Archive for January, 2019

CTVNEWS.CA: THE CROUSE REVIEW ON “MISS BALA” AND MORE!

A weekly feature from from ctvnews.ca! The Crouse Review is a quick, hot take on the weekend’s biggest movies! This week Richard looks at “Jane the Virgin’s” Gina Rodriguez as a kidnap victim who gets even in “Miss Bala,” the exploration of the ocean in “Wonders of the Sea 3D” and Jennifer Dale’s drama for adults “Into Invisible Light.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

EDMONTON PRIME TIMES: Our new movie columnist looks ahead to February.

Richard’s first column for the Edmonton Prime Times on what to see and what NOT to see in February.

“February brings with it Valentines Day and images of Cupid, hearts and boxes of chocolate swirling around young lover’s heads … unless you’re at the movies. This month Hollywood flips the script, looking at the downside of life and love…” Read the whole thing HERE!

WESTJET MAGAZINE: Jay Baruchel on New ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Movie

Richard speaks to Jay Baruchel in the pages of the February issue of WestJet Magazine.

“For many, actor Jay Baruchel’s voice is instantly recognizable. Equal parts twang and child-like enthusiasm, it breathes vivid life into the animated character of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the bold, young protagonist in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise…” Read the whole thing HERE!

MISS BALA: 2 STARS. “a by-the-book potboiler that rarely gets above a simmer.”

Based on a Spanish-language film from Mexico of the same-name “Miss Bala” is an updated, feminist take on the original movie. “In the end,” says Gloria (“Jane the Virgin’s” Gina Rodriguez), “the bullet settles everything.”

Rodriguez plays a young American woman who goes to Tijuana to help her best friend Suzu (Cristina Rodlo) prepare to enter the Miss Baja California beauty pageant. After witnessing a brutal gangland nightclub slaying Suzu disappears and Gloria kidnapped by a drug cartel. In exchange for her safety and help in finding Suzu, Gloria reluctantly agrees to smuggle cartel drug money through the Mexico-USA border. “I can help you find your friend,” says charismatic drug boss Lino (Ismael Cruz Cordova), but first you have to do something for me. Mess around and I will kill you.”

As she’s learning the ropes—which includes blowing up a DEA safe house—she is intercepted by the DEA. “You have to believe me,” she says. “They made me do it.” Trapped between two fierce opponents she finds herself acting as a double agent, utilizing the skills she learned from the cartel to earn her freedom from both the drug lords and the DEA. “Sometimes you have to do terrible things to survive.”

“Miss Bala” features frequent action sequences and mucho gunplay but is, at best, a by-the-book potboiler that rarely gets above a simmer. There is the tease of real danger in the interactions between Gloria and Lino but nothing that feels authentic. He’s a sensitive psycho who falls for Gloria because she reminds him of an ex-girlfriend and she’s a mild mannered make-up artist whose blood suddenly runs cold. He’s like the Dale Carnegie of drug lords doling out advice—“You need to believe in yourself.” “You need to feel confident.” “Play your part.”—that wouldn’t be out of place in any self help book. She’s a quick learner with a gun and, all of a sudden, an ace shot. In short, the characters are what they need to be in the moment not what they need to be to be well rounded or interesting.

Coming hot on the heels of female led revenge films like Coralie Fargeat’s “Revenge” or Park Chan-wook’s “Lady Vengeance,“ “Miss Bala” feels tame. Worse, its sequel-friendly ending promises more of the same.

WONDERS OF THE SEA 3D: 3 ½ STARS. “a fish who looks like Steve Buscemi.”

At the beginning of the “Wonders of the Sea 3D,” a new documentary featuring underwater adventurers Jean Michel Cousteau and his children Celine and Fabien, narrator Arnold Schwarzenegger says the reason he signed on was because this “is an important film with an important message.” The message is actually twofold. First he cites the aesthetic, calling the doc a “declaration of love for the beauty of the ocean.” Later the movie’s secondary, but more serious message of how the future of humanity is inextricably connected to the health of the ocean.

