Over the past year, the Astor Theatre undertook a large project…convert our movie projector to a digital system so we can continue to bring movies to Liverpool. It was a large project with a large price tag but with the communities support, as well as the Province of NS and the Department of Canadian Heritage we were successful! Now it is time to throw a party…and invite everyone to attend!
On May 24th we are throwing the biggest movie party ever seen on the South Shore. Such a night requires a great host and we have one…CTV’s Richard Crouse. As the regular film critic for CTV’s Canada AM and the 24 hour news source CTV’s News Channel, Richard is well known across the country for his movie reviews. In Liverpool, he is also well known since he grew up here watching movies at the Astor. Richard is excited that we will be able to continue to present movies and wanted to celebrate with us.
We will be presenting the NS shot movie “The Disappeared”. The Disappeared is a visually stunning story set on the vast panorama of the Atlantic Ocean. The film centers on six men lost at sea in two dories. With no rescue in sight, they make the difficult decision to row for shorea journey of over two hundred miles. With scant supplies diminishing, they are tested beyond human endurance as their captain leads them through the fickle wind, rain, fog and darkness. Dwarfed in this unforgiving realm between sea and sky, they fight to hold on as their strength dwindles and their will shatters. Desperation overtakes hope as the men are swallowed by their aloneness, even as they are bound together by the wooden boats that hold them. To find their way home, they must first discover the courage and compassion it takes to live and the men they truly are. We are happy that several cast members will be in attendance and will do a Question and Answer session with Richard.
Finally, no evening is complete without a little music at the Astor so we have invited East Coast musician David Myles to bring his infectious music to the celebrations. Somewhere on the spectrum between James Taylor and Justin Timberlake, David Myles has truly forged his own path by embracing modern and vintage pop, folk and soul music. With extensive touring experience across Canada and internationally, Myles has earned a reputation as a great showman. His flawless musicianship and unforgettable stories have made David Myles a favourite with fans everywhere.
We hope you can join us for a great evening of cinema, of song, and of celebration!
From the CMW website: Don’t Stop Believin’: Fireside Chat with Glee Music Supervisor PJ BLOOM
Move over Elvis and The Beatles. Through his work on Glee alone, music supervisor PJ Bloom has set the record for the most charted songs by a single talent in Billboard history (and made the mag’s annual Power 100 List). One of the world’s busiest soundtrack supervisors, he has shaped the sound of hundreds of TV episodes, movies, video games and ads and is the go-to guy for the likes of Mssrs. Spielberg and Bruckheimer. Nobody knows the symbiotic relationship between music and image like this soundtrack superstar.
Inch by inch, foot by foot colourful sock wear is slowly taking over the peds on “Canada AM.” At there end of the week the hosts and guests compare and contrast ankle region sartorial choices. This week we had a celebrity entry, Jason Priestley, actor, director, fancy footwear aficionado and now author of “Jason Priestley: A Memoir” joined in on the fun.
Life is too short to wear dull socks! #FridaySockDay
SYNOPSIS: Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne star as Mac and Kelly, aging hipsters and parents to newborn Stella. Their quiet suburban life is uprooted when unruly frat boys led by Teddy (Zac Efron) and Pete (Dave Franco) move in next door. “Make sure that if we’re too noisy, call me,” says Teddy on the eve of a big blowout. “Don’t call the cops.” When the house party spirals out of control the couple has to call the police, thereby violating the fragile “circle of trust” between the two households. Trust broken, petty resentments trigger a Hatfield and McCoy’s style feud between Teddy and Company and Mac and Kelly.
STAR RATINGS:
Richard: 4 Stars
Mark: 3 Stars
Richard: Mark, there’s an old saying that goes, “You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family.” True enough, but as this movie teaches us, you should add neighbors to the “cannot choose” list. Living next door to the frat boys would be a nightmare in real life, but in reel life it’s a great situation for humor. The movie is not so much a story as it is an idea played out in a series of gags, but it is funny. Raunchy, but funny.
