CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the streaming series “Emily in Paris” the adventures of Emily Cooper and her fanciful/fashionable Paris friends and lovers, now in its fourth season. Episodes 1-5 currently on Netflix.
Sam Shepard
Family Secrets, Fine Acting in ‘August: Osage County’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 10, 2014 - 10:02am![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There will be inevitable comparisons to the Pulitzer Prize-winning stage version of “August: Osage County” from the thousands of people who have been touched by the stage play. But in giving the film version a chance, there is the same passion, drama and heat of family dysfunction within it, with a dream cast.
Great Cast Can’t Find Truth in False Plotting of ‘Out of the Furnace’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 6, 2013 - 11:18am![]() Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
One overriding thought dominated my time with Scott Cooper’s stunningly disappointing “Out of the Furnace” – I just don’t care. When I wasn’t picking apart the gigantic plot holes in the narrative, I was marveling at the overheated characters who have been crafted from cliché instead of the real world.
Metaphor is Message in Violent ‘Killing Them Softly’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 30, 2012 - 1:50pm![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If there ever was an industry that deserved a good metaphor bashing, it would be the financial sector. “Killing Them Softly” does a hit-over-the-head with the symbolism, but at the same time delivers a gritty and literate parable, featuring Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini and Ray Liotta.
The Dog Days of Diane Keaton in ‘Darling Companion’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 27, 2012 - 5:40pm![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “If you want a friend in Washington,” Harry S Truman once said, “get a dog.” The same can be said for the film industry, as they keep producing canine quandaries. Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Sam Shepard and Elisabeth Moss cozy up to their own ‘Darling Companion.’
Denzel Washington Lives in Boring ‘Safe House’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 9, 2012 - 9:37pm![]() Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Safe House” is so overly familiar that you not only will think that you’ve seen it before and know exactly where it’s going before it gets there, but you will also barely remember having seen it once it’s over. It’s cinematic fast food – relatively streamlined but also not difficult to make for anyone involved, generally bad for you, and totally forgettable. It’s all so, well, “Safe.”
‘Blackthorn’ Offers Wistful Rethinking of Butch Cassidy Legend
Submitted by mattmovieman on October 14, 2011 - 7:16am![]() Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Western buffs have often criticized George Roy Hill’s 1969 classic, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” for romanticizing its subject matter to the point where it felt less concerned about its titular criminals and more interested in the friendship between stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Yet for all of the charm in William Goldman’s script, there was an underlying darkness and tragic poignance that allowed the final act to pack an unforgettable punch.
Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman Not Relatable in ‘Brothers’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 4, 2009 - 6:52am![]() Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The transition from hot young actor to the domestic picket fence is about ten years and a shadowy crow’s foot. One day you’re a galaxy queen, superhero and Donnie Darko, next you’re playing house in “Brothers.”
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