From Fiji to the Bahamas, with a pit stop in California “Wonders of the Sea 3D” takes us to the final frontier. More people have walked on the moon than on the bottom of the deep ocean, and indeed many of the creatures we are introduced to look ripped from the pages of a sci fi comic book. From the familiar—like the octopus; “We may never get closer to alien intelligence than this,” says Jean Michel.—to more exotic undersea life like the bizarre Christmas Tree Worm and a flatworm that looks like it could be a multi-coloured scarf in a Fashion Week runway show, the images are striking and surreal. There’s even a fish who looks like Steve Buscemi.

The photography is beautiful, the 3D effective but as eye-catching as these images are they rarely provide a sense of scale. Life on the documented reefs reveals “nature’s masterful design” but it’s hard to tell if these creatures are ten feet tall or microscopic.

“Wonders of the Sea 3D” is aimed at kids whose imaginations may be sparked by the unusual watery beasts on display. The narration, courtesy of the Cousteau family and Schwarzenegger, is simple and direct, often with the feel of an educational classroom film. The narration may not be nearly as compelling as the images but the messages are memorable. “The ocean survives without us. We don’t survive without the ocean.”

INTO INVISIBLE LIGHT: 3 STARS. “the lingering effect is one of hopeful rebirth.”

Self help author John Tarnoff says, “In order to create your future, you have to reconcile your past.” It’s good advice for his boomer audience, the over 50s who may be looking to reconnect and restart their lives. It’s also a theme that runs through “Into Invisible Light,” a new film starring Jenifer Dale.

Dale, who co-wrote the script with director Shelagh Carter, plays Helena Grayson a recently widowed woman who can only claim the inheritance if she heads a foundation for young artists. Sitting in the big chair, she has to figure out who gets support and who doesn’t. She’s thrust into the world of artists despite having given up her artistic objectives years ago. This leads to her to explore her own ambition, to write again. Writing allows her to find her voice again, to examine a life that felt inconsequential and repressed without an artistic outlet. Helping her spark joy is Michael (Peter Keleghan), a Samuel-Beckett-quoting former flame, now a writing professor. Examining her past, just as Tarnoff suggests, leads the way to her future.

“Into Invisible Light” is a movie for adults; a film for people who have lived a life and are in process, looking to start over again. It’s a finely tuned story of second chances that eloquently essays a reawakening.

Densely written, this thoughtful examination of Helena’s new phase of life is supported by elegant cinematography courtesy of Ousama Rawi and a moody, stark score by Shawn Pierce. It occasionally takes itself a bit too seriously, leaning on minor chord drama for effect, but the lingering effect is one of hopeful rebirth.

CJAD IN MONTREAL: THE ANDREW CARTER SHOW WITH RICHARD CROUSE ON MOVIES!

Richard sits in on the CJAD Montreal morning show with host Andrew Carter to talk about “Miss Bala,” an updated, feminist take on a Spanish-language film from Mexico of the same-name, the undersea adventure of “Wonders of the Sea 3D” and the grown up Jennifer Dale drama “Into Invisible Light.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

CTV NEWSCHANNEL: BEHIND THE HEADLINES PANEL FOR WED JAN 30, 2018!

Film critic Richard Crouse, social media star Stewart Reynolds, and parent blogger Samantha Kemp-Jackson get Behind the Headlines with host Beverly Thomson. Today they dive into why Netflix is urging viewers to stop romanticizing depictions of serial killer Ted Bundy, the outrage behind the four-hour Michael Jackson tell-all documentary that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and the call from Britain’s press to cease the online tear into the lives of royal duchesses Meghan and Kate.

Watch the whole thing HERE!

VICTORIA FILM FESTIVAL: “Etruscan Smile” Q&A with JJ Feild on Saturday!

The Etruscan Smile stars acclaimed British actor Brian Cox as Rory MacNeil, a rugged old Scotsman who reluctantly leaves his beloved isolated Hebridean island and travels to San Francisco to seek medical treatment. Moving in with his estranged son (Feild), Rory finds he feels more alive than ever as their relationship begins to grow and he builds a connection with his previously distant family thanks to his affection for his 6-month-old grandson.

Richard will host the “Etruscan Smile” Q&A with JJ Feild: Sat | February 2 | 6:30 PM | VCC. More information HERE!

JJ Feild’s notable credits include Last Orders starring opposite Helen Mirren and Michael Caine, Marvel’s Captain America as well as the critically acclaimed Third Star starring opposite Benedict Cumberbatch.

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