Patrick McDonald

CHICAGO – The story of “What Maisie Knew” may be unusual, but the reflection of the subject matter fits perfectly within the patterns of contemporary family culture. Directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel create a scenerio in which a custody battle for a little girl named Maisie becomes more about the parent’s egos than her care.

Previous | Image 1 of 3 | Next

CHICAGO – William Shatner, who originated the role of Captain Kirk in the first TV incarnation of “Star Trek,” has beamed aboard the Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville, Ill., and the Hollywood Blvd. Theater in Woodridge this Memorial Day weekend, May 24th-26th, to introduce the films “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” – in which he stars – and the latest chapter of the legacy, “Star Trek Into Darkness.”

CHICAGO – When mixing parenting responsibility, the separation of those parents and a legal system that cannot address the farce of human retaliation, the results become “What Maisie Knew.” Julianne Moore portrays a rock star, and the mother to the title character.

CHICAGO – With a lazy, over-plotted story, and a cast that are desperately going through the motions, “The Hangover Part III” is the latest example of a contract obligation disguising itself as a movie. Writer/director Todd Phillips sluggishly pounds out another one, with simply no originality.

CHICAGO – The anticipation of experiencing the rebooted crew of the starship Enterprise now may overwhelm any creative team’s ability to deliver to that anticipation. “Star Trek Into Darkness” piles on the space war excess, while lessening the savory humanity and memorable characters.

CHICAGO – Watch out folks, the one percenters are fighting back. After the rabble of the 99 forced their way into Occupy Wall Street territory, the true rulers of America are pushing back in the only way they know how…by shopping. “Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s” is a gloriously vain documentary about a legendary shopping experience in Manhattan. What, The Gap wasn’t available?

Previous | Image 1 of 16 | Next

CHICAGO – Legendary is one way to describe C2E2 – the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo. Comic book and pop culture fans gathered at McCormick Place in Chicago from April 26-28, 2013, for three days of celebration with their favorite comic, movie, game and television celebrities, and HollywoodChicago.com was there.

CHICAGO – Creating the lofty name for this film, “Love is All You Need” – from a translation of its original title, “Den skaldede friser” – is intently ambitious considering its source is a lyric from one of The Beatles most famous songs. The film has its moments, but cannot sustain itself in a stew of high drama and mixed emotions.

CHICAGO – The Tyler Perry “filmmaking machine” cranks out lowbrow comedies or high drama potboilers without any regard for originality. While this may jibe with Perry’s creative vision, the films themselves are a waste of time. Tina Gordon Chism directs the latest Perry production, “Peeples.”

CHICAGO – The annual CineYouth Festival in Chicago opened on May 9th with a very special guest – John Francis Daley – who is an actor (“Bones,” “Freaks and Geeks”) screenwriter (“Horrible Bosses”) and director. The CineYouth Festival is May 9th-11th and is presented by the Chicago International Film Festival.