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+.
HollywoodChicago.com Movie Reviews
‘The Road to Freedom’ Doesn’t Feel Authentic
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 5, 2011 - 11:57am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The story of Sean Flynn – son of the legendary Errol Flynn, perpetrator of B-movies in the early 1960s, game warden in Kenya and finally war correspondent during the Vietnam conflict – would rate enough material for a 10-hour mini-series. Only his disappearance is covered in “The Road to Freedom.”
‘The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)’ is Completely Worthless
Submitted by BrianTT on October 3, 2011 - 10:16am Rating: 0.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Make no mistake about it horror fans – Tom Six hates you. He thinks you’re worthless, easily manipulated, and pretty dumb. He thinks you’re little more than a gore-hungry animal who doesn’t give a damn about character, plot, or anything more than being horrified.
Not Much to Build Upon in Vague ‘Dream House’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 30, 2011 - 3:31pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Mixing three actors with great reputations – Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts – with Jim Sheridan, a six time Oscar nominated director, would assume to yield some fruitful results. But with “Dream House,” the artifice is indistinct and ill-defined, ultimately much ado about nothing.
Story Too Broad to Execute in ‘Machine Gun Preacher’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 30, 2011 - 2:58pmRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When one movie has an ex-con, drug retribution violence, his religious conversion, his building of a church, his preaching, his trip to Southern Sudan in Africa, his opening of an orphanage and his family, then it’s too big a story to tell. Therein lies the challenge for “Machine Gun Preacher.”
Anna Faris Falls Flat in Awful ‘What’s Your Number?’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 30, 2011 - 10:14am Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Why can’t anyone figure out how to use Anna Faris effectively? She’s got some of the best comic timing of any actress working today but she can’t find a good script in which to display it. Take her latest venture, the misogynistic, creepy, and just BAD “What’s Your Number?,” a pale excuse for a chick flick that should look even more ghostly in light of the similarly-themed and far-superior “Bridesmaids” earlier this year.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen in Moving ‘50/50’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 30, 2011 - 10:07am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Jonathan Levine’s “50/50” is a daring blend of buddy comedy, light romance, family drama, and, oh yeah, cancer movie. The tightrope act of a script by Will Reiser is elevated in remarkable ways by one of the best ensembles of the year, led ably by the great Joseph Gordon-Levitt, doing career-best, Oscar nomination-worthy work.
Cameron Crowe’s ‘Pearl Jam Twenty’ is Amazing Rock Doc
Submitted by BrianTT on September 29, 2011 - 8:30pm Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
Very few music documentaries in the history of the form have more successfully conveyed the inner workings and outer artistic expression of a band than Cameron Crowe’s brilliant “Pearl Jam Twenty,” a joyful, inspirational examination of the importance of creative integrity and great rock ‘n’ roll. Pearl Jam has survived for two decades as so many of their peers have come and gone by staying true to their music and their fans.
Feel Goodness of ‘Dolphin Tale’ Overcomes Clichés
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 24, 2011 - 7:40am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – In the tradition of live-action Disney films of another era, “Dolphin Tale” wears its heart on its sleeve, while at the same time using the characters as two-dimensional window dressing around a based-on-truth story of humans and an animal bonding together to inspire a nation.
Taylor Lautner Stars in Silly, Ineffective ‘Abduction’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 23, 2011 - 3:18pmRating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – After the success of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” and “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” Taylor Lautner could have taken any number of paths to breakout with his own star vehicle. He chose to try and fashion himself into an action star, appearing in this weekend’s “Abduction” as a young man discovering he has a very special past. He gets to find love, kick some ass, and even kill some bad guys. And all of it is very, very silly.
‘Killer Elite’ Mistakes Cliché For Action
Submitted by BrianTT on September 23, 2011 - 9:15am Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Killer Elite” is an exhausting, nonsensical, illogical, loud collection of action clichés masquerading as a modern action film. It features characters less three-dimensional than most cartoons doing and saying things that are only done and said in movies. Bad movies. Really bad movies.
Gus Van Sant Turns Death Into Poetry in ‘Restless’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 23, 2011 - 9:05amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Gus Van Sant’s “Restless” is an undeniably twee and hipster film that will annoy some viewers about as much as bad performance art, but I found the film’s commitment to a unique tone and world view refreshing as so few directors even know what those words mean. It may not be grounded enough to be emotionally effective, but another strong performance from the stellar Mia Wasikowska and a consistency to its vision make “Restless” worth a look.
Epic, Unusual ‘Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 23, 2011 - 7:37am Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The roots of the cinematic obsession with wizards, the force and middle earth can be traced back somewhat to the tradition of the martial artist, and the magical realism that is practiced in that genre of films. “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame” packs in action, magic politics and fantasy in a tale based on a real Chinese empress.
Brad Pitt, Baseball Evolve in Magnificent ‘Moneyball’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 22, 2011 - 5:43pmRating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Using sports, especially baseball, as a metaphor for life can get dicey – sometimes the symbolic pieces don’t fit universally for everything. But “Moneyball, ” starring Brad Pitt, hits a grand slam with this old allegory, and educates regarding the true nature of modern large dollar sports.
