CHICAGO – Theatrical satires of the Star Wars Universe are like the number of TV series the universe has wrought … too many to figure out if anything is worthwhile. But “Trade Federation” (subtitled “Or Let’s Explore Globalization Through the Star Wars Prequels”), presented by Otherworld Theatre in Wrigleyville Chicago, gets it right on.
Barry Pepper
‘Maze Runner: The Death Cure’ Has Run Out of Life
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 26, 2018 - 12:31pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The third part of the “Maze Runner” trilogy is called “The Death Cure,” and that cure best describes the faint pulse of this run-out-of-steam dystopia aimed at “young adults.” It is mostly warring and not much more, except for a stab (literally) at misplaced emotion.
‘Monster Trucks’ May Be One of the Weirdest Films Ever
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 18, 2017 - 7:02pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – A four year old walks into a room with a great idea for a movie, and unfortunately his father is president of a “motion picture group.” Millions of dollars and four years later, this child’s idea became “Monster Trucks,” one of the strangest movies ever conceived.
‘Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials’ is Dystopian Rambling
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 18, 2015 - 7:50am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Movie pundits are falling all over themselves to point out there is no maze running in “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials,” so buyer beware! What began in the first film as a new take in the dystopian Young Adult movie genre, has become a scattered, uninteresting mess.
Meet the Press in Illuminating ‘Kill the Messenger’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 14, 2014 - 12:19pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When journalists were heroes and exposed those in power for their sins, movies were made like “All the President’s Men.” Gary Webb of the San Jose Mercury News was one of those journalist heroes during the 1990s, but he wasn’t celebrated in his time. The indictments, induced paranoia and outright lies against him are distinctly chronicled in the luminary “Kill the Messenger.”
‘The Lone Ranger’ Rides Again in Classic Western Style
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 2, 2013 - 8:41am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In trying to revive the Western film genre, Walt Disney Pictures is also reviving the “Pirates of the Caribbean” formula – extreme action, intrigue, flamboyant characters and Johnny Depp. Add a dash of a familiar American legend – “The Lone Ranger” – and it’s summer movie time.
Despite Low Expectations, Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Snitch’ Leaves You Pleasantly Surprised
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on February 22, 2013 - 1:01am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Dwayne Johnson doesn’t just want to be The Rock. And perhaps he is more after all. Despite his professional wrestling fame, “Snitch” is Johnson’s plea to be respected as a true, dramatic actor. He’s doing it now just like Jackie Chan wanted to evolve beyond being just a funny karate man in the latest “The Karate Kid”.
Crime Thriller ‘Broken City’ Fictionalizes its Crime Without Most of its Thrill
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on January 20, 2013 - 9:58pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Rife with corruption and injustice, the setting for “Broken City” could have been picked from a litter of U.S. metropolitans. Said star Mark Wahlberg in a recent red-carpet interview with HollywoodChicago.com, it’s not Chicago.
Kevin Spacey Comes Up Aces in ‘Casino Jack’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 31, 2010 - 12:12pmRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The halls of the Capitol Building are paved with money. It takes a long time beyond civics class and history to realize that. Kevin Spacey illustrates that concept precisely playing “super lobbyist” and convicted larcenist Jack Abramoff in “Casino Jack.”
Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon Ride the Lonely Plain of ‘True Grit’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 22, 2010 - 5:12pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “True Grit” seems like the perfect project for Joel and Ethan Coen; something they had been working toward their entire career. Not only had they made what could be considered a modern Western already in “No Country Old Men” but they were to bring together The Dude (Jeff Bridges) and Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) under the magnificent lens of the great Roger Deakins. It nearly had to be a masterpiece.
