Archive for October, 2020

HIS HOUSE: 4 STARS. “a thrilling rethink of what the genre can be.”

Haunted houses and Halloween go hand in hand. Fairground ghost houses, with their flickering lights and carnies dressed in store bought costumes, have been making hearts race and teens scream for decades but a new movie, “His House,” now streaming on Netflix, brings those cheesy thrills into a terrifyingly real world.

Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) are refugees from war torn South Sudan. Their journey to freedom is fraught. They’re crammed into busses and pick-up trucks, then loaded on to a leaky boat in rough waters. At sea they lose their young daughter who drowns when the boat flips.

They survive and land in an English detention centre, living there until temporary permission to stay in the U.K. is granted. While they wait on their claim of asylum, they’re moved into a dilapidated community housing. “You will be sent to a home of our choosing,” they are told.  “You must reside at this address. You must not move from this address. This is your home now.”

The filthy fixer-upper (to put it mildly) has holes in the walls, garbage piled out front and an evil secret, possibly a spirit from their former country. “There is a great beast in this house,” says Rial. “It followed us here. It is filling this house with ghosts to torment my husband.”

What follows is a classic haunted house film with a deep subtext that breathes new life into the genre’s desiccated old lungs. Set against a background of cultural displacement, survivors’ guilt, and the psychological wounds of a life spent in trauma, “His House” is no “Amityville Horror.” Sure, strange things happen in the home. Voices come from behind the drywall, a spirit appears and dreams manifest themselves in the most horrific of ways, but the context is different.

British writer-director Remi Weekes knows his way around a supernatural thrill but he also weaves in real life experiences of racism, otherness and genocidal suffering into the story, forming a rich tapestry of chills—some from beyond our mortal coil, some not—that move the tired old haunted house horror story to new, deeply felt places. It may drag in spots but “His House” is a thrilling rethink of what the genre can be.

JIMMY CARTER ROCK AND ROLL PRESIDENT: 3 ½ STARS. “worthy film about a worthy man.”

Depending on your age, the name Jimmy Carter can conjure up a variety of images. There’s the elderly man, hammer in hand, leading a construction team for the Habitat for Humanity charity. Older folks may recall him as the president who pardoned all Vietnam War draft evaders on his second day in office or the man who famously admitted, “I’ve looked on a lot of women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.”

What is lesser known is that, despite his strait-laced image, the peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia who became the 39th president of the United States was also a music fanatic. A new documentary, “Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President,” which actually might have more appropriately called “Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll, Gospel, Jazz, and Country President,” is now playing in theatres and on-line in virtual cinemas (see list below). It charts the connection between Carter and the likes of Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and the Allman Brothers. “There were some people who didn’t like my being involved with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson and disreputable rock and rollers,” he says in his distinctive drawl, “but I didn’t care because I was doing what I really believed.”

In the film’s opening minutes we see Carter, now in his nineties, at home in Plains. He sits in his comfy chair, a record player at his side. He talks about visitors to the home. Bob Dylan hasn’t been but the Allman Brothers, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash have all stopped by. He lowers the needle on an LP—that’s a long player for you Spotifiers—and grins with joy as the opening notes of “Hey Mr. Tambourine Man” fill the air. The film could have stopped there, as his love of the music is so apparent, but history demands more.

What follows is a collection of newsreel footage, talking head interviews with family and admirers and some incredible music. Archival film of Ray Charles singing “Georgia on My Mind,” Mahalia Jackson performing “Down by the Riverside” and Boomer faves like Dylan and the Allmans are worth the price of admission. Carter reminisces that Bob Dylan’s songs permeated the governor’s mansion. “My sons and I were brought closer together by Bob Dylan’s songs,” he says.

More importantly it’s a portrait of a deeply principled and decent man who rose from a boyhood home with no electricity of plumbing to the highest office in the land. Director Mary Wharton has made an affectionate film about a time when decency reigned; a movie that seems, these days, like ancient history.

It’s a study in soft power, the ability to attract and co-opt, rather than coerce the electorate. Carter’s genuine love of music, and habit of throwing concerts on the White House lawn, helped shape the public’s opinion of him. That love of music put everyone at ease, including Bob Dylan. The singer says that when Carter quoted his song lyrics to him, “it was the first time that I realized my songs reached into the establishment world. I had no experience in that realm. Never seen that side. It made me a little uneasy but he put my mind at ease.”

Alongside the musical memories are the political high and low lights from carter’s term as president. The two sit side-by-side uneasily. The Iran hostage crisis section, for instance, is followed by a performance of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by the Charlie Daniels Band.  In Carter’s case the political and the artistic two sides of the same coin but the mix and match give the film a disjointed feel.

Despite its flaws “Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President” is a worthy film about a worthy man.