Mark: Also a movie that would have us believe there are no zoning bylaws in this fictitious college town. And Richard, I half agree with you. There are two movies here. One is the story of a young married couple with a baby; the other the story of a bunch of frat house goofs. The former is extremely funny—Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne have a comedic chemistry as good as any great vaudeville duo. The frat boys, unfortunately, are mostly indistinguishable and their scenes made me long for Animal House. Why cast the wonderful Christopher Mintz-Plasse and give him so little to do?
RC: I wondered that as well, but let’s face it, in the frat house side of things Efron’s abs are the star. And his hair. And toothy grin. No room for the less physical charms of Mintz-Plasse. The real charm here, though, as you say, lies with Rogen and Byrne. They have great chemistry, and are a natural match; like a frat boys and bongs. Their story doesn’t hinge on the war with the neighbors, however, as much as it does the way they battle against growing up. Their need to be thought of as cool while still being responsible adults, is very funny and adds a nice subtext to what could have been simply a very silly comedy.
MB: And in this way, the movie could be seen as a sequel to Knocked Up. Both films deal with Rogen as a dad and a late bloomer to maturity. Neighbours wouldn’t be nearly as successful if the couple were older or stuffier. It hits the right note of them being almost young enough to take part in frat house shenanigans, but not with the responsibility of a newborn. As a recent first time dad, I can tell you they got all those jokes right. But, Richard, I still laughed the hardest at some of the physical stuff. The airbag sequence is bound to be a classic.
RC: The airbag gags made me laugh, for sure, but the real treat for me was watching Rose Byrne, in her natural Aussie accent, out cursing and out doing Rogen with razor sharp comic timing.
MB: Or check out her seduction scene of two frat kids-one male, one female-which will get an applause break from the audience every time!
There’s an old saying that goes, “You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family.” True enough, but as Hollywood has taught us, you should add neighbors to the “cannot choose” list.
Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne star in “Neighbors” as Mac and Kelly, aging hipsters and parents to newborn Stella. “Just because we have a house and a baby doesn’t mean we’re old people,” says Mac.
Their quiet suburban life is uprooted when unruly frat boys led by Teddy (Zac Efron) and Pete (Dave Franco) move in next door. The frat has a storied history, laying claim to originating Toga Parties, Beer Pong and something called Boot and Rally.
“Make sure that if we’re too noisy, call me,” says Teddy on the eve of a big blowout. “Don’t call the cops.”
When a house party spirals out of control the couple has to call the police, thereby violating the fragile “circle of trust” between the two households. With their bond broken, petty resentments trigger a Hatfield and McCoy’s style feud between Teddy and Company and Mac and Kelly.
“Neighbors” could have simply been “Animal House” for a new generation but mixed in with the laughs—and there are a lot of laughs—is a character study of two people suffering from arrested development. Rogen and Byrne have great chemistry, and are a natural match, like a frat boys and bongs. Their story doesn’t hinge on the war with the neighbors, however, as much as it does the way they battle against growing up. Their need to be thought of as young and cool while being responsible adults, is very funny and adds a nice subtext to what could have been simply a very silly comedy.
But make no mistake. This is as raunchy and batty a farce as we’ll see this year, but the reason we laugh so hard at the inane stuff is because there is something deeper at work. The frustration, irritation and exhaustion that goes along with being a new parent is amplified, giving the outrageous comedic characters some grounding. Characters like this are frequent in reel life but Bryne and Rogen bring them into real life.
“Neighbors” is not so much a story as it is an idea played out in a series of wild gags, but good performances—watching Rose Byrne, in her natural Aussie accent, out cursing and out doing Rogen with razor sharp comic timing is one of the film’s big pleasures—and some unexpected heart make it a cut above the usual frat boy fare.
So says a character in “Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return,” a new family film that adds a chapter to L. Frank Baum’s “Wizard of Oz” series.
