CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
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Sandra Bullock & Heist Crew Con Us in ‘Ocean’s 8’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 8, 2018 - 12:40amRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In “Ocean’s 8,” a diamond necklace at the Met Gala isn’t the only thing getting ripped off. This all female knock off provides a reasonable facsimile of a facsimile of the original’s suave swagger, but doesn’t have anything else to go on. “Oceans 11” is a movie that never should have gotten a sequel, much less become some kind of a franchise.
Melissa McCarthy is the Charming ‘Life of the Party’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 11, 2018 - 2:06pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Melissa McCarthy is a comedic force to be reckoned with, able to wring laughs improbably out of the stingiest of material. She always manages to find the funny, which helps elevate everyone around her, and so she slips easily in the durable friendly constructs of the campus comedy in “Life Of The Party.”
There Are Just Enough Reasons to Go Ape Over ‘Rampage’
Submitted by JonHC on April 12, 2018 - 12:37pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO - As a whole, we have a fascination with watching destruction in front of us. It provides a catharsis from our heavily stressed lives, especially in the Trump era. It provides a necessary release of aggression, the same way video games do for people. “Rampage” scratches that itch, but only if you aren’t also looking to be intellectually stimulated or care about plot coherence.
For Better or Worse, ‘Ready Player One’ is Nostalgia at its Purest
Submitted by JonHC on March 29, 2018 - 12:19pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Just in time for Easter, there’s a film filled with enough Easter eggs to drown a small country. “Ready Player One” is a “Where’s Waldo” of mostly 80’s pop culture references that are meant to trigger our (and especially filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s) sentimental, nostalgic cores by bombarding us with reminders of our childhood. These trips down memory lane are fun until they’re not.
‘Everything, Everything’ Offers Close to Nothing, Nothing
Submitted by JonHC on May 21, 2017 - 7:24pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the target audience for these stock young adult romance novels. Aside from the odd fascination and romanticization of teenage death and terminal illness, these stories feel trite and much closer to fantasy than anything real or plausible. This is what the film “Everything, Everything” brings to the table, which essentially translates to Nothing, Nothing.
‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’ is a Dull, Magicless Bore
Submitted by JonHC on May 12, 2017 - 6:27pm- Aidan Gillen
- Annabelle Wallis
- Astrid Bergés-Frisbey
- Charlie Hunnam
- David Dobkin
- Djimon Hounsou
- Eric Bana
- Excalibur
- Guy Ritchie
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- Joby Harold
- Jon Espino
- Jude Law
- King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
- Lionel Wigram
- Man from UNCLE
- Merlin
- Movie Review
- Sherlock Holmes
- Tom Wu
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Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Have you ever had such a bad case of déjà vu while watching a film that trying to remember where the familiar elements are from turns into a more enjoyable experience than actually seeing the film itself? If you haven’t, your quest for that kind of film is fulfilled by the incredibly forgettable “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.”
There is Little Beauty to Be Found in ‘Collateral Beauty’
Submitted by JonHC on December 17, 2016 - 6:33amRating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Charles Dickens once said, “Reflect upon your present blessings — of which every man has many — not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” Seeing the trailer for “Collateral Beauty,” it’s obvious this is the theme of the film, but it is also the theme of this review. My “blessing” to you is the foresight not to waste your time with this film.
It is Best to Steer Clear of This ‘Entourage’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 3, 2015 - 3:56pmRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I actually did watch the HBO show this big-screen iteration is based on, and I looked back in surprise to find the show actually lasted for 8 years. That’s a long time for a show that peaked in season two, and petered out into irrelevance somewhere around season four or so.