CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Adam Driver
Luminous Story of Disconnection in Organic ‘Tracks’
Submitted by NickHC on September 26, 2014 - 12:18pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Do you ever wonder if the things that are meant to connect us … actually disconnect us?” This cheesy hypothesis as found in many millennial dramas has only caused the film world go to in circles about the quandary of handheld screens and social media. With its cool air, John Curran’s low-key adventure “Tracks” takes a line straight through that argument, providing a story of disconnection from distraction as set in a world when Apple products were only gadgets on re-runs of “Star Trek.”
Unoriginal, Unfunny ‘This is Where I Leave You’ a Poor Man’s ‘August: Osage County’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 19, 2014 - 8:26pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Jason Bateman and an all-star cast got me there. The unfunny copycat story left me regretting it. If you don’t start with a solid plot that’s at least somewhat new, it doesn’t matter how many “A”-listers you throw into an ensemble. They’re just individuals doing the best they can with weak material. But the film’s fatal flaw is it can’t figure out who it is – a comedy, drama or dramedy? – and it didn’t do just one thing well.
An Unnatural Approach to Romance in ‘What If’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 8, 2014 - 6:02pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “What If” is a really bad title, but that is the least of the film’s concerns, apparently, as the old can-man-and-women-be-friends canard rears its indecisive but predictable head (snicker). This time it’s interpreted through Harry Potter and Elia Kazan’s granddaughter, if this is to be believed.
‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ Resonates Like Long-Lost Folk Masterpiece
Submitted by BrianTT on December 19, 2013 - 11:18am Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
Films about musicians are remarkably common. Artists from one medium have always loved to put themselves in the well-worn shoes of craftsmen from another. Most of them are stories of an underrated talent rising to the top of his profession, designed for both audience and filmmaker to live vicariously through the protagonist’s success. “Inside Llewyn Davis,” the latest masterpiece from Joel & Ethan Coen, is not one of those stories.