Find the movie in theatres and on virtual cinema here:

Cinecenta (Victoria, BC)

In-Cinema Screening

17-Nov-2020

19-Nov-2020

https://www.cinecenta.com

Vic, The (Victoria, BC)

In-Cinema Screening

30-Oct-2020

05-Nov-2020

https://www.thevic.ca

Vic, The (Victoria, BC)

Watch via Virtual Cinema

30-Oct-2020

22-Nov-2020

https://www.thevic.ca

Ted Rogers Hot Docs Cinema (Toronto, ON)

Watch via Virtual Cinema

29-Oct-2020

22-Nov-2020

https://www.hotdocscinema.ca

City Cinema (Charlottetown, PEI) – Film Circuit)

In-Cinema Screening

29-Oct-2020

01-Nov-2020

https://citycinema.net

Vancity (Vancouver, BC)

In-Cinema Screening

23-Oct-2020

29-Oct-2020

https://viff.org/Online/default.asp

Vancity (Vancouver, BC)

Watch via Virtual Cinema

23-Oct-2020

22-Nov-2020

https://viff.org/Online/default.asp

 

COME PLAY: 3 STARS. “mines psychological and primal fears.”

If parents weren’t already considering limiting their kid’s screen time they certainly will after seeing “Come Play,” a new horror film starring Gillian Jacobs and “Westworld’s” John Gallagher Jr. and now playing in theatres.  In fact, parents might even think about getting rid of every smartphone in the house.

Jacobs plays Sarah, mother of Oliver (Azhy Robertson), a young autistic boy who has trouble making friends with the other kids in his class. The youngster passes time by playing on his tablet, reading a picture book about misunderstood monsters. When the book’s monster, a long-limbed skeletal creature who looks like the Slender Man and a Mugwump had a baby, escapes Oliver’s device Sarah must fight her own disbelief and later, a real threat to her family.

“Come Play” began life as “Larry,” a short film by Jacob Chase and for better and for worse, Chase hasn’t changed the story that much for its adaptation to feature length.

Part of the beauty of “Come Play” is its simplicity. A study in friendship, the effects of loneliness and divorce and the complicated relationships kids have with “the other,” the movie is a slow burn that gives the viewer time to immerse themselves in Oliver’s world. It effectively builds an atmosphere of evolving tension, but it takes time.

Chase isn’t interested in easy scares, he’s making something larger, a monster movie that is an allegory for childhood loneliness and alienation. There is the odd jump scare but the tension comes from the story’s suspense and the connection to the characters. Oddly, for a monster movie of a sort, the creature is the least compelling part of the film. His bony limps and toothy snarl are the stuff of nightmares but the story is about much more than a boogeyman.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you more without giving away a plot point but I can say that the creature, Larry, represents more than simple terror.

“Come Play” is short on story but long on ideas. It’s a horror film that isn’t afraid to not be outright scary. Instead it mines psychological and primal fears to create an unsettling story.

NEWSTALK 1010: MUSICIAN SAM ROBERTS AND JOURNALIST ETHAN LOU!

On the October 25, 2020 episode of The Richard Crouse Show: we are joined by Sam Roberts who joins us via Zoom from his home in Montreal. His band, the aptly named Sam Roberts Band has been nominated for fourteen Juno Awards, they’ve won six, including Artist of the Year twice. They’ve been very busy since the world pressed pause back in March.  The band’s song ‘We’re All in this Together’ became an anthem of sorts for various promos featuring frontline workers and Canadians alike. They put the finishing touches on their new album and played a part in each and every charitable opportunity they could to help artists and Canadians across the board.

Sam Roberts Band have a new album called ‘All of Us’, the first in 4 years

Then, Ethan Lou is a journalist whose work has appeared in in the Globe and Mail, the Guardian, the Toronto Star, the Walrus and the Washington Post.

He has broken stories about the Canadian spy agency’s secret briefing to parliament, the snubbing of Sri Lanka by the country’s prime minister and the possible non-depiction of the future King Charles on Canadian bank notes.

This year was supposed to see the publication of his first book, “Once a Bitcoin Miner: Scandal and Turmoil in the Cryptocurrency Wild West” but the pandemic pushed that release date into next year… but he still has a book in stores right now. It’s called Field Notes from a “Pandemic: A Journey Through a World Suspended” and was inspired by two articles he wrote for MacLeans magazine after a January visit with his ailing grandfather in Beijing allowed him to witness the very earliest stages of a COVID-19,  a virus he says, will forever change the world as we know it.

The book says that over decades, globalization has crafted a world painfully sensitive and susceptible to shocks such as this pandemic… and examines the virus’s beginnings and how it spread and the unprecedented measures to contain it.  He also looks at past pandemics in other crises and how they shaped the world–and has an argument for why this one’s different.

