CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on The Eddie Volkman Show with Hannah B on WSSR-FM (Star 96.7 Joliet, Illinois) on August 12th, reviewing Season Three of the hit TV series “Never Have I Ever,” streaming on Netflix beginning on August 12th.!—break—>
France
French Bliss! On-Air Film Review of ‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 15, 2022 - 7:58am![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on July 14th, reviewing “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” the adventures of a British cleaning lady when she decides to wish upon a dream, in theaters on July 15th.
Place in France! On-Air Review of ‘The French Dispatch’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 22, 2021 - 10:59am- Adrien Brody
- Benecio Del Toro
- Bill Murray
- Elisabeth Moss
- Ennui
- France
- Frances McDormand
- Henry Winkler
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- James Baldwin
- Jeffrey Wright
- Monroe
- Movie Review
- New Yorker
- Owen Wilson
- Pat Über TV
- Patrick McDonald
- Scott Thompson
- Searchlight Pictures
- The French Dispatch
- The Morning Mess
- Tilda Swinton
- Timothée Chalamet
- WBGR-FM
- Wes Anderson
- Wisconsin
![]() 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 21st, 2021, reviewing the new Wes Anderson film, “The French Dispatch” in theaters beginning October 22nd.
An Obsessive Couple’s Journey in ‘Ash is Purest White’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 9, 2019 - 10:03am![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Obsessive love is a movie story staple, and “Ash is Purest White” puts a Chinese point-of-view on this strange phenomenon. This is a coupling in the background of organized crime and a changing China, and their success and failure is based on the events surrounding them as much as their devotion to each other.
‘Transit’ is an Absorbing Thriller with a Perplexing Conclusion
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 17, 2019 - 10:55am![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – What if a new fascism were to sweep the land, and affects Paris, as it did in World War 2? “Transit” postulates on that very theory and creates a paranoid atmosphere that is stunningly real, but brings that emotion to a conclusion that I believe is redundant, and pretends to be deeper than it is.
‘The Upside’ Works Because of Kevin Hart & Bryan Cranston
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 11, 2019 - 11:48am![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In 2011, there was a notable French film called “The Intouchables,” based on the true story of quadriplegic Phillippe Pozzo di Borgo and the relationship with his caregiver. Leave it to the U.S. film industry to get its sticky fingers on the story, and seven years later Bryan Cranston portrays “Phillip” and his caretaker is portrayed by Kevin Hart. Instead of story, this version relies on its lead actors.
Keira Knightley is Ahead of Her Times as ‘Colette’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 28, 2018 - 10:01am![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The maturation of Keira Knightley… from ‘Bend it Like Beckham” to “Pride and Prejudice” to the current “Colette,” has had the actor delivering an evolving depth and purpose to her roles. The latest is a fantastic overview of an ahead-of-her-time French novelist, as the rest of society tried to catch up.
Strange ‘15:17 to Paris’ Can’t Make the Connection
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 11, 2018 - 12:48pm![]() Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – What’s up with Clint Eastwood, and why in the Sam Hill did he attach himself as director to this film? Also, why was the decision made to use the actual rescuers as the actors in a true terrorist train incident? Nothing adds up in the strangely disconnected “15:17 to Paris.”
Zen and the Art of Cinema in ‘24 Frames’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 11, 2018 - 11:10am![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The legendary Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (“Certified Copy”) passed away in 2016, but he left one more meditation on cinema and illusion, in the artistic “24 Frames.” Yes, it refers to the number of still photos that make up a second of film, but in this case it is also Kiarostami’s observations of stillness in motion.
Inflammatory ‘In the Fade’ is the State of Our Now
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 25, 2018 - 10:05am![]() Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In one of the more truthful and contemporary films of 2017, “In the Fade” is a German/French production about the fallout due to a terrorist act. What it also emphasizes is the generated hatred, frustration and waste of such acts, and its textual story is stunning and distressing.
Everything is Beautiful at the Ballet in ‘Leap!’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 25, 2017 - 1:49pm![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of the rites of passage for most girls in the U.S.(and elsewhere, I presume) is ballet lessons. Usually it lasts for a very short time, but some girls-to-women keep pursuing it, and may even become prima ballerinas. A new animated film named “Leap!” is dedicated to that spirit.
