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
Relax, Float Upstream With Mike Judge Assemblage ‘The Animation Show 4’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 4, 2008 - 1:14am
CHICAGO – With its passionate mix of creativity and computers, this modern golden age of animation proceeds to entertain and astound with each passing year. Mike Judge – the preeminent creator of cartoon legends “Beavis & Butt-Head” and “King of the Hill” – presents his latest compilation of the worldwide best in animated short films.
Set in Tel Aviv, New Israeli Film ‘Jellyfish’ Shines With Virtue, Veracity
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 3, 2008 - 2:25amCHICAGO – It has been a banner year so far for the Israeli film industry. Following the American debuts of “The Band’s Visit” and “Beaufort,” we now have the stunningly composed and heart-rending “Jellyfish”.
Covering Up Sins a Harmful Decision For Catholic Church in ‘Constantine’s Sword’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 1, 2008 - 11:24pmCHICAGO – If there ever was an institution that has distressed itself through years of patriarchal rule, it is the Catholic Church. From examples of historical misdeeds through the recent priest scandals, the Catholic Church has done a dance around truth that would make Saint Vitus proud.
Actors Awkwardly Impersonate Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin in ‘Mister Lonely’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 1, 2008 - 8:30pm
CHICAGO – The wonder of a filmmaker’s art and perspective is the ability to challenge and reflect the absurdity of our own nature back to us. Few filmmakers have done more to add provocation to that sensibility than Harmony Korine.
‘Sex and the City: The Movie’ a Frilly University For Understanding the Human Condition
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 30, 2008 - 1:14am
CHICAGO – To its voracious universe of cult-following fans, it feels like a television marathon that spans an entire season. To everyone else who bats an indifferent eye at the religion that is “Sex and the City,” it may surprise you to find that all the glam and glitz has something even for you to learn, too.
Despite its Title, ‘The Strangers’ Actually a Familiar Repeat of Horror Film Conventions
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 30, 2008 - 1:08am
CHICAGO – Poor Liv Tyler. She’s stuck in a remote vacation home with nothing but the blank-stare acting of Scott Speedman to “save” her. What’s a rock daughter who becomes an actress to do? First, she shouldn’t sign onto yet another version of the couple-in-terror cliché.
After 19 Years, ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ Phenomenally Exhumes Venerated Roots
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 22, 2008 - 12:00amCHICAGO – After such a long respite from the beloved film progression, I was initially just as skittish about seeing Harrison Ford back in the Indy saddle as I was watching Sylvester Stallone back in the ring in “Rocky Balboa” in his 2006 comeback and then again in 2008 in his “Rambo” return.
‘The Witnesses’ Bear the AIDS Burden of a Time Less Remembered
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 19, 2008 - 11:11pmCHICAGO – While Paris, France in 1984 probably wasn’t as romantic as the Paris in several of its other lionized eras, it existed just the same. As portrayed in “The Witnesses,” it was an age that may have been more uncertain than the others based on a melting pot of inhabitants who immigrated to the City of Lights in search for a new life.
‘Body of War’ Confronts Grisly Realities of U.S. War Mistakes in Iraq
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 19, 2008 - 1:06am
CHICAGO – They are invisible in the current war, which has lasted longer than World War II. It’s the soldier in Iraq who fights on – in the face of public apathy at home – and who carries out the decisions of an administration that has chosen to hide their caskets in death.
Packed With Picturesque Majesty, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’ Fights Nobly For ‘PG’ Rating
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 16, 2008 - 1:32pmCHICAGO – For the life of me, I couldn’t exorcise it from my head. Amid all the splendor of such a picturesque film, this one question was like a gnat I couldn’t swat: “Is this really rated ‘PG’?” Indeed, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” is rated “PG”. But that didn’t come without great scrutiny and much editing.
Star-Crossed Lovers Create Road to Ruin in ‘Before the Rains’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 13, 2008 - 10:13pmCHICAGO – By its very nature, colonialism is bad karma waiting to happen.
You are a sovereign nation with weaponry and a desire for treasure. While you invade and take over a country with that treasure, it also comes with a society you don’t understand. You stir in religious dogma, native slavery and the defiling of lands and create an evil stew that’s ripe to boil over.
‘Speed Racer’ Condemns Franchise Dignity, But Delivers Sensorial Explosion
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 9, 2008 - 1:12am
CHICAGO – While Hollywood slapped “PG” on the hotly anticipated “Speed Racer” to line its pocketbooks with the widest hodgepodge of people (ahem: kids) everywhere, those same kids will leave the theater with that lollipop nearly sucked to the stick but then yanked away with confusion.
‘Iron Man’ Sits Indisputably in Club of Highest-Rated Superhero Movies of All Time
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 2, 2008 - 11:22amCHICAGO – Move over, Superman. This lush, high-octane playboy never tasted so good.
Robert Downey Jr. fittingly opens “Iron Man” with a cocktail in hand and all the arrogance in the world. As the story goes, his conceit is indeed respected as Earth is his oyster both for the playing and for the taking.
