CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio streaming series review for “Yellowstone,” the popular Western series set in modern Montana … in Season 5. Available to stream on the Paramount Network and through Video On Demand beginning November 13th.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Cinematic and Literary Influences Temper the Glorious Chaos of ‘Loki’
Submitted by JonHC on June 9, 2021 - 5:27pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – From villain to anti-hero to homoerotic fan fiction icon, Loki has traveled a long way from the greasy-haired megalomaniac we have come to love. For most of his cinematic character development, Loki has been a foil to Thor’s massive himbo (n.: a very attractive, often beefy male who isn’t the brightest bulb, but is still able to shine because of his good-natured attitude and respect for women. Male version of a “bimbo”) energy.
‘Miss Sloane’ Thrills Politically, But Drags Narratively
Submitted by JonHC on December 9, 2016 - 6:27pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Nothing says the holiday season like a film about lobbying and politics. If you read that sarcastically, you’d be wrong. “Miss Sloane” offers a female spin for an otherwise male dominated political landscape. Most of you are trying to tune out politics after the elections, but this film builds off of that momentum by reminding us how we arrived to that point.
Social History is Revitalized in ‘Free State of Jones’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 24, 2016 - 11:57am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The United States is still fighting the Civil War, which ended in 1865. The rebellious South has never completely given away its anger and sorrow for the changes the war has wrought on them. These larger themes are examined historically in the new film, “Free State of Jones.”
‘Concussion’ Can’t Quite Tackle its Difficult Subject
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 25, 2015 - 5:53am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Concussion” suffers from what I call the “Moneyball” problem – it’s got an interesting subject matter, but it doesn’t seem to know what to do with it. It doesn’t have enough faith in its own material or its audience, so it stocks up on a lot of off-the-shelf melodrama in effort to avoid digging into what makes the story interesting in the first place. It’s also a movie that chickens out at the end and seems afraid to pick a fight.
‘Jupiter Ascending’ Might Cause Attention Descending
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 5, 2015 - 4:07pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Jupiter Ascending” is certainly one of the oddest and densest of sci-fi movies, this side of “Dune,” and has some of the most laughable acting and dialogue seen in a major film in awhile. But the worst offense is that the film is dull, and practically without emotion or human empathy.
‘Beyond the Lights’ Has a Respect for Storytelling
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 14, 2014 - 6:10pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Writer/Director Gina Prince-Bythewood, the creator of the cult favorite “Love & Basketball,” is back with another original story that she created, an intimate and romantic perspective on a singer on the path to nowhere, despite superstar-level fame. Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars as that singer in “Beyond the Lights.”
Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts Seek to Repurpose ‘Larry Crowne’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 1, 2011 - 5:13amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Movie stars need certain types of films to keep their star power safe and audiences expect certain things from them, with limitations, to create summer movie comfort. Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts fill the bill in “Larry Crowne.”
