Archive for February, 2023

NEWSTALK 1010: COCAINE BEAR IS “THE BEST STONED BEAR MOVIE OF THE YEAR”

I join NewsTalk 1010 host Jerry Agar to talk about the best stoned bear movie of the year, “Cocaine Bear,” now playing ion theatres.

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S CTV NEWSCHANNEL REVIEWS FOR FEB 24 WITH MARCIA MACMILLAN.

I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Marcia MacMillan to talk about the tweaked adventures of “Cocaine Bear,” the family-friendly scares of “We have a Ghost” and the drama “Jesus Revolution.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

CP24 BREAKFAST: RICHARD ON THE BEST ANIMATED PICTURE OSCAR NOMINEES!

I join CP24 Breakfast to have a look at Oscar’s Best Animated Picture nominees “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio,” “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” and “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

CKTB NIAGARA REGION: THE TIM DENIS SHOW WITH RICHARD CROUSE ON MOVIES!

I sit in with CKTB morning show host Tim Denis to have a look at the wildlife adventures of “Cocaine Bear,” the family-friendly scares of “We have a Ghost,” the drama “Jesus Revolution” and the con games of “Sharper.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

1290 CJBK IN LONDON: KEN & MARINA MORNING SHOW MOVIE REVIEWS!

I join 1290 CJBK in London and host Ken Eastwood to talk the new movies coming to theatres including the wildlife adventures of “Cocaine Bear,” the family-friendly scares of “We have a Ghost,” the drama “Jesus Revolution” and the con games of “Sharper.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

CFRA IN OTTAWA: THE BILL CARROLL MORNING SHOW MOVIE REVIEWS!

I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres including the wildlife of “Cocaine Bear,” the family-friendly scares of “We have a Ghost,” the drama “Jesus Revolution” and the con games of “Sharper.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

YOU TUBE: THREE MOVIES/THIRTY SECONDS! FAST REVIEWS FOR BUSY PEOPLE!

Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to button up a shirt! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the wildlife of “Cocaine Bear,” the drama “Jesus Revolution” and the con games of “Sharper.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

THIS DAY IN SPORTS: Richard debates thier favourite sports movies of all-time

From Spotify: After a vacation, the fellas return with a brand-spanking new episode to help you survive the Sports Dead Zone that occurs annually in that horrible period after the Super Bowl and before March Madness. Instead of forcing yourself to watch that Blue Jackets/Wild regular season tilt, treat yourself to TDIS instead!

For February 23rd, we discuss the loss of Ebbets Field and what it meant to Brooklyn’s identity; Bobby Knight’s bad behaviour, a landmark night in the UFC, the first openly gay active athlete in major pro sports in North America and the strange debut of one of the greatest NHL goalies of all-time. Plus, Matt tries to convince everyone that curling is cool, we all try to make Canucks fans feel better and two Canadian NBA stars who share the same birthday! On top of all that, Canada’s most esteemed film critic and all-around great guy Richard Crouse joins us to debate this episode’s DORK DRAFT of our favourite sports movies of all-time. It’s a jam-packed hour of infotainment – we don’t even consider taking an episode off during the grind of February and March. No load management debates here – we just keep showing up.
Liusten to the whole thing HERE!

COCAINE BEAR: 3 STARS. “the best stoned bear movie of the year.”

Talk about wildlife.

“Cocaine Bear,” a grisly new hybrid of “Scarface” and “Yogi Bear” starring Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Ray Liotta in his last filmed performance, and now playing in theatres, delivers on the promise of its premise. Like “Snakes on a Plane,” another movie whose entire plot was contained in the title, “Cocaine Bear” lives up to its name. There’s a bear and he is tweaked on the devil dust, but is that enough to get people in theatres, or will audiences just say no?

The movie plays fast-and-loose with the true 1985 story of a 79-kilogram American black bear who, while wandering the Georgia wilderness, stumbled across and ate a discarded duffle bag of cocaine. Later nicknamed Pablo Escobear, in real life the poor unfortunate beast overdosed immediately and spent its afterlife stuffed and on display at a local mall.

Director Elizabeth Banks uses the real-life set up as a kick off for her story. In her retelling, drug smuggler Andrew C. Thornton II (Matthew Rhys), in a bid to avoid police, dumps 40 kilos of cocaine in the forests of Georgia. When the bear finds it and ingests it, instead of keeling over he becomes a character out of a Bret Easton Ellis novel, setting off on a bloody, coke fueled rampage through the forest in search of more drugs.

Along the way the Cocaine Bear (one character actually calls him that) gets her paws on a variety of folks, including a concerned mom (Keri Russell), a mob boss (Ray Liotta) and his henchmen (Alden Ehrenreich and Jackson Jr.) and a park ranger (Margo Martindale).

Before buying a ticket to “Cocaine Bear” ask yourself this question: Am I likely to enjoy a movie called “Cocaine Bear”? I can tell you authoritatively that it is the best stoned bear movie of the year. Admittedly, it is a small field, but if that turns your crank, by all means check it out.

If you need convincing, then “Cocaine Bear” may not be for you. On the fence? Read on.

The one-joke premise aside, the movie is a throwback to the slasher films of the 1980s. The gruesome stuff is outlandish, bloody and the kind of thing that you know you shouldn’t be laughing at, but here you are, laughing out loud at the misfortune of others.

Unfortunately, although there is a good vibe between Ehrenreich and Jackson Jr, most other characterization is kept to a bare minimum—many of the characters are essentially sentient slabs of bear food—and the dialogue isn’t nearly as camp or funny as it should be. It feels choppy—there is a good pun to be made here about chopping up lines of cocaine, but I’m too lazy to make it—and the gaps between the action sequences stretch on a bit too long.

However, “Cocaine Bear” has quite a few solid laughs. That makes up for the lack of satire or deeper meaning. This isn’t about anything other than truth in advertising. It’s about a bear and a bunch of cocaine and is only about 90 minutes long. If that appeals, make like the bear and snort it up.