makes his directorial debut with “Redemption,” opening today in limited release, starring Jason Statham in a role that proves that he has more dramatic range than he’s usually asked to display.

Film Review: Neil Jordan’s ‘Byzantium’ Feels Drained of Passion

CHICAGO – I’ve rarely said this about Neil Jordan movie – in fact, maybe never – but I was bored during his latest, the vampire drama “Byzantium,” a movie with an intriguing cast and interesting story but little in the way of passion, emotion, dread, or the other intangibles needed to make a horror film like this effective.

Film Review: Melissa McCarthy, Sandra Bullock Fuel ‘The Heat’

CHICAGO – An incredibly talented ensemble elevates a pretty pedestrian script in the just-funny-enough “The Heat,” a movie that gets better as it goes along, largely because its two mega-talented stars carry it over some mediocre patches of writing. Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock simply have unimpeachable comic timing.

Film Review: ‘A Band Called Death’ Proves That Quality Survives

CHICAGO – Wouldn’t we all like to believe that if one is true to their passion, honest with their creative vision, and unwavering in the world’s inability to embrace them that it is only a matter of time before that changes? We’ve always loved this theme in fiction and the encouraging idea that cream rises to the top propelled “Searching For Sugar Man” to an Oscar because of the goodwill it engendered.

Film Review: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx in ‘White House Down’

CHICAGO – How could a movie in which the President shoots a rocket from the back of a limousine during a car chase on the White House lawn possibly be boring? Roland Emmerich somehow finds a way in the numbing “White House Down,” a movie that make absolutely no sense but fails to entertain as B-movie escapism (as his movies sometimes have in the past).

Film Review: Joss Whedon & Friends Tackle the Bard in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’

CHICAGO – While relaxing and catching his breath after the stressful task of filming “Marvel’s The Avengers,” writer/director Joss Whedon didn’t just drink wine, host parties, and take baths in his money. He decided to use his break to make another movie.

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  • Manhunt

    CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

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