CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the doc series “Charlie Hustle & the Matter of Pete Rose,” about the rise and bitter fall of the major league legend, the MLB’s all-time hits leader, only to be banned from the sport because of gambling. Streaming on MAX and on HBO since July 24th.
FilmDistrict
Colin Farrell Can’t Let Go in ‘Dead Man Down’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 9, 2013 - 11:24am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Nothing like a high concept crime story to compliment “spring forward.” Colin Farrell plays the revenge card to the nth degree in the unusual and slowly paced “Dead Man Down,” and takes Noomi Rapace (of the Swedish “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) along for the ride.
Jason Statham Steers Convoluted Tale as ‘Parker’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 25, 2013 - 6:15pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The Jason Statham “character” has served the actor well through a substantial action movie career. But as situations to fit his stoic British kick-ass persona start to drift away, Statham is left with messy narratives like in his new film “Parker,” co-starring Jennifer Lopez.
Awful ‘Playing for Keeps’ Wastes Talent of Notable Cast
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 7, 2012 - 5:41pm Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When will the movie universe stop lionizing the upper middle class and their “problems” as a standard for storytelling? The idiotic crawl of “Playing for Keeps” is a prime example of that style, a sad exercise in contradictions that pass for narrative. Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Dennis Quaid and Catherine Zeta-Jones get punked by the script.
Angelina Jolie is ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’ in Directorial Debut
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 6, 2012 - 9:59amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The sorrows of war has been played out too many times in our so-called modern age. The excessively cruel Bosnian war – a three year conflict that introduced the vile term “ethnic cleansing” – is the background of Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, “In the Land of Blood and Honey.”
Johnny Depp is On, Story is Off in ‘The Rum Diary’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 27, 2011 - 5:55pmRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Johnny Depp has a Hunter S. Thompson obsession, that is career apparent. After playing the journalist’s alter-ego Raoul Duke in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” Depp gives a turn as Hunter’s younger self in a film based on Thompson’s 1998 novel, “The Rum Diary.”
