CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Israel
‘Beirut’ is a Superbly Tense Geopolitical Thriller
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 11, 2018 - 9:11am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The psychological desperation of life-or-death decisions are in play within “Beirut,” the new geopolitical thriller featuring Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”). The various mazes within the story, set during the Lebanon civil war of the 1980s, is comparative to “Casablanca,” especially through the world-weary expression of Hamm’s character.
‘7 Days in Entebbe’ is Surprisingly Effective
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 16, 2018 - 11:12amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – What would you expect from an event subject that has been already rendered four times on film, and deals with terrorism, hijacking and government negotiation? “7 Days in Entebbe” contained all of this, and yet still maintained a separate energy and cinematic artistry. In many ways, it’s one of the most surprising films of the young year.
Gunplay & Violence Fuel Heroics in ‘American Assassin’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 15, 2017 - 6:21pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There was another mass shooting (eight dead) in Texas this week, but it was underreported because it didn’t involve “undesirables” and just seemed like another week in America. This blithe attitude towards guns, gunplay and violence continues in the movies, this week with the overindulgent release “American Assassin.”
Life in 2016 is Famous in ‘Presenting Princess Shaw’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 13, 2016 - 9:12amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Had you told a person 50 years ago that someday we would be able to personally record television and broadcast it to the whole world, they might have laughed and said maybe on the futuristic cartoon “The Jetsons.” But the future is now, and it lives in “Presenting Princess Shaw.”
Love, Truth & Dignity in Emotional ‘The Farewell Party’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 16, 2015 - 11:48am Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – As the last cells in our carbon based forms decide to perish, how can our consciousness bear the stigma of that demise? This question is the theme of “The Farewell Party,” a Israeli/German production that combines the mix of feelings that come with old age, and the sorrowful truth that there are more goodbyes than anything else, with a burden that is brought to bear when a person is dying around family, friends and spouses.
Oscar Nominee ‘The Gatekeepers’ is Truth to Power
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 22, 2013 - 5:17pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Normal job justification makes most people defensive. Imagine justifying an anti-terrorist organization. What weapons – besides the physical variety – would be available to you? Fear, jingoism and marginalizing of the “other” are a few of the defensives used by “The Gatekeepers.”
