CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Ryan Gosling
Pride Goeth Before ‘The Fall Guy’ with Ryan Gosling & Emily Blunt
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 4, 2024 - 12:39am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “The Fall Guy” is one of those movies where what’s happening on the margins is so much more interesting than the main event. And the promotional campaign for it is far superior to the film itself. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt have the romantic chemistry to fuel a high octane action comedy … but “The Fall Guy” never steps on the gas.
Living the Dream House! Audio Review of ‘Barbie’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 18, 2023 - 11:53pm Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review for “Barbie,” the highly anticipated film adaptation of America’s favorite toy doll, co-written and directed by Greta Gerwig, and featuring Margot Robbie as the title character. In theaters beginning July 21st.
Between Black Nor White! On-Air Film Review of ‘The Gray Man’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 25, 2022 - 10:45pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on July 21st, reviewing “The Gray Man,” the latest from directors Anthony and Joe Russo (“Avengers: Endgame”), streaming on Netflix beginning July 22nd.
'First Man' is Reverential to Moon Landing Mission
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 12, 2018 - 3:31pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There were several “firsts” for humankind in our civilization and technology breakthroughs, but until 1969 no person had even stepped on a planetary surface other than on earth. Neil Armstrong was that man, and he is portrayed by Ryan Gosling in a respectful overview of that Apollo 11 mission in “First Man.”
Thin Story a Contrast to Visuals in ‘Blade Runner 2049’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 5, 2017 - 9:36pm Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It comes down to compelling an audience with a story riff that’s a hook. “Blade Runner 2049” doesn’t possess either the riff or the hook, but what it does do is create a dystopian world that is beautiful in its bleakness, and unsettlingly weird in its twists and turns.
‘La La Land’ Will Create Love for Musicals Again
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 15, 2016 - 2:01pmRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “La La Land” has the spirit of an old time “Singin’ In The Rain”-type Hollywood musical, but this is no throwback or revival. It brings that spirit into the modern age and gets it to live, breathe, and thrive once again. It’s a beautiful technicolor spectacle that celebrates the whimsy of musicals, while finding a way to translate it credibly and wonderfully to the modern age.
Exposé of ‘The Big Short’ is an American Masterwork
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 11, 2015 - 10:30amRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – This is a rare film that will fill you with anger, while making you laugh at the absurdity of 21st Century life. “The Big Short” is an inside look at the mortgage meltdown that began in 2007, that cost eight million jobs and an untold amount of foreclosures, and the men who knew it was coming.
Crime, Fatherhood Intersect in ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 5, 2013 - 8:21am Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Derek Cianfrance’s masterful “The Place Beyond the Pines” is a complex, epic piece of storytelling about the ripple effect of crime through families and across generations. Drastic action does not exist in a vacuum. It influences generations below and those impacted by their parent’s decisions.
Josh Brolin, Sean Penn Sleep Through Dull ‘Gangster Squad’
Submitted by BrianTT on January 11, 2013 - 12:38pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I know it’s only January but Ruben Fleischer’s “Gangster Squad” is sure to be one of the most disappointing films of 2013. Look at that cast! Look at them playing caricatures and doing absolutely nothing of interest! “Gangster Squad” is a total mess and absolutely none of it has to do with notorious reshoots after the shooting in Aurora that pushed the flick back four months.
Ryan Gosling, George Clooney in ‘The Ides of March’
Submitted by BrianTT on October 7, 2011 - 9:35amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – George Clooney’s “The Ides of March” is a star-studded political thriller of the variety that was made much more commonly in the ‘70s and would therefore seem like a perfect vehicle to restart for today’s controversial times. We could use more political thrillers with complex dialogue aimed at adults to offset the fact that a vast majority of motion pictures are aimed at children.
