World War II

Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare” wants to be “Inglourious Basterds” in the worst way … but Henry Cavill is no Brad Pitt, and Guy Ritchie is no Quentin Tarantino. It’s a featherweight romp about British rogues killing Nazis that’s arch, witty, and completely forgettable. It goes down easy enough, but seems unlikely to inspire the love and devotion it so clearly craves.

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 January 4th, 2024, reviewing “Freud’s Last Session,” featuring Anthony Hopkins portraying Sigmund Freud. In theaters January 5th, 2024.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on January 20th, 2022, reviewing a fictional film set in a real historic event, “Munich – The Edge of War,” streaming on Netflix beginning on January 21st.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on November 19th, 2020, reviewing the new films “Mank” (in theaters, on Netflix December 4th) and “The Last Verneer” (only in theaters).

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on October 1st, 2020, reviewing the new films On the Rocks” (In select theaters October 2nd and on AppleTV+ starting October 23rd.) and “A Call to Spy” (In theaters & Video-On-Demand).

Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – War is hell, even in “The Good War.” The early days of World War II were a desperate time for the British, and the events of “Dunkirk” were largely about loss, yet mostly about inspiration. Director Christopher Nolan gives his film a grand cinematic treatment, evoking an era that has mostly faded away.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Winston Churchill, except to hardcore history buffs, is fast fading from the cultural radar. Often called the Greatest Briton Ever, the lion who led his people for so many years became a bit toothless during the greatest World War II battle ever conceived, D-Day the Sixth of June. That moment in his life, and the lives of those around him, is the subject of the magnificent new film, “Churchill.”

Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – In a combined BBC Films, Welsh Government and Pinewood (London) Pictures production, the British-based “Their Finest” pairs England’s history with authentic and passionate romance, to create a sly and funny riff on propaganda films and the British movie industry during the early days of World War II.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Jessica Chastain is a memorable and glamorous actress, who continues to challenge herself with in-depth and complex roles. “The Zookeeper’s Wife” is her latest, and her performance outweighs the formulaic based-on-truth story, set during the Holocaust.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The Oscar nominated, Golden Globe winning Best Foreign Language Film is a another trip into the well of horror that was the Holocaust. After over 100 movie treatments, director László Nemes finds a more personal story to tell, and it all unfolds in “Son of Saul.”