CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Maggie Gyllenhaal
On-Air Film Review: Now I’m Found! ’The Lost Daughter’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 31, 2021 - 4:57pmCHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 30th, 2021, reviewing the directorial debut of actor Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter,” currently streaming on Netflix.
Film Review: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx in ‘White House Down’
Submitted by BrianTT on June 26, 2013 - 10:32amCHICAGO – 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).
Blu-ray Review: Disingenuous ‘Won’t Back Down’ Oversimplifies Vital Issues
Submitted by mattmovieman on January 24, 2013 - 10:36amCHICAGO – If a film were meant to be judged purely on the basis of its final shot, then Daniel Barnz’s “Won’t Back Down” would be an unqualified success. The image of a little girl finally learning to pronounce the word “hope” could’ve easily been a cheesy contrivance straight out of a Feldco commercial. Even on paper, the shot sounds downright silly.
Film Review: ‘Won’t Back Down’ is an Agenda Disguised as a Film
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 28, 2012 - 3:54pmCHICAGO – There is an interesting trend in the financing of films, actual partisan organizations are fostering their points-of-view through the movies. This is nothing new in documentaries, but now it appears in a fictional film called “Won’t Back Down,” featuring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis.
Blu-ray Review: Tanya Wexler’s ‘Hysteria’ Celebrates Female Sexuality
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 26, 2012 - 11:13amCHICAGO – Tanya Wexler’s “Hysteria” is a feel-good movie about the dawn of an invention that redefined the meaning of “feel-good.” As America continues to harbor simultaneously puritanical and adolescent attitudes toward sex, films like “Hysteria” continue to be as vital as they are entertaining. In a way, the picture is as old-fashioned as any Hollywood crowd-pleaser, aside from its eyebrow-raising subject matter.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 50 Pairs of Passes to ‘Won’t Back Down’ With Maggie Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 19, 2012 - 11:23pmCHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 50 pairs of movie passes up for grabs to the advance screening of the new drama “Won’t Back Down” starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis!
Film Review: Good Vibrations for Maggie Gyllenhaal in Uneven ‘Hysteria’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 25, 2012 - 2:21pmCHICAGO – Combining late 19th century Victorian England with the invention of the vibrator is a surefire laugh getter, but unfortunately “Hysteria” adds in a romance subplot and doesn’t climax. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce and Felicity Jones add to the buzz.
Interview: Director Tanya Wexler Has the Buzz on ‘Hysteria’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 22, 2012 - 8:53amCHICAGO – When creating a film about the origins of the vibrator, it’s best not to take yourself too seriously. The brassy, bubbly director Tanya Wexler helped convert a two page premise into a sly romantic comedy. The cast of Maggie Gyllehaal, Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce, and Felicity Jones take the journey with her.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Donnie Darko: 10th Anniversary Edition’ Feels Like Overkill
Submitted by BrianTT on August 2, 2011 - 11:12amCHICAGO – A little over two years ago, Fox released a two-disc director’s cut Blu-ray of “Donnie Darko” that had a somewhat-mediocre HD transfer but enough quality special features to make up for it. With hours of bonus material, it seemed like the definitive edition. Nothing is definitive with Fox and now we have a 10th Anniversary Edition of this cult classic with four discs in one set. If you already own it and don’t need the digital copy, then this is overkill. If not, it’s the NEW definitive edition of a beloved film. For now.
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Nanny McPhee Returns’ Sure to Delight Children of All Ages
Submitted by mattmovieman on December 10, 2010 - 11:18amCHICAGO – Magical nannies, dancing animals, great gusts of wind, lyrical life lessons and cute kids in need of a father. You don’t need to be practically perfect in every way in order to find these ingredients a trifle familiar. Robert Stevenson’s 1964 masterpiece “Mary Poppins” used these elements better than anyone has before or since, resulting in what is unquestionably the best live-action Disney film ever made.