CHICAGO – The Steppenwolf Theatre of Chicago continues to provide different viewpoints on the American stage, and their latest “Little Bear Ridge Road” is no exception. Featuring ensemble member Laurie Metcalf, it’s the resonate story of a family at the crossroads. For tickets/details, click LITTLE BEAR.
Ethan Hawke
Everything That Rises! Audio Film Review of Ethan Hawke’s ‘Wildcat’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 22, 2024 - 3:24pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review for the “Wildcat,” co-written and directed by Ethan Hawke and featuring his daughter Maya as 20th Century writer Flannery O’Connor. Currently in select theaters since May 17th. See local listings.
Two of a Kind! On-Air Film Review of ‘Raymond & Ray’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 20, 2022 - 11:56am 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 October 13th, 2022, reviewing “Raymond & Ray,” a story of brothers written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia, currently in select theaters and streaming on Apple TV+ beginning October 21st.
Eggers Shakespeare! On-Air Film Review of ‘The Northman’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 21, 2022 - 12:43pmRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on April 21st, reviewing “The Northman,” an adaptation of the legend that inspired Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” by visionary writer/director Robert Eggers. In theaters April 22nd.
A Bit of Pop/Rock Magic Spins in ‘Juliet, Naked’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 26, 2018 - 10:14amRating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The story of a drop-out rock and roll star… usually disappearing at the height of their fame… has fascinated the movies in both fiction (“Eddie and the Cruisers”) and documentary (“Waiting for Sugarman”). “Juliet, Naked” takes the premise and creates a charming, romantic story about fandom and redemptive decisions.
Director Eugene Jarecki Crowns Elvis Presley ‘The King’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 20, 2018 - 12:07pm Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Elvis Presley, besides being one of the most famous entertainers of the 20th Century, does symbolize to an extent what can happen to icons when they turn towards certain directions in a career. Director Eugene Jarecki has created an amazing documentary about Elvis called “The King,” that uses his rise and decline as a symbol for the American Dream.
‘The Magnificent Seven’ is How the Western Was Lost
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 23, 2016 - 6:16pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The appeal of Westerns was mostly lost on me when I was younger. The tales of these hypermasculine wanderers, answering every problem with a gun, never appealed to me. When I got older, I discovered their messages of honor and self-defense against corruption. The genre proved it could be more than one-liners and shootouts, but “The Magnificent Seven” set out to be only that.
Limiting Twists in Time Travel Drama ‘Predestination’
Submitted by NickHC on January 9, 2015 - 2:48pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Predestination” is a time travel game of limited pieces, in which two beings are not who they seem. Twists abound in a story that gets credit for jarring narrative directions, but this adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s “All You Zombies” remains limited in its potential, especially as it fails to evolve past its spiritual predecessors “Source Code” and “Looper.”
Circumstances of Life, Truth Exist in ‘Boyhood’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 18, 2014 - 5:01pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Life is made up of moments, as the philosophy of the new Richard Linklater film wants to convey. What formulates a person’s ideals and soul, born in a certain place and time? Over 12 years, the writer and director created a fictional family using the same actors in “Boyhood.”
Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez in Numbing, Awful ‘Getaway’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 29, 2013 - 9:32am Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – You know a car chase movie is poorly made when you’re longing for more dialogue scenes between Selena Gomez & Ethan Hawke just to break up the tedium of the neverending, personality-free vehicular nonsense. At one point, Hawke’s character actually says, after one of several situations that could never possibly be replicated in the real world, “I can’t believe that actually worked.”
‘The Purge’ is Entertaining What-If Escapism
Submitted by BrianTT on June 6, 2013 - 8:37am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – A vast majority of James DeMonaco’s “The Purge” makes absolutely no sense. It is the kind of what-if thriller that demands that the viewer put on blinders, suspend disbelief, and not pull at the plot threads left dangling or risk tearing the whole thing apart. It’s totally nonsense. And yet it knows that it’s mostly illogical, embracing its ridiculousness to just the right degree that becomes escapist entertainment if you’re willing not to take it too seriously.
