CHICAGO – Just in time for Pride Month, Strawdog Theatre Co. presents an updated staging of the Oscar Wilde classic, “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Strawdog policy … the tickets are FREE (donations encouraged), but you must put in a reservation by clicking EARNEST.
Dylan O’Brien
Tailor Made Noir! On-Air Film Review of ‘The Outfit’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 18, 2022 - 9:06am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 17th, reviewing “The Outfit,” a new crime thriller noir set in Chicago, in theaters on March 18th.
‘Maze Runner: The Death Cure’ Has Run Out of Life
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 26, 2018 - 12:31pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The third part of the “Maze Runner” trilogy is called “The Death Cure,” and that cure best describes the faint pulse of this run-out-of-steam dystopia aimed at “young adults.” It is mostly warring and not much more, except for a stab (literally) at misplaced emotion.
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.”
Great Visuals Save the Shallow ‘Deepwater Horizon’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 3, 2016 - 10:23amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There are a few things in our lives that, if we’re lucky, we will never have to experience. Things like childbirth, limb loss, or a near death experience. The closest most of can get is by watching a well-made film. If “Deepwater Horizon” succeeds at anything, it’s creating the engrossing experience of being there on that fateful day.
‘Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials’ is Dystopian Rambling
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 18, 2015 - 7:50amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Movie pundits are falling all over themselves to point out there is no maze running in “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials,” so buyer beware! What began in the first film as a new take in the dystopian Young Adult movie genre, has become a scattered, uninteresting mess.
‘The Maze Runner’ a Cut Above Teenage Dystopia Genre
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 19, 2014 - 9:38am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Yes, the future world of teenage bleakness, so popular in “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent,” now has its own genre. “The Maze Runner” is an excellent entry, and gets over its stilted dialogue and scary monsters by adding in surprises and atmospheric mystery.
