Richard joins NewsTalk 1010’s Jim Richards coast-to-coast-to-coast late night “Showgram” to play the game “Did Richard Crouse like these movies?” This week we talk about the family-friendly supervillain origin story “Cruella” (in theatres and Disney+ with Premium Access), the raw music documentary “Moby Doc” (Hot Docs virtual cinema and VOD) and the inspirational “Blue Miracle” (Netflix).
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Richard sits in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres, VOD and streaming services including the family-friendly supervillain origin story “Cruella” (in theatres and Disney+ with Premium Access), the raw music documentary “Moby Doc” (Hot Docs virtual cinema and VOD) and the inspirational “Blue Miracle” (Netflix).
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Richard Crouse makes a Salty Dog, the perfect cocktail to enjoy while paying tribute to animal actor stars of “Cruella,” the latest Disney live-action reboot. Come have a drink and a think about “Cruella” with us!
Watch the whole thing HERE!
“Cruella,” now available in select theatres and on Disney+ with Premier Access, is an origin story that explains the reason why one of Disney’s greatest villains hates Dalmatians.
One eventful day defined Estella’s (Tipper Seifert-Cleveland) life. In less than twenty-four hours, the precious preteen with the distinctive mop of black and white hair, got kicked out of an upscale private school, snuck into a fashion show and thought, “for the first time in my life, I feel like I belong,“ and developed a lifelong hatred of Dalmatians. I won’t say why, but she does have a good reason to harbor animosity toward the spotted dogs. Most tragically, she lost her mother that same day.
Cut loose and alone, she lands in 1964 London. Falling in with petty thieves Jasper (Joel Fry) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser), Estella (now played by Emma Stone) forms an impromptu family, pulling off scams using disguises designed and made by her own hand.
Still, she’s not satisfied. “I want to be a professional designer,” she says, “not a thief.”
Securing an entry level job at an upscale department store, she gets the attention of The Baroness (Emma Thompson), a cruel, imperious clothing designer who says things like, “Gratitude is for losers.” She is the undisputed matriarch London fashion and will crush anyone who gets in her way.
As Estella rises through the ranks, she becomes aware of a connection between The Baroness and the death of her mother. Until then, she believed she was responsible for her mother’s passing and had gone through the five stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Now she adds a sixth stage, revenge.
“I’m starting to remember that you have an extreme side,” says Estella’s old friend Anita Darling (Kirby Howell-Baptiste).
Determined to ruin The Baroness, break her spirit, her confidence and her business. Estella creates an alter ego, the disruptive Cruella. In a series of staged public stunts Cruella humiliates The Baroness and becomes the darling of the fashion world. “Some call her a designer,” a TV talking head breathlessly reports, “some call her a vandal.”
As the “mad, bad and just a little bit sad” Cruella’s antics escalate, Estella’s personality grows fainter. “I’m not sweet Estella, try as I might. I’m Cruella.”
“Cruella” has lots going for it. Great costume design, a rippin’ soundtrack and arch attitude, but by the time the end credits roll, it is all about the dueling Emmas, Stone and Thompson.
“Wow,” says Cruella. “You really are a psycho. “How nice of you to say,” The Baroness snaps back.
Both hand in flamboyant performances that capture the wickedly humorous tone of the story.
Stone’s performance straddles the line between her two characters as Estella’s attempts to fit into the regular world fade, as bits and pieces of Cruella’s anything goes mentality filter through until she goes full-on baddie. The punk rock-glam inspired clothes help in the transformation, but the heart comes from Stone, who does something difficult, bring a tragic heart to a villain.
As The Baroness, Thompson is the is the Queen of the Side Eye. It’s a wonderfully comedic performance, equal parts disdain, evil and ridiculous, she redefines arrogance. Think “The Devil Wears Prada” with a sharper edge. It’s the kind of work you want to watch at least twice to catch all the small bits of business she weaves into the performance.
