CHICAGO – Like many of you, I have been perusing the digital platforms, looking for the appropriate binge shows that will provide a temporary bit of sanity. Amazon Prime, for example, offers the entire series of “30 Rock” (2006-13), the seminal NBC-TV series created by and featuring Tina Fey.
Roadside Attractions
Energy of Visual Cinema is the Power of ‘Wonderstruck’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 31, 2017 - 11:02am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In one of the coolest visual films of the Fall Season thus far, “Wonderstruck” is another winner from director Todd Haynes (“Carol”), who adapts a Young Adult graphic novel by Brian Selznick (who also wrote the screenplay). The wonder of it all, baby.
Jake Gyllenhaal Turns Up His Power in ‘Stronger’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 23, 2017 - 9:47amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The second major film about the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing (after last year’s “Patriots Day”) is “Stronger,” and it wisely focuses on one individual rather than the bigger event. Jake Gyllenhaal portrays Jeff Bauman, a spectator near the explosion that lost both his legs.
Strong Performance Makes ‘Lady Macbeth’ a Cogent Character Study
Submitted by JonHC on July 24, 2017 - 2:36am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Separating a performance from the rest of the film is usually an easy task. One may be stronger than the other, or vice versa, but either way, they can be judged individually and as a whole. “Lady Macbeth” proves to be that rare character study where a single performance (from breakout actress Florence Pugh) not only makes the film but essentially is the film.
Tom Hanks Delivers in ‘A Hologram for the King’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 25, 2016 - 10:25pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Tom Hanks is using his golden years as a vehicle to stretch his performance skills, and his role as a sort of “Death of a Salesman” spin in “A Hologram for the King” gives him an opportunity to keep stretching. The stylish film floats within the focus on his character, and he delivers.
‘Touched With Fire’ Contains a Different Perspective
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 21, 2016 - 4:58pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – How do you explain air? That is what our thoughts are, after all – carbon-based cells interacting with circumstantial environment, sending the “message.” What if those cells send the thought receiver something outside “normal”? This is the exploration in the new film ‘Touched With Fire.’
Elegy for a Different Superhero in ‘Mr. Holmes’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 17, 2015 - 10:51amRating: 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.”
Brian Wilson Redeems His Soul in ‘Love & Mercy’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 6, 2015 - 9:48am Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Brian Wilson has been called one of the greatest songwriters in popular music history. His tonality and approach towards his best compositions have been studied like Mozart. In “Love & Mercy,” we see that the thing that made Wilson great also had the power to destroy him.
Son Can’t Rise Beyond His Fate in Emotional ‘Mommy’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 30, 2015 - 10:35pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – One of the odd unexplainable quirks of human existence is the shaping, variations and thoughts of our inner being. The physicality in the structure of the grey matter of the brain, with the slightest imperfection, can make the difference in a lifetime of behavior and perspective. Sometimes it can work out, and sometimes different consequences are created or destroyed, like the story of Diane Després in “Mommy.”
Parts Are Better Than the Whole in ‘The Skeleton Twins’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 12, 2014 - 9:50pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Live from the movies, it’s Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig! The two “Saturday Night Live” veterans are “The Skeleton Twins,” and both have more to do than just be funny. There are moments that sink or swim, depending on the “Twins,” and those parts are greater than the narrative sum.
Stellar Actors Put ‘Words and Pictures’ Together
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 7, 2014 - 9:57amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Words and Pictures” is a bit twee. In the film’s central debate between which medium has more influence, there was a drunken writer, prep students straight out of “Dead Poet’s Society” and cutesy romance. But there was also Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche at the top of their performance games, and they uplifted all these regular story elements.
