CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
HollywoodChicago.com Movie Reviews
Epic Comic Book Story in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 27, 2018 - 8:43am- Avengers: Infinity War
- Benedict Cumberbatch
- Black Panther
- Captain America
- Chadwick Boseman
- Chris Evans
- Chris Hemsworth
- Don Cheadle
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Iron Man
- Mark Ruffalo
- Marvel Studios
- Movie Review
- Patrick McDonald
- Robert Downey Jr.
- Scarlett Johansson
- Spider-Man
- Stan Lee
- Tom Holland
- Walt Disney Studios
 Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Coming off the multi-textured “Black Panther,” Marvel Studios now turns its assignment towards an Avengers movie, and man, everything is on the table. This overstuffed, somewhat overindulged journey of a tale never loses its flavor, and has surprises around every corner. Anticipate “Avengers: Infinity War.”
Amy Schumer is Empowering in ‘I Feel Pretty’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 21, 2018 - 12:06pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It is a neutered Amy Schumer who is portraying her latest character… a schlumpy woman who lacks the confidence to break out of her shell. It takes the most sitcomish of all actions, the whack on the head, to motivate her that she is one of the most beautiful woman in the world. This empowers the story of “I Feel Pretty.”
Stylish, Well Performed ‘You Were Never Really Here’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 15, 2018 - 8:38am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Actor Joaquin Phoenix almost solely specializes in portraying broken souls, but he also does it with such intensity that he adds necessary depth to those characters, to allow for their redemption. As a hit man for hire in the new film “You Were Never Really Here,” he again reaches beyond the darkness.
There Are Just Enough Reasons to Go Ape Over ‘Rampage’
Submitted by JonHC on April 12, 2018 - 12:37pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO - As a whole, we have a fascination with watching destruction in front of us. It provides a catharsis from our heavily stressed lives, especially in the Trump era. It provides a necessary release of aggression, the same way video games do for people. “Rampage” scratches that itch, but only if you aren’t also looking to be intellectually stimulated or care about plot coherence.
‘Beirut’ is a Superbly Tense Geopolitical Thriller
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 11, 2018 - 9:11amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The psychological desperation of life-or-death decisions are in play within “Beirut,” the new geopolitical thriller featuring Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”). The various mazes within the story, set during the Lebanon civil war of the 1980s, is comparative to “Casablanca,” especially through the world-weary expression of Hamm’s character.
Bottom Line is ‘Blockers’ Has Some Decent Laughs
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 6, 2018 - 6:00amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Comedy is purely subjective, and the new film ‘Blockers’ sets out to prove it, by expectorating joke after joke in all categories of sophistication. Physical pratfalls, witty asides, gross-out, sex, nudity, drugs, surrealism and more are all on the humor buffet, so pick, choose and laugh, as they pile it on.
‘A Quiet Place’ Will Make You Wish You Had a Quiet Place to Hide
Submitted by JonHC on April 5, 2018 - 9:07pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO - Terror and fear take several forms. Sometimes it’s something as simple as spiders or snakes or even an incompetent president. Other times it can take the form of natural states, like darkness. Horror films channel our fears, but the great ones give us something new to fear. “A Quiet Place” lures us in with the safety of silence, only to reveal the monsters hiding within.
Armie Hammer Sits for Geoffrey Rush in ‘Final Portrait’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 2, 2018 - 9:06amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Paris in the 1960s seems to be a place where anything was possible. “Final Portrait” is an indication of this, as Armie Hammer portrays a Mad Men style American critic (what!) in 1964, who sits for a portrait painting by eccentric artist Alberto Giacometti, portrayed with relish by Geoffrey Rush.
For Better or Worse, ‘Ready Player One’ is Nostalgia at its Purest
Submitted by JonHC on March 29, 2018 - 12:19pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Just in time for Easter, there’s a film filled with enough Easter eggs to drown a small country. “Ready Player One” is a “Where’s Waldo” of mostly 80’s pop culture references that are meant to trigger our (and especially filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s) sentimental, nostalgic cores by bombarding us with reminders of our childhood. These trips down memory lane are fun until they’re not.
‘Leaning Into the Wind - Andy Goldsworthy’ Profiles the Artist and His Muse
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 28, 2018 - 3:27pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The British artist Andy Goldsworthy is a true “outsider” artist, because many of his works are rooted in the grown-and-death cycles of the great outdoors. He is described as a sculptor, photographer and environmentalist, but many of his art creations use materials available in any wooded area, based on a connection to nature combined with a creative soul. This is profiled in the second film about him from the same director, “Leaning Into the Wind - Andy Goldsworthy.”
Wes Anderson’s ‘Isle of Dogs’ is Inventive Delight
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 28, 2018 - 1:09pm- akira takayama
- Bill Murray
- Bob Balaban
- Bryan Cranston
- Edward Norton
- F. Murray Abraham
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- Fisher Stevens
- Fox Searchlight Pictures
- Frances McDormand
- Greta Gerwig
- Harvey Keitel
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Isle of Dogs
- Jeff Goldblum
- Ken Watanabe
- koyu rankin
- kunichi nomura
- Liev Schreiber
- Movie Review
- Scarlett Johansson
- Spike Walters
- Tilda Swinton
- Wes Anderson
- Yoko Ono
 Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Fans of director Wes Anderson will find plenty to love in his second stop motion animated feature (after “Fantastic Mr. Fox”), entitled “Isle Of Dogs.” It’s an immersive and intricately detailed story set in Japan, and features a dizzying array of visual gags, along with Anderson’s trademark whimsy.
More Action, Less Enjoyment in ‘Pacific Rim Uprising’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 23, 2018 - 12:20pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The giant robot film genre is in trouble. It wasn’t enough that “Transformers” has ground it to dust, but now the “Pacific Rim” sequel is going the same direction. There is action-a-plenty in the followup to Guillermo Del Toro’s fun and light first film, that lightness is missing in “Pacific Rim Uprising.”
Chaos of Power in Hilarious ‘The Death of Stalin’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 22, 2018 - 8:38amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If you want a film to take your mind off the current American power structure, that at the same time provides some truth to the situation, you won’t do better than “The Death of Stalin.” A monster comedic cast – including Steve Buscemi and Jeffrey Tambor – is assembled for this hilarious farce.
