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
Matt Damon Closes Deal in ‘We Bought a Zoo’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 22, 2011 - 11:16am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Cameron Crowe’s “We Bought a Zoo” is an undeniably manipulative crowd-pleaser but there’s something about being manipulated in such an expert manner that makes the tugging on the heartstrings easier to take. We know what we’re in for when we buy a ticket for a movie about children grieving the loss of their mother, endangered animals, and the healing process through talking to tigers. Most movie goers are smart enough not to expect a deep dose of subtlety.
Steven Spielberg’s Disappointing ‘The Adventures of Tintin’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 20, 2011 - 4:57pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Being a huge Steven Spielberg fan and a pretty big aficionado of Peter Jackson (who produced) as well, I was pretty psyched to see what these two undeniable geniuses could do in the world of motion-capture animation with their collaboration on the adaptation of the hit Herge cartoon “The Adventures of Tintin.” That’s why it hurts me to say that, excepting a few stand-out action scenes, this is a shockingly dull affair, something that lulled me to sleep far more often than it inspired my imagination to life.
‘The Artist’ is Magical Ode to Old Hollywood
Submitted by BrianTT on December 19, 2011 - 4:11pm Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “The Artist” is the kind of film for which a critic feels an added responsibility. The fact is that I know that a large number of readers won’t go anywhere near a movie that is described as “a black & white ode to silent films.” Eek. Sounds like torture. And yet, I also know for a fact that a vast majority of those same readers would LOVE “The Artist.” This is a stellar piece of filmmaking, one of the best of the year. Jump on the bandwagon early for what will surely be one of the major players of the upcoming awards season.
Robert Downey Jr. Personifies ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 16, 2011 - 5:23pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The production team of “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” – designers, crew, writers, director and actors – should be proud of the level of respect they have given and embodied in delivering an updated Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty and the like. They take liberties, of course, but they also make sure that the truth of the characters are always intact.
David Cronenberg’s ‘A Dangerous Method’ Needed More Risk
Submitted by BrianTT on December 16, 2011 - 3:07pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There are glimpses of actual danger in David Cronenberg’s divisive “A Dangerous Method” with Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, and Keira Knightley, and the film has a lingering power as it’s easy to roll around your brain and contemplate its themes, but I wanted a bit more actual risk to the filmmaking. Easily the masterful director’s most straightforward work in some time (possibly ever), this is a worthwhile piece that nonetheless disappoints in the context of the rest of his filmography.
Stoic Gary Oldman Uncovers ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 16, 2011 - 7:16amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Espionage sure isn’t like it used to be. The new film “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” is set during the Cold War period of the early 1970s, when lines were drawn by their proximity in front of and behind the Iron Curtain. Gary Oldman plays an old British spook in this thriller adapted from the famous John le Carré novel.
‘Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol’ Rocks Your Holiday
Submitted by BrianTT on December 15, 2011 - 4:52pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Brad Bird proves that he can make the leap from Pixar to action with one of the best genre films of the year, the adrenalized “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.” Proving there is a way to make a big budget franchise installment that feels vibrant, alive, and like more than just a pathetic retread of what has come before (unlike this year’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Sherlock Holmes” entries), “Ghost Protocol” delivers with breakneck pace and stellar action choreography. This movie wastes little time – it’s a lean, mean, action machine.
David Fincher’s Stunning ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 14, 2011 - 3:21pmRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” comes with waves of expectations from fans of the Stieg Larsson books, the Swedish original films, the director’s previous beloved works, and even drama over a certain national outlet breaking an agreed-upon embargo. Could it possibly live up to the hype? If you can let it go and just appreciate the film for what it is — absolutely.
Jason Reitman, Diablo Cody Sway Us to Like the Unlikable in ‘Young Adult’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on December 9, 2011 - 5:22pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) isn’t a girl you’d Facebook like. She’s got one too many dark passengers, she’s a repugnant drunk, she likes too much pink, her white dog is too puffy and most would consider it less than Usher cool that she’s throwing herself at a married man she couldn’t bag back in high school. Or is she? And is Mavis so different than you?
Jonah Hill Gets Lost in Mediocre ‘The Sitter’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 9, 2011 - 2:07pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – David Gordon Green’s “Your Highness” was like a punch to the gut – an unqualified train wreck from someone who had been correctly dubbed one of the best working filmmakers. His same-year follow-up, “The Sitter,” opening this weekend, is far less disastrous but similarly disappointing in that it displays flaws that the talented director never showed even hints of previous to 2011.
Shallow, Garish ‘New Year’s Eve’ Ruins Your Holiday
Submitted by BrianTT on December 9, 2011 - 10:51am Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “New Year’s Eve” is so garish and manipulative that it doesn’t really qualify as a film – it’s a product, no more an actual movie than a Hallmark card is a piece of poetry. It is corporate junk at its worst, so shallow that it’s almost remarkably thin, as if director Garry Marshall were trying to win a contest for lack of subtlety.
‘I Melt With You’ Succumbs to Shallow Pretensions
Submitted by mattmovieman on December 9, 2011 - 7:50amRating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Mark Pellington’s “I Melt with You” is one of the worst movies of 2011, but has the benefit of also being among the weirdest. Students of rotten cinema will surely flock to this disaster simply to watch it in morbid, mouth-gaping awe. Yet without a scenery chewing wild card like Nicolas Cage in the ensemble, this mournful mess is far from an enjoyable guilty pleasure.
Lack of Narrative Focus Handcuffs ‘Answers to Nothing’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 2, 2011 - 7:39pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Ensemble films, with their multiple stories and characters, can be a challenging delicate balance. Emphasize one story over another and an audience starts to wonder why the neglected subplot is even in the film. “Answers to Nothing” generates this reaction with all their narrative threads, in a movie that lacks any kind of cohesion.
