Clik here to view.
Take Trip to Riveting ‘Shutter Island’ With Leonardo DiCaprio
Rating: 5.0/5.0CHICAGO– “Shutter Island” is a riveting trip through a cinematic funhouse led by one of the best filmmakers of all time in Martin Scorsese, who fully employs the copious skills of his...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Steve Carrell, Tina Fey Go Dutch on the Laughs in ‘Date Night’
Rating: 3.5/5.0CHICAGO– 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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Annette Bening, Julianne Moore Out in the Light With ‘The Kids Are All Right’
Rating: 3.0/5.0CHICAGO– It is Hollywood that is often ahead of the social curve, expressing in art what most people can’t fathom in real life. “The Kids Are All Right” is that type of consciousness,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Anna Paquin Makes Each Moment Count in ‘Margaret’
Rating: 4.0/5.0CHICAGO– The passion of adolescence, so driven by the emerging intellect merged with fierce hormonal obligations, is a subject tailor made for the movies. The drama and distinction in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Summer Movie Season Explodes with ‘The Avengers’
Rating: 4.5/5.0CHICAGO– When I was a kid, summer movies were an event. They weren’t just marketing tricks, young adult adaptations, or unnecessary sequels. They were blockbusters that you put on the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Story of ‘Now You See Me’ a Bit Misdirected
Rating: 2.5/5.0CHICAGO– Boasting a big star ensemble cast, and themes of magical realism and misdirection, “Now You See Me” is an overdone, too-clever-for-its-own-good fantasy with some entertaining...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Human Emotions Transcend Wealth in ‘Foxcatcher’
Rating: 3.5/5.0CHICAGO– In the memorable film “Barton Fink,” the title character is asked to write a wrestling movie for Wallace Beery. If Fink had isolated himself long enough, he might have come up...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mixed Bag of Marvel Tricks in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’
Rating: 3.0/5.0CHICAGO– Whew. There is so much going on in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” that you practically need a program to keep up with the players. This mixed bag has overwrought comic book action,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rousing ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ Hits Modern Society’s Central Nervous System
Rating: 4.0/5.0CHICAGO– Look. We all know sequels usually suck. And blockbuster films often get panned for overprioritizing special effects at the expense of a well-written story and character...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ More Exhausting Than Exhilarating
Rating: 3.0/5.0CHICAGO– “The Avengers: Age Of Ultron” is another overstuffed, action packed CGI addled slugfest from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. but the effects are exhausting instead of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Spotlight’ Offers a Relevant First Draft to History
Rating: 4.0/5.0CHICAGO– “Spotlight” is a movie which aspires to greatness and oftentimes just about gets there. It’s a movie that is thoroughly confident that the process of journalism and a great...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Waste of Talent, Sequel Energy in ‘Now You See Me 2’
Rating: 1.5/5.0CHICAGO– Separately, you love all these movie star icons and funny people – Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Caine, Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman, Lizzy Caplan...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Shatters the Hammer, But Maintains the Mold
Rating: 3.5/5.0CHICAGO– Any blacksmith will tell you that their job is much more than the brute action of slamming a hammer onto steel. There is some finessing and an attention to detail that needs to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Epic Comic Book Story in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
Rating: 3.5/5.0CHICAGO– Coming off the multi-textured “Black Panther,” Marvel Studios now turns its assignment towards an Avengers movie, and man, everything is on the table. This overstuffed, somewhat...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Journey to Conclusion is the Thrill of ‘Avengers: Endgame’
Rating: 4.5/5.0CHICAGO– When it comes down to this, and the creators do it right, there is no more satisfying conclusion than “Avengers: Endgame.” Admirers of this magnificent Marvel (Studios) Universe...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dear Dead Dad! On-Air Film Review of ‘The Adam Project’
Rating: 3.5/5.0CHICAGO– Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 10th, reviewing “The Adam Project,” featuring the...
View Article
