Keri Russell

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker in for Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on February 23rd, 2023, reviewing “Cocaine Bear,” the based-on-truth coked up animal story. In theaters beginning February 24th.

CHICAGO – The United States is still fighting the Civil War, which ended in 1865. The rebellious South has never completely given away its anger and sorrow for the changes the war has wrought on them. These larger themes are examined historically in the new film, “Free State of Jones.”

CHICAGO – “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes” just goes to show you can have the most expensive and best looking visual effects money can buy, but it doesn’t mean a damn thing if you haven’t got a good tale to tell.

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 30 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” starring Gary Oldman and Keri Russell!

CHICAGO – One of the most incorrect assumptions in literature iconography is the focus on Jane Austen as a purely romantic writer – skipping the depth of character, humor and cynicism in her work, for the sake of mooning over “Mr. Darcy.” The new film “Austenland” continues this trend.

CHICAGO – The 2013 Emmy nominations were announced this morning, leading to the natural hand-wringing and chest-beating over who missed the cut. Before we get to the most egregious snubs of the year, a few places where the Academy unexpectedly, happily got it right:

CHICAGO – For a good portion of its running time, Scott Stewart’s sci-fi spookfest “Dark Skies” flirts with the possibility of becoming an effective thriller. There are a handful of sequences fraught with palpable tension, yet it becomes apparent around the halfway mark that the filmmakers don’t have an original idea in their heads. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been done better in countless other pictures.

CHICAGO – FX has carved an impressive critical and commercial niche with hits like “Sons of Anarchy,” “The Americans,” “American Horror Story,” and “Louie” and they’re trying to add another success to their arsenal with tonight’s premiere of the highly-anticipated “The Americans,” starring Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, and Noah Emmerich.

CHICAGO – With stars that have found critical success before on television in shows like “The Sopranos” (Michael Imperioli), “Arrested Development” (Will Arnett), and “Felicity” (Keri Russell) there was reason to be excited around a year ago when it came to “Detroit 1-8-7” and “Running Wilde,” two shows with little in common other than the fact that their first seasons will be their only seasons and they were both recently released on DVD courtesy of Lionsgate.

CHICAGO – As special effects technology continues to become more advanced, filmmakers have found increasingly convincing ways of allowing actors to give dual performances in the same movie, and often in the same frame. This can be achieved in a variety of ways, from the exquisite trick photography in “Moon” to the seamless digital creation of the Winklevi in “The Social Network.”