CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Chris Hemsworth
Mixed Bag of Marvel Tricks in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 30, 2015 - 8:10amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Whew. There is so much going on in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” that you practically need a program to keep up with the players. This mixed bag has overwrought comic book action, head shaking plot points, and the usual Marvel angst that includes some riveting scenes.
Hacker Thriller ‘Blackhat’ Has a Finger on the Enter Key
Submitted by NickHC on January 16, 2015 - 7:23pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – A speedy film project can take about a year from conception to final cut; director Michael Mann’s wired-in thriller “Blackhat” might as well have been written, shot, and cut last month. Not just because of its epilogue to the rise and defeat of the Guardians of Peace, but for its modernity. This is a tale of headline action specifically for January 16, 2015 and onward, in our new period of cyber terror.
Forced ‘Thor: The Dark World’ Sequel Lacks Passion, Sci-Fi Basis
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 9, 2013 - 3:06pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – For me and the subculture as a whole, so much of science fiction came from “Star Trek”. If creator Gene Roddenberry were alive today to witness “Thor: The Dark World,” he’d tell it to focus on being a superhero film rather than failing to dabble in science fiction.
‘Thor: The Dark World’ is Little More Than Marketing For ‘The Avengers 2’
Submitted by BrianTT on November 7, 2013 - 10:32am- Alan Taylor
- Anthony Hopkins
- Brian Tallerico
- Chris Hemsworth
- Christopher Eccleston
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Idris Elba
- Jaimie Alexander
- Kat Dennings
- Marvel
- Natalie Portman
- Ray Stevenson
- Rene Russo
- Stellan Skarsgard
- Tadanobu Asano
- The Avengers
- The Avengers 2
- Thor: The Dark World
- Tom Hiddleston
- Zachary Levi
Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Few major films have felt less creatively inspired and more commercially conceived than Alan Taylor’s dull “Thor: The Dark World,” a wannabe blockbuster with all the personality and ingenuity of a straight-to-DVD sequel. It is a film that simply fades into the background of other films, both already produced and still-to-come.
Director Ron Howard Delivers a Meticulous ‘Rush’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 27, 2013 - 2:50pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Defining the glory days of any sport is often centered on personal rivalries. The 1970s – notable for stand-offs like John McEnroe and Björn Borg – had a similarly contentious rivalry between Formula One car racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, portrayed in Ron Howard’s “Rush.”
Geopolitics Aside, ‘Red Dawn’ is Decent Action Movie
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 21, 2012 - 8:52amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Given the state of the post-9/11 world, and the delicate negotiations between nations, remaking “Red Dawn” posed a considerable risk. But the film takes a ‘“damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead,” approach, and pulls off an adrenaline rush featuring Chris Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson and Josh Peck.
‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ Dwarfed By Comatose Kristen Stewart, Melodramatic Charlize Theron
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on June 1, 2012 - 1:01amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If you can stomach forgiving the film’s uneven acting, inconsistent pacing and a higgledy-piggledy script that feels like it’s still in draft mode, just zero in on the only newsworthy question about “Snow White and the Huntsman”: Who are those “dwarves”?
Summer Movie Season Explodes with ‘The Avengers’
Submitted by BrianTT on May 1, 2012 - 9:56amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When I was a kid, summer movies were an event. They weren’t just marketing tricks, young adult adaptations, or unnecessary sequels. They were blockbusters that you put on the calendar and counted the days until their arrival. Something of that summer movie magic has been lost in recent years – the sense that you weren’t just seeing a movie, you were experiencing something special.
Take a Trip to Drew Goddard’s Brilliant ‘The Cabin in the Woods’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 12, 2012 - 9:06amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Drew Goddard’s “The Cabin in the Woods” is a brilliant dissection of not just the clichés of the horror film genre but how they have played a role in the darkest corners of our society for centuries. It’s also a damn blast, as fun a time as you’ll have in a movie theater this season (and probably next). It’s one of those rare films that’s just pulsing with energy on so many levels — as genre-loving comedy, as straight-up horror, and as something you’ve simply never seen before. “The Cabin in the Woods” is a great film.
Despite Loveless Love Story, ‘Thor’ Deserves Your Popcorn-Flick Dollar
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 7, 2011 - 9:13pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When big-budget films set their sights on being the next Hollywood blockbuster, they’re almost always built on a formulaic groundwork of proven ingredients. While these films often lose points for much of the same and little of the new, plunking a mighty $150 million into the production “Thor” has found a way to be both formulaic and successful.