“Field Notes from a Pandemic: A Journey Through a World Suspended” is a timely look at how the virus has transformed the world.

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

Here’s some info on The Richard Crouse Show!:

Each week on the nationally syndicated 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 hear in-depth interviews with actors and directors, to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favourite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Recent guests include Ethan Hawke, director Brad Bird, comedian Gilbert Gottfried, Eric Roberts, Brian Henson, Jonathan Goldsmith a.k.a. “The most interesting man in the world,” and best selling author Linwood Barclay.

Click HERE to catch up on shows you might have missed!

POP LIFE: JAKE CLEMONS ON MUSIC, LEGACY AND THE E STREET BAND!

“Pop Life” returns with another all new show on October 24, 2020, 8:30 pm on CTV NewsChannel, midnight on CTV. This week we meet Jake Clemons, a solo musician, singer and songwriter who understands legacy. Since 2012 he has been the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, after the death of the band’s original saxophonist, his uncle Clarence Clemons. We discuss performing with his famous uncle in church, having big shoes to fill and much more.

Then the “Pop Life” panel, Clemons, Canadian jazz vocalist and pianist Carol Welsman whose granddaughter was Frank Welsman, the founder and first conductor of the first Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Todd D. Snyder, author of a biography of Muhammad Ali’s cornerman, Drew “Bundini” Brown, who coined the phrase “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” talk about the role legacy plays in our lives.

Watch the whole thing HERE!

Film critic and pop culture historian Richard Crouse shares a toast with celebrity guests and entertainment pundits every week on CTV News Channel’s talk show POP LIFE.

Featuring in-depth discussion and debate on pop culture and modern life, POP LIFE features sit-down interviews with celebrities from across the entertainment world, including rock legends Sting and Bob Geldof, musicians Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman, comedian Ken Jeong, writer Fran Lebowitz, superstar jazz musician Diana Krall, stand-up comedian and CNN host W. Kamau Bell, actors Danny DeVito and Jay Baruchel, celebrity chefs Bobby Flay and Nigella Lawson, and many more.

BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM: 4 STARS. “outrageous and thought provoking.”

Anyone who ever said, “Is nice,” in a broad unidentifiable accent, or wore a bushy fake moustache or, horror of horrors, donned a fluorescent Mankini Swimsuit Thong for a day at the beach will need no introduction to Borat Sagdiyev. Fourteen years ago Kazakhstan’s most famous reporter, the comic creation of Sacha Baron Cohen, spawned a million Halloween costumes and ten times that in bad, inappropriate impressions.

Now, into a world of fake Borats, the real deal returns. “Borat Subsequent MovieFilm,” streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, once again blurs the line between comedy and tragedy, reality and fiction.

The new movie begins with a chance for redemption. After the events of the first movie Borat was thrown into prison, an embarrassment to his country and family. His son is so ashamed he changed his name from Sagdiyev to Jeffrey Epstein. Only his daughter Tutar (Maria Bakalova) still talks with the family patriarch.

The action begins with Borat being released from prison, cleaned up and once again sent to “Yankeeland” on a mission. His job is to earn the respect of Donald Trump by giving the gift of a monkey to “Vice Premier Pence.” When Borat arrives though, the monkey is gone from its packing crate. In its place is Tutar. “My daughter is here,” Borat reports back to Kazakhstan. “Should I give her as a gift?”

Thus, begins the journey that will see Borat and Tutar meet with a real-life cast of characters that offers cringe worthy insight into Western culture. There’s an Instagram influencer who teaches Tutar to be submissive to increase her appeal to men. “You want them to like you so you can get money from them.” Then two MAGA men take Borat to a rally where he performs a country song—“Journalists! Who wants to inject them with the Wuhan flu? \ Chop them up like the Saudis do.”—that elicits cheers and straight-armed salutes from the crowd. And then there’s a debutant ball “fertility dance” that redefines the term OMG.

Those scenes are as nervy and squirmy as humour gets but the sequence everyone will be talking about sees a sit-down interview with Donald Trump’s handsy personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. It begins with Rudy asking, “Did you ever eat a bat?” and goes downhill from there. It is the most outrageous of the film’s several must-be-seen-to-be-believed moments.

It’s not often you can describe a comedy as nerve wracking but “Borat Subsequent MovieFilm” is that film. Baron Cohen’s audacious work is often hilarious but it is the danger that comes along with his stunts that pushes the material from funny to fearless. His work is “Candid Camera” with a sharp edge; a cutting satire that mixes real life undercover reporting with aggressive and often tasteless humour. It is both a high brow exposé of the dark underbelly of this American election year and a low brow comedy that will anything to make you laugh.

Just like the year it is being released “Borat Subsequent MovieFilm” is a chaotic, uncomfortable experience. It will make you laugh but is geared to also make you think.

Cue another round of bad Borat impressions.