Movie Review

Film Review: ‘The Grey’ With Liam Neeson Chills to the Bone

CHICAGO – Joe Carnahan’s “The Grey” might cause you to think that the multiplex in which you’re seeing it has started skimping on the heat. As wind whips snow in below-freezing temperatures, Carnahan deftly conveys what it’s like to be trapped in a natural nightmare.

Film Review: Ralph Fiennes Modernizes Shakespeare in ‘Coriolanus’

Coriolanus

CHICAGO – The plays of William Shakespeare, influencing culture and morality for over 400 years, continue to open themselves up to new interpretations and settings. Ralph Fiennes directs and stars in a film version adaptation of “Coriolanus,” set against the modern day machinations of politics and war.

Film Review: Seriously Silly ‘Underworld: Awakening’ With Kate Beckinsale Will Put You to Sleep

CHICAGO – There is a near-great movie opening this weekend that features a bad-ass, gun-toting chick who defeats any obstacle placed in her way. Despite what the advertising may have you believe, that movie is not “Underworld: Awakening”.

Film Review: World War II-Era Tuskegee Airmen Fly in ‘Red Tails’

CHICAGO – The courage of the Tuskegee Airmen cannot be denied. The all African American World War II fighter pilot squadron not only braved battle, but also the virulent prejudice of the 1940s. The new film “Red Tails” chronicles the circumstance of that squadron, with a sappy and overlong treatment.

Film Review: Director Wim Wenders Celebrates Choreographer in 3-D ‘Pina’

Pina

CHICAGO – Director Wim Wenders, famous for his magical takes on life and love in “Wings of Desire” and “Until the End of the World,” brings that same enchantment through a 3-D documentary about a rebellious and unusual German choreographer named Pina Bausch in “Pina.”

Film Review: ‘Norwegian Wood’ Marred By Choppy Editing, Mopey Melodrama

Norwegian Wood Film Review

CHICAGO – Tran Anh Hung’s adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s 1987 novel has garnered a bevy of negative reactions from literary fans, and it’s easy to see why. Pivotal characters remain underdeveloped despite the film’s two-hour-plus running time. Grand gestures are made without any tangible motivation. And epic romances are explored only through a few lustful glances.

Film Review: All Intention, No Delivery in Stephen Daldry‘s ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’

CHICAGO – The September 11th tragedy is still percolating through the cinematic filter, and there is a well intentioned thread throughout the various interpretations.

Film Review: Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor in Steven Soderbergh’s Action-Packed ‘Haywire’

CHICAGO – Steven Soderbergh is one of the few directors who can do whatever the hell he wants. Whatever genre, whomever he casts, whichever story he chooses to tell – he pulls it off.

Interview: Jeremy Jordan Makes ‘Joyful Noise’ in Film Debut

Jeremy Jordan (fixed)

CHICAGO – It is a story as old as show business itself. Plucky understudy replaces a Broadway musical lead on the same night a movie director decides to take in the play, which results in the understudy getting his first movie role. It happened exactly like that to stage – and now screen – performer Jeremy Jordan, who made his debut over the weekend in the film “Joyful Noise.”

Film Review: Gospel According to Dolly Parton, Queen Latifah in ‘Joyful Noise’

Joyful Noise

CHICAGO – The old fashioned musical has gotten a boost from the recent popularity of “Glee” and other singing shows. It was inevitably that the marriage of the gospel choir and the movie musical would take place, and writer/director Todd Graff (”Camp”) is the matchmaker in “Joyful Noise.”

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TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • 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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