CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the doc series “Charlie Hustle & the Matter of Pete Rose,” about the rise and bitter fall of the major league legend, the MLB’s all-time hits leader, only to be banned from the sport because of gambling. Streaming on MAX and on HBO since July 24th.
HollywoodChicago.com Movie Reviews
‘Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story’ Taps Best of Must-See TV Kings of Comedy
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on December 21, 2007 - 12:41pm
CHICAGO – The makers of “Scary Movie,” “Date Movie” and “Epic Movie” should be kicking themselves right now for never thinking to make “Musical Bio-Pic Movie”.
On ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’: Alviiiiiiiiiiiiiiin? More Like Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch!
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on December 14, 2007 - 5:38pm
CHICAGO – Thanks to live action and computer-generated animation, we’ve brought to life “Underdog,” “Transformers,” “The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle” and both “Scooby-Doo” and “Garfield” twice.
‘The Mist’ Stars Scribe Stephen King, Marcia Gay Harden in Supporting Role
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 21, 2007 - 1:38pm
CHICAGO – It’s just a twist of fate, of course. I know the CGI wizards at The Weinstein Co. can’t command the weather in the real word, too. But – wow – what providence.
With Music its Star, Whole of ‘August Rush’ Greater Than Sum of Parts
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 21, 2007 - 11:23am
CHICAGO – When you look at films critically, you sometimes spend too much time examining the pieces of the whole without stepping back from the picture and taking it as a complete work.
‘Southland Tales’ Starts With Bang, Ends With Sensory-Overloading Whimper
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 17, 2007 - 5:50pm
CHICAGO – Unlike the world, “Southland Tales” starts with a bang but ends with a whimper. Richard Kelly’s opus of a film is little more than sensory overload meant to look like a political statement on the state of privacy, the war, news, entertainment and celebrities.
‘Love in the Time of Cholera’ Searches Soul, Comes Up Half Full
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 17, 2007 - 5:10pmCHICAGO – In 2000’s “High Fidelity,” John Cusack mused: “I’ve read books like … ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’ and I think I’ve understood them. They’re about girls, right?”
‘Beowulf’ in IMAX 3D Affords Break For Big Actors to Improve Even Themselves
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 15, 2007 - 1:14pmCHICAGO – It’s all the rave today to exhume an epic from long, long ago and bring it back on the monster screen bigger, better and with more grandeur than ever fathomable before.
‘Wristcutters: A Love Story’ Inventively Imparts Life’s Story After Death
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 2, 2007 - 6:15pmCHICAGO – The vision of life after death varies between the religious and the non-religious, the optimists and the pessimists and the believers and non-believers. There are few after-life stories, though, as unique and humorous as the one in “Wristcutters: A Love Story”.
Wily ‘Ira & Abby’ Averts Predictable Hollywood Boy Meets Girl Trap
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on October 26, 2007 - 8:05pmCHICAGO – Groucho Marx once said: “Marriage is a wonderful institution … but who wants to live in an institution?” For the romantic and humorously charged “Ira & Abby,” holy matrimony seems a stressful but hilarious adventure.
Message Movie ‘Music Within’ Still Within Fledgling Director Steven Sawalich
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on October 26, 2007 - 8:01pm
CHICAGO – “Most people go to their graves with their music still inside them,” 19th century poet Oliver Wendell Holmes once said. First-time director Steven Sawalich’s “music” presumably still resides inside him because it doesn’t resound in his “Music Within” message movie.
‘Rendition’ a Mediocre Message Movie With What Should Be Self-Evident Politics
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on October 19, 2007 - 8:10pmAUSTIN, Texas – German writer Franz Kafka meets the war on terror in “Rendition,” which is a message movie with what one would consider a self-evident message: torture is bad. We live in a political climate, though, where that isn’t self-evident.
In ‘Gone Baby Gone’ Directorial Debut, Ben Affleck Matures Into Polished Auteur
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on October 19, 2007 - 2:01pm
CHICAGO – It wasn’t that long ago when Ben Affleck was an unknown. Fortune eventually smiled upon him and along came quality performances in independents and an Academy Award for screenwriting.
‘Juno’ the First LiveJournal, Blogger Film; Writer Diablo Cody a Standout Star
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on October 16, 2007 - 10:30pmAUSTIN, Texas – No one says anything plainly in “Juno”. Hyper clever, hyper literate and hyper pop savvy, it tells a light story of teenage pregnancy in a package of verbose middle classiness.