Where there are flying monkeys you can bet there’ll also be a Scarecrow (Dan Aykroyd), the Tin Man (Kelsey Grammer) and a Lion (as played by James Belushi he’s no longer cowardly and now suggests tearing his enemies “limb from limb.”) and, of course, witch killer Dorothy (Lea Michele) and her little dog Toto. All make appearances but this time around they’re up against a different foe—an evil Jester (Martin Short).
The movie begins several Oz years after Dorothy vanquished the Wicked Witch of the West. In her time, however, only hours have passed. When she wakes in her bed in Kansas the tornado from the original story has just laid waste to her town, but before you can say “Well, howdy, Miss Gulch,” the young girl is sucked up by a giant rainbow and transported to the world of Oz. “You guys,” she says, “dragging me into a giant rainbow really scared me!”
Trouble is, things aren’t so wonderful in Oz. The Emerald City is in turmoil at the hands of a power hungry Jester who is turning the citizenry into marionettes. Dorothy, with the help of new friends Wiser the Owl (Oliver Platt), Marshal Mallow (Hugh Dancy), China Princess (Megan Hilty) and Tugg the Tugboat (Patrick Stewart) must stop the Jester and rescue Scarecrow, the Tin Man and Lion before they are turned into puppets.
There are some good messages for kids in “The Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return” about working together—as heard in the clumsily rhymed “out it all together until the job is done, it should be easy, it should be fun”—and the importance of friendship. It’s just too bad they are wrapped up in a film so saccharine it would give the Wicked Witch of the West a sugar rush.
The flying monkeys are still kinda scary but the rest of the movie practically redefines the term “family friendly,” and not in all the best ways. It plays it safe to a fault throughout, smoothing over any edge until there is not much left but some poppy tunes (by Bryan Adams among others) and a story that relies on the goodwill of characters created several generations ago.
“The Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return” won’t give Pixar a run for their money and might be best saved for a rainy day rental.
If there is one lesson to be learned from “Under the Skin,” the new alien seductress from “Sexy Beast” director Jonathan Glazer, it is, Don’t get in a car with strangers even if they look like Scarlett Johansson. She may play the Black Widow in the Avengers series, but here she is literally the black widow.
The film begins with an homage to Stanley Kubrick, an austere sci fi set up that suggests an alien making their way to Earth. To Scotland to be exact. The nameless creature, who assumes Johansson’s form, spends much of the time exerting her siren’s call on unsuspecting men. She lures them into her van, then to her home, where they disappear into an inky goo, never to take another breath.
She’s a newcomer on a mysterious mission, still figuring out human emotions, but in tune enough to use her sexuality to entrap unsuspecting men. After an encounter with a disabled man she takes her first tentative steps toward humanity.
Every now and again a film comes along with little or no regard for the conventions of traditional storytelling. “Under the Skin” is one of those movies.
We learn next t nothing about Johansson’s character or her mission. In a surreal sequence we do learn what happens to her victims, but not why they are being harvested.
Glazier never takes the easy narrative way out. He leaves it to the audience to draw their own conclusions about everything, character and motivations included. He even clouds much of the dialogue in thick Scottish accents that are challenging unless you have Cullen Skink running in your veins. Add to that some strange inconsistencies—how is it she knows how to drive like a New York taxi cab driver but has no working knowledge of her own naughty bits?—and the story strays far into art house territory.
It’s a deliberately paced film that never met a pause—I would say dramatic pause, but there is very little drama to be had here—it didn’t embrace.
At the center of it all is Johansson in a deceptively demanding role. She appears to be doing very little, but conveys a heady blend of innocence and sexuality that brings this otherworldly creature to life. Think “The Man Who Fell to Earth’s” Thomas Jerome Newton (David Bowie) with red lipstick and more curves and you get the idea.
“Under the Skin” won’t be for everybody. It deliberately challenges the audience, almost daring them to stay along for the ride, but those brave enough to take the journey will be rewarded with a story that takes a sly look at human identity filtered through the guise of an alien.
