CHICAGO – The great and lofty Steppenwolf Theatre of Chicago has brought the current political season right on target with “POTUS: Or Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive,” now extended through December 17th. Click POTUS.
Paris
French Bliss! On-Air Film Review of ‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 15, 2022 - 6:58am 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.
Ass Kicker of the Wrong Kind is Downfall of ‘The 355’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 7, 2022 - 7:53am Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There’s something to be said for a well done ass kicker in January that provides an entertaining distraction from the ice and snow outside. “The 355” is not it, offering a typical quick cutting action thriller that plods along in the most formulaic and least exciting manner possible. There’s nothing in this movie that hasn’t been done to death already.
Lust and Found! Audio Review of ‘The Lost Leonardo’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 26, 2021 - 8:12pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review on the new documentary about the art world, “The Lost Leonardo,” in select theaters, including Chicago’s Music Box Theatre, on August 27th, 2021.
Fireworks for the 4th in ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 1, 2019 - 5:37pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is remarkably light on its feet considering it takes place in the wake of the events of “Avengers: Endgame.” After the five year period between finger snaps which is now referred to as “the blip,” Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and some of his classmates have returned the same age, while everyone else has gotten five years older.
History & Culture Co-Exist in Exemplary ‘The White Crow’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 5, 2019 - 7:31pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In any ear for pop culture, the name Rudolf Nureyev is well known. A Soviet Russian-born ballet virtuoso nicknamed “Lord of the Dance,” RN lived large until he died, of complications due to AIDS at age 54 in 1993. But before that, he was born into poverty, danced into fame, and historically defected to the West in 1961. “The White Crow,” a new film directed by Ralph Fiennes, tells his story.
‘Transit’ is an Absorbing Thriller with a Perplexing Conclusion
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 17, 2019 - 9:55am 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.
Keira Knightley is Ahead of Her Times as ‘Colette’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 28, 2018 - 9:01amRating: 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.
A Fashionable Life in ‘The Gospel According to André’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 3, 2018 - 9:27amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – He’s not a household name, but his influence has affected the closets of those households. André Leon Talley (“ALT”) is a New York City fashionista of the highest order, despite a background that would never predict that fate. But a person in the right place at the right time with the right work ethic can product magical results, and “The Gospel According to André” conjures that journey for Talley.
Armie Hammer Sits for Geoffrey Rush in ‘Final Portrait’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 2, 2018 - 8:06amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Paris in the 1960s seems to be a place where anything was possible. “Final Portrait” is an indication of this, as Armie Hammer portrays a Mad Men style American critic (what!) in 1964, who sits for a portrait painting by eccentric artist Alberto Giacometti, portrayed with relish by Geoffrey Rush.
Zen and the Art of Cinema in ‘24 Frames’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 11, 2018 - 10:10amRating: 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.
