CHICAGO – Theatrical satires of the Star Wars Universe are like the number of TV series the universe has wrought … too many to figure out if anything is worthwhile. But “Trade Federation” (subtitled “Or Let’s Explore Globalization Through the Star Wars Prequels”), presented by Otherworld Theatre in Wrigleyville Chicago, gets it right on.
Elizabeth McGovern
Genteel! On-Air Film Review of ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 20, 2022 - 3:41pm- Allan Leech
- Dan Baker
- Downton Abbey: A New Era
- Elizabeth McGovern
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Hugh Bonneville
- Imelda Staton
- Jim Carter
- Julian Fellowes
- Maggie Smith
- Michelle Dockery
- Monroe
- Movie Review
- Pat Über TV
- Patrick McDonald
- Scott Thompson
- Simon Curtis
- The Morning Mess
- Universal Pictures
- WBGR-FM
- Wisconsin
 Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on May 19th, reviewing “Downtown Abbey: A New Era,” the second film version of the mega-popular BBC/PBS series, in theaters beginning May 20th.
‘The Chaperone’ is Excellent Lesson in 1920s Identity
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 15, 2019 - 9:42am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Although mostly set in the early 1920s, “The Chaperone” has some pungent lessons regarding identity, and living life authentically. The story of former silent film star Louise Brooks and her first trip to New York City expresses both how we can live today and how they lived back then.
‘The Wife’ is Classic Drama & Relevant Social History
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 24, 2018 - 12:54amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of the more fascinating questions about civilization is ‘how much talent went unrealized because of time and place of birth?’ The patriarchy – which denied people of color and women for so long – often reduced fellow travelers into subservient roles. For example, there were women who were just known as “The Wife.”
‘The Commuter’ is a Fun, Butt-Kicking Good Time
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 12, 2018 - 10:21amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Sometimes you’re just in the mood for a good old Liam Neeson ass-kicker… and “The Commuter” fits that bill. It asks, damn near requires, you to leave your brain safely at the station, but it moves too fast that you don’t have much time to think about it. It’s ludicrous, dumb and fun entertainment for January.
Two Women Create a Human Connection in ‘Unexpected’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 27, 2015 - 11:16amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Providing human life to this planet is the dominion of women, given that they gestate new existence through to birth. It was refreshing to see that gender point of view carried to expressive terms in “Unexpected,” the latest film by Chicagoan Kris Swanberg, and featuring Cobie Smulders.
Trite ‘Woman in Gold’ Lacks a Compelling Story
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 1, 2015 - 10:38am- Antje Traue
- Austria
- Daniel Bruhl
- Elizabeth McGovern
- Gustav Klimt
- Helen Mirren
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jonathan Pryce
- Katie Holmes
- Maria Altmann
- Movie Review
- My Week with Marilyn
- Patrick McDonald
- Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer
- Randol Schoenberg
- Ryan Reynolds
- Simon Curtis
- The Weinstein Company
- Woman in Gold
 Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The horrors of the Holocaust have been expressed in cinematic art through many angles. “Woman in Gold” takes another track, that of restoring a work of art that was stolen from a Jewish family in Austria. The legal maneuverings, however, lacks a sense that this is victorious.
