CHICAGO – In anticipation of the scariest week of the year, HollywoodChicago.com launches its 2024 Movie Gifts series, which will suggest DVDs and collections for holiday giving.
HollywoodChicago.com Movie Reviews
Shapeless ‘How to Be Single’ is Dreadfully Unfunny
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 13, 2016 - 3:04pm Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Rebel Wilson’s raunchy and vulgar schtick is now way past its freshness date, but she’s the only one able to elicit any chuckles in this otherwise woebegone women-behaving-badly, anti-romantic comedy, “How to Be Single.”
‘Zoolander 2’ Continues Silly, Surreal Hilarity
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 12, 2016 - 9:42am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Humor is subject to the receiver, of course, and what is funny is as distinct to each individual as a fingerprint. Having said that, I found “Zoolander 2” to be hilarious, as it delivered again what made the first film work – tweaking the self-importance of fashion and celebrity.
2016 Animated Feature Oscar Nominee ‘Boy & the World’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 9, 2016 - 6:44pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If the 2016 Oscar nominations are examined a bit more closely, some real gems can be found. In the Best Animated Feature Category, beyond the familiar nomination of “Inside Out,” there is an offering from Brazil entitled “Boy & the World.” The Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago is screening “Boy & the World” through February 11th, 2016.
‘4th Man Out’ Puts a Contemporary Spin on Orientation
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 6, 2016 - 11:57amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Undoubtedly, one of the most poignant days of a gay person’s life is when they “come out” to family and friends. “4th Man Out” explores these moments, within the non-judgmental standards of the millennial generation. It’s only life, after all.
Hard to Find a Point to ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 5, 2016 - 11:33pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Having not read this best-selling source novel, I had a hard time understanding the point of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.’ Amazingly, it falls short as both a zombie movie and a satire of the original Jane Austin “Pride and Prejudice” story, which was its only achievement as a final result.
‘Hail, Caesar!’ is Coen Bros. Excellence for Movie Lovers
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 5, 2016 - 11:12am Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Writer/directors Joel and Ethan Coen love the movies, and that love is magnificently played out in “Hail, Caesar!” As they riff on religion, geopolitics and 1950s morality, while wonderfully celebrating and spoofing an era in movies that will never be again, the Coens abide and deliver.
Take the Opportunity to See 2016 ‘Oscar Nominated Shorts’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 30, 2016 - 9:31am- Academy Award
- Animated
- Ave Maria
- Bear Story
- Chicago
- Day One
- Everything Will Be Okay
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Landmark Century City Cinema
- Live Action
- Movie Review
- Oscar
- Oscar Nominated Shorts
- Patrick McDonald
- Prologue
- Sanjay’s Super Team
- Shok
- Stutterer
- We Can’t Live Without Cosmos
- World of Tomorrow
Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Chicago is one of the cinematic cities that has the privilege to see two categories of Academy Award nominations on the big screen that are often not exhibited – the Live Action and Animated Short Films. In two separate programs, the Landmark Century City Cinema – 2828 N. Clark Street in Chicago – are screening the ten nominees.
Personal Holocaust Horror is Rooted in ‘Son of Saul’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 29, 2016 - 2:02pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The Oscar nominated, Golden Globe winning Best Foreign Language Film is a another trip into the well of horror that was the Holocaust. After over 100 movie treatments, director László Nemes finds a more personal story to tell, and it all unfolds in “Son of Saul.”
‘The 5th Wave’ Crashes, Then Slowly Dissipates
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 22, 2016 - 7:51pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Is there ever an end to the Young Adult Dystopia genre (“Hunger Games,” “Maze Runner,” etc.)? Or are we cursed with the end of the world every year, if it weren’t for those meddling kids? “The 5th Wave” is the latest adaptation, and if you haven’t read the source novel, good luck following it.
‘45 Years’ is Emotional Art From a Long Relationship
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 22, 2016 - 10:01amRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There is something incredibly special when two old pros – in this case actors Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay – interpret an amazing exploration of a long relationship with a preciseness that creates life affirmation, despite the sorrows. There is truth in this film.
‘Ride Along 2’ Takes a Bumpy Trip to a Dead End
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 15, 2016 - 9:49amRating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Kevin Hart’s license to riff should be revoked. “Ride Along 2” is an aimless, pointless and seemingly endless sequel to the bafflingly successful action comedy from a couple years back. Hart hijacks nearly every scene with his incessant hyperactive schtick.
Uneven ‘Anomalisa’ is an Animated Reflection Back to Us
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 8, 2016 - 4:50pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There is directness in the reflective philosophy of “Anomalisa,” but there is also a sense of disconnection. From writer/co-director Charlie Kaufman (“Being John Malkovich”) comes another meditation on the life of life, and the twists of fate that inhabit the journey.
A Celebration of Pure Cinema in ‘Hitchcock/Truffaut’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 27, 2015 - 12:40pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In 1966, a breakthrough book about the movies was released, entitled “Hitchcock/Truffaut.” A new documentary explores the actual interviews that were conducted between French new wave director Francois Truffaut and the legendary Alfred Hitchcock, that would become that book.
