CHICAGO – In anticipation of the scariest week of the year, HollywoodChicago.com launches its 2024 Movie Gifts series, which will suggest DVDs and collections for holiday giving.
Laura Linney
Everything That Rises! Audio Film Review of Ethan Hawke’s ‘Wildcat’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 22, 2024 - 2:24pm 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.
Fate of Consciousness! On-Air Film Review of ‘Suncoast’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 9, 2024 - 10:01am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on February 8th, 2024, reviewing “Suncoast,” a re-exploration of the Terri Schiavo case through a fictional nearby family. Streaming on HULU beginning February 9th.
Life Reveals Itself Through Courses in ‘The Dinner’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 7, 2017 - 8:25pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There is a peculiar and particular morality in the maneuverings of “The Dinner,” a multi-course meditation on how a tragic incident can split both opinion and family. Everything in the present situation has a below-the-surface past that festers like an unhealed wound, constantly causing pain.
‘Nocturnal Animals’ Takes Two Stories to New Levels
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 19, 2016 - 11:08amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Reality and fantasy have separate rules, and in fantasy there are no rules. This is the philosophy of “Nocturnal Animals,” a wild character study that exists on the reality/fantasy planes. And it has the bonus of the Amy Adams/Isla Fisher mix-up and Jake Gyllenhaal at his Gyllenhaal-iest.
Tom Hanks is Solid, But ‘Sully’ Never Really Soars
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 9, 2016 - 1:15pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Sully” is a solid effort from Director Clint Eastwood, but it never really soars the way its supposed to. It’s a good story, helped immeasurably by Tom Hanks low key performance, but it feels unnecessary. The problem may be that the story of the pilot who pulled off the so-called “Miracle on the Hudson” is so well known, the movie can’t really add anything to it.
Elegy for a Different Superhero in ‘Mr. Holmes’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 17, 2015 - 9:51amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Sherlock Holmes is the most famous fictional detective in literary history, and his character adaptation into movies, TV and other media shows no sign of slowing down. But what if Holmes were real, and lived as an old man past World War II? This scenario is explored in “Mr. Holmes.”
Awkward History Mars ‘Hyde Park on the Hudson’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 14, 2012 - 6:52pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Franklin Delano Roosevelt – father of the New Deal, leader through the Depression, war president – and according to the new film “Hyde Park on the Hudson,” he’s horny, baby. Bill Murray portrays FDR, with support from Laura Linney, Samuel West and Olivia Williams.
Aardman Studios Offers a Merry ‘Arthur Christmas’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 23, 2011 - 3:49pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Aardman Studios, the creators of the irrepressible “Wallace & Gromit” and the witty “Flushed Away” is back with another animated holiday treat, “Arthur Christmas.” Santa Claus and the gang are taken into the modern era, but the cheeky lads/lasses at Aardman can’t help but throw in a bit of whimsy and heart.
‘City of Your Final Destination’ Isn’t Worth a Visit
Submitted by BrianTT on June 1, 2010 - 9:20am Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Although “City of Your Final Destination” is not the latest installment of the Rube Goldberg-inspired splatter series, it does seem to be populated with the walking dead. The only similarity shared between the “Final Destination” franchise and this picturesque drama is an overwhelming abundance of tedium, generated by a plot that often seems as stagnant as its listless characters.
