Hugh Grant

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Ben Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on May 2nd, reviewing “Unfrosted,” featuring Jerry Seinfeld as lead role, co-writer and his debut as director. Streaming on Netflix beginning May 3rd.

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on January 4th, 2024, comparing “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) with “Wonka” (2023), which is currently in theaters.

CHICAGO – “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.

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 30th, 2023, reviewing “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” another film adaptation of the geek game. In theaters March 31st.

CHICAGO – For nine seasons, Simon Helberg has graced the television screen as Howard, on the number one comedy hit “The Big Bang Theory.” As the show nears the end of its run, Helberg is breaking out a bit, starting with a vital supporting role opposite Meryl Streep in the new film, “Florence Foster Jenkins.”

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new action/adventure/comedy “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (the adaptation of the hit 1960s TV series) starring Henry Cavill from Guy Ritchie (“Sherlock Holmes,” “Snatch”)!

CHICAGO – It’s a weird week at the video store (do they still have those?) or in the New Releases section of your favorite Video On Demand service. There’s some real junk that we’ll get to (“The Internship”) along with some flicks that are just too good not to break out into their own special Blu-ray reviews (“Before Midnight,” “The Conjuring” — both must-sees). And then there’s a unique array of catalog releases and TV seasons. Those could easily fall through the cracks if not for the informative What to Watch. All of these are new to Blu-ray, some for the first time and some in anniversary/special editions. At least one will grab your attention.

CHICAGO – Aardman’s Animation “The Pirates! A Band of Misfits” is a wonderfully clever slice of family entertainment that’s probably second to only “ParaNorman” when it comes to the best animated cinema of 2012. Sony has treated the film and its fans very well with an extras-packed special edition of the Peter Lord film that comes with a spectacular short film, 3D version, UltraViolet edition, and more. It’s one of the best family Blu-rays on New Releases shelves right now.

CHICAGO – “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” has that incredible Aardman energy and elegance of works like “Wallace & Gromit” and “Chicken Run” along with some of the best voice work you’ll hear in an animated film all year.

CHICAGO – Peter Lord may be the most important and influential animation producer of the last fifty years that you probably haven’t heard of. In the ’70s, he co-founded a company with Steven Broxton that would go on to change the form of stop-motion animation — Aardman Animation.