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.
CIA
Ass Kicker of the Wrong Kind is Downfall of ‘The 355’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 7, 2022 - 8:53am Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There’s something to be said for a well done ass kicker in January that provides an entertaining distraction from the ice and snow outside. “The 355” is not it, offering a typical quick cutting action thriller that plods along in the most formulaic and least exciting manner possible. There’s nothing in this movie that hasn’t been done to death already.
Tom Cruise Outruns Time in ‘Mission Impossible: Fallout'
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 27, 2018 - 7:16am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – By any reasonable account, Tom Cruise should be entering into a phase in the “Mission Impossible” series not unlike the latter James Bond films of Roger Moore… appearing in closeups and letting the stuntmen do the rest. However, Cruise continues to outrun the ravages of time, and his stunts only seem to get crazier in the sixth film, “Mission Impossible: Fallout.”
‘Beirut’ is a Superbly Tense Geopolitical Thriller
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 11, 2018 - 9:11amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The psychological desperation of life-or-death decisions are in play within “Beirut,” the new geopolitical thriller featuring Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”). The various mazes within the story, set during the Lebanon civil war of the 1980s, is comparative to “Casablanca,” especially through the world-weary expression of Hamm’s character.
Keep Your Eye on Jennifer Lawrence in ‘Red Sparrow’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 2, 2018 - 6:17pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It is movie star time for JLaw (Jennifer Lawrence) in ‘Red Sparrow,’ because her performance transcends the muddy plot, and her charisma – even with the lowest of low key characters – creates an interest in her thought process, even as she muddles through the story.
Gunplay & Violence Fuel Heroics in ‘American Assassin’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 15, 2017 - 6:21pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There was another mass shooting (eight dead) in Texas this week, but it was underreported because it didn’t involve “undesirables” and just seemed like another week in America. This blithe attitude towards guns, gunplay and violence continues in the movies, this week with the overindulgent release “American Assassin.”
‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’ is Action as Phantasm
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 20, 2017 - 11:23amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The true miracle of “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” – besides constantly breaking the law of physics – was making the sonorous line readings of Vin Diesel almost palatable. This over-the-top action fantastic turns up every implausibility dial to the red zone, but satisfactorily entertains.
‘The Accountant’ is a Strange Indulgence for Ben Affleck
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 14, 2016 - 8:23amRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Remember the hilarious video of Ben Affleck during the “Batman v Superman” promotions, his blank stare synched up to the song “The Sound of Silence”? Well, he’s decided to take that expression to a mainstream role, as he blankly applies that manner to “The Accountant.”
Oliver Stone’s ‘Snowden’ a Lesson for Our Times
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 18, 2016 - 7:28pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The experience of director Oliver Stone, to look underneath the slimy rocks of government secrecy and bureaucracy, produces an excellent history lesson in “Snowden,” an overview of Edward Snowden, a whistleblower against the government who is still in exile.
Matt Damon is Fighting Mad in Tense ‘Jason Bourne’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 30, 2016 - 7:02amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – To come back to a character that everyone thought he had left behind, Matt Damon needed the right creative team. He got it again in co-writer (with Christopher Rouse) and director Paul Greengrass, and together they fashioned a paranoid spy tale in the rat-a-tat “Jason Bourne.”
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.”
