CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the doc series “Charlie Hustle & the Matter of Pete Rose,” about the rise and bitter fall of the major league legend, the MLB’s all-time hits leader, only to be banned from the sport because of gambling. Streaming on MAX and on HBO since July 24th.!—break—>
Brenton Thwaites
‘The Giver’ Takes Too Much From Young Adult Formula
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 15, 2014 - 6:14amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “The Giver” must have seemed a lot newer back when it was written than it does now. The Newberry Medal winning, middle school staple predates many other Young Adult series about oppressive big brother-ish societies. But its filmed adaptation, coming on the heels of “Divergent” and “The Hunger Games,” can’t help but feel like it’s riding their coattails.
‘Oculus’ Succeeds Psychologically, Fails Supernaturally
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on April 12, 2014 - 4:07pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Films in general are knocked for being knockoffs of something else. Horror films in particular have it especially hard in the “new” department because we’re so quickly annoyed when we’ve “seen it all before.”
Richly Complex ‘Oculus’ is Also Scary as Hell
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 11, 2014 - 3:38pmRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The effect of horror works in five basic ways. There’s the sense of Dislocation where the lead character suddenly loses bearing, becomes unsure of what where or even who they are. Next is Dread, which is the sense that something awful is coming.