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.
Afghanistan
Reflections on the Way We Are! Audio Review of ‘Fremont’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 8, 2023 - 1:51pm![]() Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review for “Fremont,” a beautiful and poignant story of an Afghanistan immigrant, stuck between two cultures in America … co-written and directed by Babak Jalali. In select theaters on September 8th, see local listings.
What is it Good For! Audio Film Review of ‘Kandahar’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 28, 2023 - 10:52am![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review for the new feature “Kandahar,” with Gerard Butler teaming up for a third time with action/thriller director Ric Roman Waugh. In theaters on May 26th.
‘12 Strong’ Wins the Battle as it Loses the War
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 19, 2018 - 9:08am![]() Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In the 16 years of the U.S. and Afghanistan war, which began a month after Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. has spent trillions of dollars and lost 2,400 soldiers. The story of that war’s first battle, “12 Strong,” would probably be more revelatory if we weren’t still there.
The Fog of Battle is a Heavy Burden in ‘A War’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 22, 2016 - 10:47pm![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Humanity and war simply do no mix. You could have the biggest guns, the most powerful bombs and the greatest army, but you’re also going to eliminate innocent lives, and affect those soldiers who do the killing. This topic is pungently realized in the Danish film “A War.”
Bill Murray Rolls Downhill in ‘Rock the Kasbah’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 25, 2015 - 11:09am![]() Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – What’s up with this movie? Everything in it is so wrong headed, despite movie star casting and a attempt toward “current events.” Setting itself in a modern and complex country – Afghanistan – but creating a perspective on that country that is straight ugly American, “Rock the Kasbah” is a total downer.
‘Max’ is a Step Beyond the Heroic Dog Movie Genre
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 27, 2015 - 8:03am![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – From Rin-Tin-Tin to Lassie to Benji, American movie goers have loved the heroic dog. As the film “Max” throws its leash into the ring, the expectation was a dull family drama just about Max the dog himself. What a surprise to learn it was also a poignant meditation on people.
‘The Patience Stone’ Reveals Eternal Truths
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 6, 2013 - 10:36am![]() Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Despite any manmade restrictions through governments, religion, commerce or trumped-up morality, the truth has a way of mightily conquering all. “The Patience Stone” is a perfect example of that luxurious truth, and it is an important contemporary fairy tale.
America Waist Deep in Endless ‘Dirty Wars’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 14, 2013 - 1:04am![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Jeremy Scahill is a relentless investigative reporter, a rare species in an age of increasing corporate control of the media. He goes to terror zones that others fear to tread, and has uncovered stories that comprise his new documentary, “Dirty Wars,” which uncovers dangerous U.S. foreign policy.
Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman Not Relatable in ‘Brothers’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 4, 2009 - 6:52am![]() Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The transition from hot young actor to the domestic picket fence is about ten years and a shadowy crow’s foot. One day you’re a galaxy queen, superhero and Donnie Darko, next you’re playing house in “Brothers.”
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