CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.
Ray Stevenson
The Resister’s Life for Thee! On-Air Film Review of 'RRR'
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 16, 2022 - 4:34pmRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on The Eddie Volkman Show with Hannah B on WSSR-FM (Star 96.7 Joliet, Illinois) on December 9th, reviewing the worldwide sensation from India “RRR,” an action movie featuring love and country, currently streaming on Netflix.
Liam Total Recall Neeson! On-Air Film Review of ‘Memory’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 28, 2022 - 10:08pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on April 28th, reviewing “Memory,” the latest action film, based on a Belgium novel/film, starring Liam Neeson, in theaters April 29th.
Forced ‘Thor: The Dark World’ Sequel Lacks Passion, Sci-Fi Basis
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on November 9, 2013 - 3:06pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – For me and the subculture as a whole, so much of science fiction came from “Star Trek”. If creator Gene Roddenberry were alive today to witness “Thor: The Dark World,” he’d tell it to focus on being a superhero film rather than failing to dabble in science fiction.
‘Thor: The Dark World’ is Little More Than Marketing For ‘The Avengers 2’
Submitted by BrianTT on November 7, 2013 - 10:32am- Alan Taylor
- Anthony Hopkins
- Brian Tallerico
- Chris Hemsworth
- Christopher Eccleston
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Idris Elba
- Jaimie Alexander
- Kat Dennings
- Marvel
- Natalie Portman
- Ray Stevenson
- Rene Russo
- Stellan Skarsgard
- Tadanobu Asano
- The Avengers
- The Avengers 2
- Thor: The Dark World
- Tom Hiddleston
- Zachary Levi
Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Few major films have felt less creatively inspired and more commercially conceived than Alan Taylor’s dull “Thor: The Dark World,” a wannabe blockbuster with all the personality and ingenuity of a straight-to-DVD sequel. It is a film that simply fades into the background of other films, both already produced and still-to-come.
Billy Bob Thornton’s ‘Jayne Mansfield’s Car’ Stalls Out
Submitted by BrianTT on September 11, 2013 - 1:05pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There was a time when it looked like not only would Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton be one of our great actors but possibly a threat behind the camera as well. Everyone knows the impression of his character from “Sling Blade” but many forget that he directed it as well. He followed that up with the flawed but ambitious and interesting “All the Pretty Horses.”
‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ Almost Turns Macho Stupidity Into Art
Submitted by BrianTT on March 28, 2013 - 8:36amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” is the kind of dumb summer action blockbuster that works in the season when the kids aren’t in school and the movie theater is used as an excuse to get in the air conditioning as much as see anything approaching filmmaking. It nearly works in March. Nearly.
‘The Three Musketeers’ Lets Down Legendary Heroes
Submitted by BrianTT on October 21, 2011 - 6:09pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Seriously?!?! Another “The Three Musketeers”?!?! Just because source material is beloved, why does it need to be remade over and over again? Perhaps Paul W. S. Anderson’s new take on the legendary trio complete with “Resident Evil”-esque action sequences can serve as the final word on this over-done story although if it somehow ends being the only version that future generations end up seeing they will surely wonder why such a boring tale was retold so many times in the first place.
Despite Loveless Love Story, ‘Thor’ Deserves Your Popcorn-Flick Dollar
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on May 7, 2011 - 9:13pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When big-budget films set their sights on being the next Hollywood blockbuster, they’re almost always built on a formulaic groundwork of proven ingredients. While these films often lose points for much of the same and little of the new, plunking a mighty $150 million into the production “Thor” has found a way to be both formulaic and successful.
‘Kill the Irishman’ Offers History as Explosions
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 18, 2011 - 4:47pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The amalgamation of big time unions and organized crime in post-WW2 industrial America is as enlightening as any struggle for power. Cleveland, Ohio, in the 1950s thru the ‘70s was both on the waterfront and had the East Coast influence of New York City’s most notorious crime families. That history is wasted in “Kill the Irishman.”
‘Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant’ With John C. Reilly Not Freaky Enough
Submitted by BrianTT on October 23, 2009 - 2:51pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – For everything that Paul Weitz’s “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” does right, there’s something about the film that just doesn’t work. More manic than quirky and more cluttered than consistent, “Cirque” features a few great performances and interesting characters but they’re sabotaged by the other members of this cinematic freak show.