CHICAGO – Like many of you, I have been perusing the digital platforms, looking for the appropriate binge shows that will provide a temporary bit of sanity. Amazon Prime, for example, offers the entire series of “30 Rock” (2006-13), the seminal NBC-TV series created by and featuring Tina Fey.
Boston
Melodrama Mire in ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 1, 2019 - 9:59am Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Everyone’s favorite city-flattening radioactive reptile, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” gets stuck in a mire of third-rate-TV-network domestic melodrama in this disappointing follow up to the thrilling 2014 reboot. But before I roar about the many ways this misbegotten miscreant messes up, let’s throw a few pebbles of praise.
Jake Gyllenhaal Turns Up His Power in ‘Stronger’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 23, 2017 - 9:47am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The second major film about the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing (after last year’s “Patriots Day”) is “Stronger,” and it wisely focuses on one individual rather than the bigger event. Jake Gyllenhaal portrays Jeff Bauman, a spectator near the explosion that lost both his legs.
Boston is Strong Again in Reliable ‘Patriots Day’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 13, 2017 - 3:48pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In the context of history, and the way information is consumed these days, the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2013 seems both like yesterday and a long time ago. Director Peter Berg’s “Patriots Day” is the first film account of that horrid week, and features Mark Wahlberg.
Uninspired ‘R.I.P.D.’ is a Reminder of Better Movies
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 19, 2013 - 10:06pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Did everyone see “Men in Black”? Or the film’s two sequels? They you saw “R.I.P.D.,” which unfortunately for the production team has “rip” in the title, because the film is a lazy rewrite and rip-off of “MiB.” Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds are the protectors assigned in this one.
Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones Are ‘The Company Men’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 21, 2011 - 11:32am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Dealing with an overall economic downturn, as the world is still experiencing, becomes the story of the individual. The frustration and insecurity that develops in a long dry spell is poignantly rendered in writer/director John Well’s “The Company Men.” Ben Affleck joins Oscar winners Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper and Kevin Costner in telling the story.
Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz Meet Cute in High-Octane ‘Knight and Day’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 23, 2010 - 10:25amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Whenever there is a audacious and entertaining action thriller like “Knight and Day,” how do the characters stay so calm? Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise are shot at, nearly blown up, asked to drive and leap around like lunatics, yet remain perfectly white-toothed calm. A normal human reaction would be ‘Oh my gaaaaaaaaaawd!”
