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.
Tina Fey
Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot Will Go ‘A Haunting in Venice’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 14, 2023 - 5:33pm![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – While Kenneth Branagh still isn’t a favorite Hercule Poirot, I was as surprised as anyone to find that this third go around as the Belgian detective was my favorite. As the title implies, there are jump scares a-plenty as Poirot tries to get his little gray cells around the strange goings-on in a spooky house, and solve the mystery.
In Theaters! Audio Reviews of ‘The Blackening’ & ‘Maggie Moore(s)’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 19, 2023 - 10:32am![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film reviews for the new releases “The Blackening,” a tart horror/comedy directed by Tim Story and the mystery comedy/romance “Maggie Moores(s), directed by John Slattery. Both In theaters since June 16th.
What is Being There? On-Air Review of ‘Soul’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 25, 2020 - 9:28pm![]() Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on December 24th, 2020, reviewing the new animated film “Soul,” from Disney/Pixar and streaming on Disney+ on December 25th, 2020.
SNL Rightly Touts Its Influence in ‘Live From New York!’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 15, 2015 - 10:32am- 1975
- Abramorama
- Alec Baldwin
- Andy Samberg
- Chevy Chase
- Dana Carvey
- Garrett Morris
- George Carlin
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jane Curtin
- Julia Louis-Dreyfuss
- Laraine Newman
- Live From New York!
- Lorne Michaels
- Movie Review
- New York City
- Patrick McDonald
- Rudy Giuliani
- Saturday Night Live
- September 11th
- SNL
- Steve Martin
- Tina Fey
![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Love, hate or maintain indifference to it, the TV dinosaur “Saturday Night Live” has and will continue to influence American culture as long as it may reign. To celebrate its 40th Anniversary, filmmaker Bao Nguyen takes a fresh look at the iconic television show in “Live From New York!”
‘Monkey Kingdom’ is a Disappointing Destination
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 17, 2015 - 9:19am![]() Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Disney has always imported a bit of its cutesy narratives into its nature films. The best ones seem to spring organically from the images on-screen and it becomes easy to forget the contrivances and get swept up in the story. In the lesser entries, these attempts to impose a Hollywood story structure on the lives of wild animals only highlight how artificial they all are.
Unoriginal, Unfunny ‘This is Where I Leave You’ a Poor Man’s ‘August: Osage County’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 19, 2014 - 7:26pm![]() Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Jason Bateman and an all-star cast got me there. The unfunny copycat story left me regretting it. If you don’t start with a solid plot that’s at least somewhat new, it doesn’t matter how many “A”-listers you throw into an ensemble. They’re just individuals doing the best they can with weak material. But the film’s fatal flaw is it can’t figure out who it is – a comedy, drama or dramedy? – and it didn’t do just one thing well.
Muppets Still Know How to Entertain in ‘Muppets Most Wanted’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 21, 2014 - 7:34am![]() Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There is a comfort, like a favorite drink in a childhood mug, about Jim Henson’s legendary Muppets and their standard of entertainment and humor. It’s brilliant that Walt Disney Studios continues to understand what makes them work, producing their latest, “Muppets Most Wanted.”
Tina Fey Difficult to Get Into in ‘Admission’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 22, 2013 - 1:14am![]() Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Tina Fey, love her. Paul Rudd, like his work, he’s a Judd Apatow guy. Wallace Shawn in “The Princess Bride,” exquisite. Lily Tomlin is a comedy legend. All these great and interesting performers participated in “Admission,” for which they all get an “F.”
‘Megamind’ With Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt Barely Wins Animated Fight
Submitted by BrianTT on November 5, 2010 - 4:25pm![]() Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Being a super-villain is apparently going out of style as “Megamind” follows relatively quickly on the heels of “Despicable Me” and both tell the story of a bad guy realizing that it’s more fun to be good. The title character of “Megamind” (Will Ferrell) is a nefarious super-powered fellow who has just barely lost every fight he’s had with the beloved Metroman (Brad Pitt).
Steve Carrell, Tina Fey Go Dutch on the Laughs in ‘Date Night’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 9, 2010 - 5:39am![]() Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In this schizophrenic film, Steve Carrell and Tina Fey portray a “normal” couple from New Jersey who somehow become Steve Carrell and Tina Fey once they go on-the-town in New York City during “Date Night.”