Propelled by the performances and a music-heavy soundtrack featuring everything from The Doors and Nina Simone to Iggy & The Stooges (this must be the first Disney film to feature the proto-punk tune “I Wanna Be Your Dog”) and Tina Turner, “Cruella” rocks along at a clip until it loses steam near the end as it prepares itself for the sequel.
Until then, however, “Cruella” is the most audacious of the recent live action reimaginings of a classic Disney character.
“Moby Doc,” now streaming on Hot Docs virtual cinema, is a raw and surreal look at the life of EDM superstar musician Moby. From living in a squat and struggling with drugs to animating the car accident that took his father’s life and championing animal rights, it goes beyond warts-and-all to reveal an artist who says his biggest successes corrupted him.
Narrated and hosted by Moby and directed and edited by Rob Bravler, the film is a fairly linear look at the musician’s life, from his troubled early years in Harlem, New York to the conversation with Death, à la Ingmar Bergman, that closes the movie.
In between is the kind of honesty not usually found in authorized music biographies. The details of debauchery that followed his greatest success, the 1999 double-platinum album “Play,” are as sordid as anything you’d find in a Mötley Crüe tell-all—for instance, he woke up after group sex covered in poop!—but it isn’t the usual road weary tales of groupies and dangerous drug use that makes “Moby Doc” compelling.
Using re-enactments—from the Childhood Trauma Players, no less—interviews, animation and archival footage, the film peels away the shiny veneer of most music docs to reveal a quest for the happiness that has always eluded him. It’s kind of a road movie, a journey through a troubled childhood, punk rock, worldwide success and the trappings of money. What seems to be missing is the destination, a place far away from the trauma that shaped him and drives him.
“The reason we try and get people to see us in exalted lights,” he says, “is because deep down we don’t like ourselves. We’re ashamed of ourselves. We assume that if anyone looks too closely, they’ll be repelled.”
If that is true, Moby doesn’t seem to care. Honesty and self-depreciation are his goal here. Reports of suicide attempts, sit alongside tales of excess and family stories, coming together to create a surreal and self-aware movie that is as up-close-and-personal as it gets in terms of celebrity film portraiture.
The story in “Blue Miracle,” an against-all-odds new movie now streaming on Netflix, seems too good to be true, but it is based on real events.
The story begins at Casa Hogar, a boy’s home in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Hit hard by Hurricane 0dile in 2014 and in desperate need of money, caretaker Omar (Jimmy Gonzales), with the orphaned boys he looks after in tow, enters Bisbee’s Black & Blue Tournament, a fishing competition with a huge cash prize. With no boat, or fishing experience, Omar teams with a crusty local Wade (Dennis Quaid), the captain of a charter fishing boat called the Knot Enough. Wade won the tournament in the past, and having fallen on bad times, reluctantly agrees to allow Omar and kids on board.
In an effort to not reveal any plot twists, I’ll stop here. Just know that there aren’t really any plot twists and “Blue Miracle” plays out pretty much the way you think it is going to, which is heavy on the heartstring tugging with a dollop of family-friendly conflict.
What it lacks in surprises, it makes up for in inspirational messaging. From the title on down—the word “miracle” gives away the game—the movie threatens to be washed away on a tidal wave of good feelings. And that’s OK. “Blue Miracle’s” motives are pure. It wants to raise awareness for Casa Hogar, which is still there but not benefitting financially from this film, and provide a ninety-minutes of entertainment for the whole family.
Edgy, it is not, although Quaid’s take on Wade is crispier than a freshly fried piece of cod. He’s the stereotypical cantankerous old guy with a heart of gold you often find in movies like this and while Quaid doesn’t reinvent the grumpy Gus character, he at least seems to be enjoying being on the water in the sunshine.
“Blue Miracle” is a new story but its insistence on sticking to a feel good formula makes it feel like déjà vu.
Richard joins NewsTalk 1010’s Jim Richards coast-to-coast-to-coast late night “Showgram” to discuss the Amazon deal to buy M.G.M.’s back catalogue.
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Richard is featured in a CTV National News report on the Amazon purchase of MGM.
Watch the whole thing HERE!
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