CHICAGO – If you’ve never seen the farcical ensemble theater chestnut “Noises Off,” you will see no better version than on the Steppenwolf Theatre stage, now at their northside Chicago venue through November 3rd. For tickets and details for this riotous theater experience, click NOISES OFF.
Casey Affleck
Face in the Space Race! On-Air Film Review of ‘Slingshot’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 30, 2024 - 11:17amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on August 29th, reviewing the new film “Slingshot,” featuring Casey Affleck as a man on a space mission. In theaters beginning August 30th.
Matt D. & Casey A.! On-Air Film Review of ‘The Instigators’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 9, 2024 - 3:22pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on August 8th, reviewing “The Instigators,” featuring Matt Damon and Mr Affleck (not that one, Casey) in a Boston heist caper. In select theaters and streaming on Apple TV+ beginning August 9th.
Casey Affleck Anchors ‘Manchester by the Sea’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 25, 2016 - 1:28pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Tis the season for earnest character studies, and Casey Affleck in “Manchester by the Sea” has a doozy. Portraying a Boston guy with a mountain of sadness within, Affleck harbors the range of emotions like a coiled snake ready to strike, but manages to keep it all undercover.
Christopher Nolan’s Riveting Story Shines Brightest in Imperfectly Cast ‘Interstellar’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 7, 2014 - 2:45pm- Adam Fendelman
- Anne Hathaway
- Casey Affleck
- Christopher Nolan
- Collette Wolfe
- David Oyelowo
- Ellen Burstyn
- Elyes Gabel
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- IMAX
- Interstellar
- Jessica Chastain
- John Lithgow
- Jonathan Nolan
- Leah Cairns
- Mackenzie Foy
- Matt Damon
- Matthew McConaughey
- Michael Caine
- Movie Review
- Topher Grace
- Wes Bentley
Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It was Monday, Nov. 3, 2014 at 10:15 p.m. Leaving Navy Pier IMAX, I was driving north on Lake Shore Drive – a constantly busy, multi-lane highway that hugs the east of Chicago and separates it from water. What I saw next with fellow staff critic Patrick McDonald might have been normal for 3 a.m., but discussing Christopher Nolan’s new sci-fi “Interstellar” and being the only one on the road in either direction felt otherworldly.
‘Interstellar’ is Supposed to Mean Something, But What?
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 6, 2014 - 2:33pm- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Anne Hathaway
- Bill Irwin
- Casey Affleck
- Christopher Nolan
- David Gyasi
- Ellen Burstyn
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Interstellar
- Jessica Chastain
- John Lithgow
- Mackenzie Foy
- Matt Damon
- Matthew McConaughey
- Michael Caine
- Movie Review
- Paramount Pictures
- Patrick McDonald
- Stanley Kubrick
- Topher Grace
- Wes Bentley
Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It is most likely that movie goers were asking the same question of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” in 1968, but Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” belongs to its own category of what-is-the-meaning, because it tries to combine pseudo-science with psycho-babble, which clashes into meaninglessness. But the visuals are stunning, and there are moments of fulfillment, especially in a big screen IMAX format.
Miscast Crew Spoils Christopher Nolan’s Epic ‘Interstellar’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 5, 2014 - 10:17amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Interstellar” is easily director Christopher Nolan’s worst film. It contains much of the ambition and striking visuals that have endeared him to audiences, but for large chunks of the movie his own worst tendencies towards bombast, self-importance, and hippy dippy dialogue threaten to overwhelm his dandy space sequences entirely.
Great Cast Can’t Find Truth in False Plotting of ‘Out of the Furnace’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 6, 2013 - 11:18amRating: 1.5/5.0 |
One overriding thought dominated my time with Scott Cooper’s stunningly disappointing “Out of the Furnace” – I just don’t care. When I wasn’t picking apart the gigantic plot holes in the narrative, I was marveling at the overheated characters who have been crafted from cliché instead of the real world.
Mesmerizing, Romantic Power of ‘Ain’t Them Bodies Saints’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 29, 2013 - 4:48pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Is a film automatically flawed if we can see its influences? We don’t do it as quickly in music, in which it’s often incredibly easy to determine a new artist’s favorite bands as a kid. Authors that pull from a notable and recognizable literary history are often lauded for doing so.
Fun, Brilliant ‘ParaNorman’ Delivers For All Audiences
Submitted by BrianTT on August 16, 2012 - 9:57amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “ParaNorman” is not only the best animated film of 2012 by a large margin but it’s better than anything that came out last year as well. The latest stop-motion gem from LAIKA (who made another one of the best animated films of the last several years in “Coraline”) is smart, funny, scary, imaginative, and, most surprisingly of all, moving. Don’t miss it.
Ben Stiller in ‘Tower Heist’ is a Waste of Time, Talent
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 4, 2011 - 7:57pmRating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The frustrating madness that is the typical Hollywood movie never ceases to amaze, in the sense where large sums of cash are outlaid to pair the right movie stars together, and not one wit is expended to create an interesting or cohesive story. “Tower Heist” is the latest example of this sad trend.