Archive for August, 2017

TORONTO STAR: free opera, our trivial pursuits and the search for laughter

From the Toronto Star website:

Sean Cullen’s Another Nearly Impossible Quiz

Watch this if: You’re a fan of trivial pursuits.

Comedian Sean Cullen has such a smarmy charm onstage (we mean that in the best possible way) that it’s not a stretch to imagine him in the role of quiz show host. His “nearly impossible” quiz panel/game show returns to Comedy Bar, where he will pit comedians Nug Nahrgang and Juliana Rodrigues, and film critic Richard Crouse against each other for the title.

CHECK IT OUT: RICHARD’S “HOUSE OF CROUSE” PODCAST EPISODE 115!

Welcome to the House of Crouse. Patti Cake$, a story of big dreams and hip hop glory, stars Danielle Macdonald as a walking, talking attitude in plus size clothes; a woman with a way with words and a dream of bettering her circumstances through hip hop. We talk with her about dropping the Aussie accent to play Patti. Then Penelope Cruz drops by to chat up her new film The Queen of Spain, which sees her play Spain’s most glamorous political heroine, Macarena Granada. It’s good stuff, so c’mon in and sit a spell.

 

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CTVNEWS.CA: “THE CROUSE REVIEW FOR ‘PATTI CAKE$’ & ‘BUSHWICK’!”

A new feature from from ctvnews.ca! The Crouse Review is a quick, hot take on the weekend’s biggest movies! This week Richard looks at “Patti Cake$,” the New York City drama “The Only Living Boy in New York” and the civil war shoot ’em up “Bushwick.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

NEWSTALK 1010: INFO ON THE RICHARD CROUSE SHOW FOR AUGUST 26, 2017!

Check out the Richard Crouse Show on NewsTalk 1010 for August 19, 2017! This week Richard welcomes legendary broadcaster and author Linden MacIntyre. They talk about his new novel “The Only Café.”

Here’s some info on The Richard Crouse Show!: Each week on The Richard Crouse Show, Canada’s most recognized movie critic brings together some of the most interesting and opinionated people from the movies, television and music to put a fresh spin on news from the world of lifestyle and pop-culture. Tune into this show to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favorite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Richard also lets you know what movies you’ll want to run to see and which movies you’ll want to wait for DVD release. Click HERE to catch up on shows you might have missed! Read Richard NewsTalk 1010 reviews HERE!

The show airs:

NewsTalk 1010 –  airs in Toronto Saturday at 9 to 10 pm. 

For Niagara, Newstalk 610 Radio – airs Saturdays at 6 to 7 pm 

For Montreal, CJAD 800 – Saturdays at 6 to 7 pm 

For Vancouver – CFAX 1070 – Saturdays 6 to 7 pm. 

For London — Newstalk 1290 CJBK, Saturdays 10 to 11 pm

RICHARD’S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY AUGUST 25, 2017.

Richard and CP24 anchor Jamie Gutfreund have a look at the weekend’s new movies including “Patti Cake$,” the New York City drama “The Only Living Boy in New York,” the civil war shoot ’em up “Bushwick” and Penelope Cruz in “The Queen of Spain.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S CTV NEWSCHANNEL WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS & MORE FOR AUGUST 25.

Richard sits in with CTV NewsChannel anchor Erin Paul to have a look at the big weekend movies including “Patti Cake$,” the New York City drama “The Only Living Boy in New York,” the civil war shoot ’em up “Bushwick” and Penelope Cruz in “The Queen of Spain.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

Metro Canada: Hip hop has a new underdog story in Patti Cake$

By Richard Crouse – Metro Canada

Patti Cake$, a story of big dreams and hip hop glory, introduces two major new talents, writer, director Geremy Jasper and star Danielle Macdonald. Together they present a gritty, sweet and quite unforgettable movie.

The Australian born Macdonald is Patricia Dombroski, a New Jersey wannabe rapper who, depending on her mood goes by Patti Cake$ or Killer P. She’s a walking, talking attitude in plus size clothes; a woman with a way with words and a dream of bettering her circumstances through hip hop. “Just to make myself clear,” she raps, “Get me the BLEEP outta here.”

“She wants to do what she loves to do,” says Macdonald, “but she kind of gets put in a box by society, by the people around her, by her mom even.”

Bringing the film to the screen was a three-year journey. Jasper wrote the script in just nineteen days to submit it to the Sundance Writer’s Lab in January 2014. After that, says Macdonald, there were many incarnations of the story.

“Sid [Siddharth Dhananjay] who plays Jheri and Bridget [Everett] who plays my mom and me all came on board at the Sundance Labs. After that Geremy said, ‘I want to use all these people. That’s what I picture.’ I think knowing we were in those roles and had already acted them probably helped him and influenced his writing.

“He would send me a script and if I would see a part I loved I’d say, ‘I love this, you better not change it.’ He didn’t. The first time he wrote the end scene the way it is, which is a rewrite from when we did the Labs, I was obsessed with it. I cried and I had read the script so many times.”

Perhaps it’s because Patti Cake$ is, in part, based on the director’s life that Patti’s attempts to claw herself out of her Dickensian existence feel so authentic. What begins as one rapper’s run-of-the-mill journey to get out from under the weight of her dreams snakes around to become a high-energy, fist-pumping story of overcoming odds with dignity and on your own terms.

Part of the film’s appeal are the raps that seem to effortlessly flow from Patti’s lips. They’re fresh, raw and most of all sound extemporaneous. “That’s good,” laughs Macdonald when I compliment her. “They were not. It took time and a lot of practice.”

“I learned the raps with the Jersey accent,” she says. “At that point I only knew how to rap them with a Jersey accent. That helped. If I had learned them another way and then had to change, it would have been way harder. When I got the raps I had to slow them down and put in the accent and then speed it all up because they’re tongue twisters basically. The accent is a whole different placement in your mouth and then learning how to rap is a whole new thing I was trying to figure out.”

Three years after first taking on the role Macdonald is done with the character. Almost.

“We shot the music video just last week so I wouldn’t say I have necessarily shed her skin,” she says. “I think that was actually the last time I’ll be Patti.”

What about if there is a sequel?

“Except for that!” she laughs.