HollywoodChicago.com Movie Reviews

Bless Us Father, For We Bear Witness to ‘Priest’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The cure for the Recovering Catholic may be obtained in the new film “Priest.” Both symbolic and kick-ass, Priest has a parallel universe that includes the ubiquitous vampire, but with the bonus of their opponents being highly trained Catholic priests.

Will Ferrell Seeks Recovery in ‘Everything Must Go’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Alcohol mixed with the American Dream sometimes becomes a destructive chemistry. With every individual’s reaction to ethyl alcohol like a fingerprint, the general image of the party animal can easily morph into what John Cheever called “The Sorrows of Gin.” These sorrows are explored through Will Ferrell in “Everything Must Go.”

‘Meek’s Cutoff’ Turns Physical Journey Into Riveting Spiritual Drama

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 5.0/5.0
Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Very few films have ever conveyed an impending sense of doom as successfully as Kelly Reichardt’s stunningly accomplished “Meek’s Cutoff,” a journey into the past that has resonance for any era. Which way do you go when you’ve lost the map? Who do you trust when you can’t see beyond the horizon? How does man simply keep moving forward when it’s so unclear where we’re going?

Loathsome ‘Hesher’ With Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 1.0/5.0
Rating: 1.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “Hesher” ends with a middle finger and I shot one right back to the screen. Rarely has a film so completely misunderstood the grieving process and played faux tough in an attempt to be edgy instead of heartfelt. Like a knock-off of Chuck Palahniuk produced by people raised only on Sundance films, “Hesher” is a mess.

‘The Double Hour’ Cheats Audiences With Multiple Twists

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.5/5.0
Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Early in “The Double Hour,” our heroine (a very effective and nearly movie-saving Ksenia Rappoport) goes to a speed dating session. The movie that follows is not unlike a cinematic version of that modern way of meeting people in that it jumps genre to genre like a suitor jumping tables. The result is a film that has marveled people with its labyrinthine plotting but that ultimately feels about as deep as a speed date. You never really get to know it.

Kristen Wiig Carries Charming Comedy of ‘Bridesmaids’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – With an incredibly talented ensemble, heartfelt script, and honest characterizations, “Bridesmaids” has been touted as a revolutionary re-examination of what one should expect from the phrase “chick flick.” Having never been much of a fan of genre labels, the idea that this film should be judged differently because it has female stars irks me a bit, but if that gets more people into theatre seats and away from the junk that typically qualifies as “entertainment for women,” I’ll happily embrace it. For whatever reason you see it, the most important thing to know is this simple – “Bridesmaids” is funny. Damn funny.

Despite Loveless Love Story, ‘Thor’ Deserves Your Popcorn-Flick Dollar

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – When big-budget films set their sights on being the next Hollywood blockbuster, they’re almost always built on a formulaic groundwork of proven ingredients. While these films often lose points for much of the same and little of the new, plunking a mighty $150 million into the production “Thor” has found a way to be both formulaic and successful.

Rutger Hauer Stars in Grindhouse Lunacy of ‘Hobo With a Shotgun’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – What do you expect from a movie called “Hobo With a Shotgun” (other than perhaps the most truthful title since “Snakes on a Plane”)? If you’re spending hard-earned money on a movie about a vengeful homeless person played by Rutger Hauer, you probably know what you’re in for. On those grindhouse terms, “Hobo With a Shotgun” totally works. It’s so far over-the-top that it makes “Machete” look believable, but that’s why it’s effective. Unlike so many movies you will see this season, “Hobo With a Shotgun” delivers.

Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox Sleepwalk Through ‘Passion Play’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 1.0/5.0
Rating: 1.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Mickey Rourke must be a publicist’s nightmare. In the last few weeks, he’s been going around giving refreshingly honest reviews of his new film “Passion Play,” co-starring Megan Fox, Bill Murray, and Kelly Lynch and opening in New York and Los Angeles today, May 6th, 2011. He went as far as to call the film “terrible,” which might make viewers even more curious before this thing hits DVD at the end of this month. Is it THAT bad? Would Mickey lie to you?

‘Nuremberg [The Schulberg/Restoration]’ Preserves Vital Footage

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 5.0/5.0
Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – In the opening moments of Stuart Schulberg’s invaluable 1948 documentary, “Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today,” shell-shocked men, women and children emerge from the wreckage of what appears to be a post-apocalyptic landscape. A street lamp juts out from the carnage, twisted out of all recognition, much like the human bodies later viewed in the footage.

No Leap of Faith to Enjoy ‘Jumping the Broom’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – There is a tradition within the African American community during weddings. It stems from the past, when marriage was deemed illegal for the race, and provides the title for a new film, “Jumping the Broom.” The now symbolic gesture is the basis for a clash between families and social classses in one seriocomic marriage weekend.

Kate Hudson in ‘Something Borrowed’ is Something Bad

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.0/5.0
Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Wedding movies, the wedding industrial complex, weddings as women’s literature, where does it end? (divorce) It’s that time of year, and the wedding film makes its ritualistic appearance, here represented by the morally bankrupt “Something Borrowed.”

Mel Gibson Delivers in Jodie Foster’s Daring ‘The Beaver’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.0/5.0
Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – What does it take to crawl out of a hole so deep that you can no longer see the sky? For some people, depression isn’t just a bad mood or an off day, it is as debilitating as a disease, and it can kill. One such man is Walter Black (Mel Gibson), and the unusual way that he survives his affliction is chronicled in the fascinating, memorable, accomplished “The Beaver.”

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  • Manhunt

    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+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

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