I write about inspirational movies to watch when you are feeling down!
“No matter how carefully you’ve mapped out your life, it is still possible to feel lost, as if your life’s compass is spinning in all directions at once. When you’re feeling cut adrift, movies can be more than a distraction, they can be a source of inspiration to help you get back on track…” Read the whole thing HERE!
From Cineplex: In celebration of Keanu Reeves’ milestone 60th birthday this September, Cineplex will honour the legendary actor with special screenings of his most timeless films. From his roles as the reluctant hero Neo to the lovable and clueless Ted to the vengeful and intense John Wick, Reeves is one the most beloved Hollywood stars to come out of Canada. Cineplex invites audiences to celebrate his remarkable career by screening six indisputable classics at ‘Keanu-Fest’. Cineplex will commemorate the 35th anniversary of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, the 25th anniversary of The Matrix, and the 10th anniversary of John Wickby bringing these essential films back to the big screen for a limited time. There will also be VIP one-night-only screenings of his unforgettable supporting roles in Parenthood, Something’s Gotta Give, a fun screening of Point Break with RiffTrax, providing comedic live commentary on this 90’s classic, and a Saturday matinee of his hilarious appearance in the family favourite The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run.
Screening from August 30 throughout September in select theatres nationwide, the special screenings are part of Cineplex’s year-round programming.
Celebrate Keanu’s birthday month and the 25th anniversary of “The Matrix” with a special introduction from Richard Crouse during select showings from Sept. 6 – 19, 2024. Check cineplex.com for more details.
On the Saturday August 31, 2024 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Amanda Marshall.
You know the name, but could be forgiven if you wondered what happened to her. After hits like her 1996 single, “Birmingham”, which reached number 3 in Canada and charted on the US, and diamond and certified 3× platinum albums, she disappeared from the charts and the music scene for more than 20 years.
She says the legal battle with her former manager that kept her away from the spotlight for two decades “turned out to be the very best thing that ever happened to me.” We’ll find out why in this interview.
Then, we’ll meet three-time Academy Award nominee for Best Actor Viggo Mortensen. From his film debut in 1985’s “Witness” to the “Lord of the Rings” movies that made him a superstar to his more recent work, like the Oscar winning “Green Book,” he has been a constant, welcome presence on screens for 40 years. Joins me today as the writer, director, star, and composer of “The Dead Don’t Hurt,” a great new Western now available on all major platforms for Digital Purchase and Digital Rental.
Then, we meet Salah Bachir, author of a new memoir, “First to the Leave the Party: My Life with Ordinary People Who Happen to Be Famous,” available now wherever fine books are sold.
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 Chris Pratt, Elvis Costello, Baz Luhrmann, Martin Freeman, David Cronenberg, Mayim Bialik, The Kids in the Hall and many more!
All iHeartRadio Canada stations are available across Canada via live stream on iHeartRadio.caand the iHeartRadio Canada app. iHeartRadio Canada stations are also connected through Alexa, Siri, and Google Home smart speakers.
Listen to the show live here:
C-FAX 1070 in Victoria
SAT 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
SUN 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
CJAD in Montreal
SAT 8 PM to 9:00 PM
CFRA in Ottawa
SAT 8 PM to 9:00 PM
NEWSTALK 610 CKTB in St. Catharines
Sat 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM
NEWSTALK 1010 in Toronto
SAT 8 PM to 9:00 PM
NEWSTALK 1290 CJBK
SAT 8 PM to 9:00 PM
AM 1150 in Kelowna
SAT 11 PM to Midnight
BNN BLOOMBERG RADIO 1410
SAT 8 PM to 9:00 PM
SYNOPSIS: Narrated by former KGB agent Viktor Ivanov, “Reagan,” a new biopic starring Dennis Quaid as the 40th President of the United States, follows Ronald Reagan from childhood to Hollywood fame to his time in the oval office and an assassination attempt.
CAST: Dennis Quaid, Penelope Ann Miller, Robert Davi, Lesley-Anne Down and Jon Voight. Directed by Sean McNamara (who, at age 18 worked as a sound engineer during filming of Reagan’s 1981 inauguration ceremony).
REVIEW: Into our current unpredictable partisan era comes an old-fashioned movie that harkens back to, if not a simpler time, then at least a time when there was some nuance left in political debate.
Not that “Reagan” is a movie of great nuance.
A cradle-to-almost-grave look at one of the most popular presidents of the Twentieth Century, it covers a lot of ground and does so respectfully—it sometimes feels like director Sean McNamara must have been standing at attention while shooting—but at a gallop that doesn’t allow for deep exploration.
Instead, it plays like a greatest hits of Reagan’s life. I was left wondering if a more focused look, concentrating on only his Hollywood activism, or his time in the Oval Office, or his escalation of the Cold War, may have provided opportunities for greater insight.
In an unexpected twist, the film is narrated by Jon Voight as former KGB officer Viktor Ivanov. Providing details gleaned from years of Russian surveillance, it’s an interesting idea to allow one of Reagan’s enemies to act as tour guide, but the narration doesn’t add much. It’s intrusive and overbearing, an exposition dump, that acts only as a page turner to the next chapter of the story without providing substance.
Quaid, who plays the character in all the iterations of its adult life, nails Reagan’s distinctive voice and physicality. He brings a theatrical flair to the performance, playing Reagan as a larger-than-life character who always beat the odds.
There is no doubt that Reagan led a remarkable life, but “Reagan” is not a remarkable movie. The spotty history—there’s no mention, for instance, of his position on gay marriage or inaction during the AIDS epidemic—and cinematic glow applied to every frame suggests hagiography more than a simple biography, but Quaid does good work even if “Reagan” feels like a movie a substitute teacher would run in history class.
SYNOPSIS: Set against the backdrop of the Los Angeles riots following the Rodney King verdict, the action thriller “1992,” sees a factory worker, played by Tyrese Gibson, caught up in a dangerous heist to steal catalytic converters, which contain valuable platinum, from the factory where he works.
CAST: Tyrese Gibson, Scott Eastwood, Ray Liotta, Michael Beasley, Christopher Ammanuel, Dylan Arnold, Ori Pfeffer, Oleg Taktarov. Directed by Ariel Vromen.
REVIEW: A heist movie wrapped around a family drama, the generic action of “1992” is given some added oomph by its historical backdrop.
Gritty and dark, “1992” recounts the events following the Rodney King verdict, which saw four LAPD officers acquitted of charges of excessive force in the arrest of King, despite videotaped evidence. In the days that followed anarchy erupted in Los Angeles, resulting in 63 deaths, more than 12,000 arrests and over $1 billion in property damages.
Thrown into the middle of the chaos, former gang-member-turned-factory-worker Mercer (Gibson), wants to get his son to the relative safety of the factory. Another father and son, played by Ray Liotta and Scott Eastwood, see the riots as a convenient distraction, and plan to rob the factory while the police are busy trying to bring order to the streets.
The resulting clash and family dynamics provide an easy metaphor for the good vs. evil that drives the plot.
Gibson plays Mercer as a man who has had a reckoning with his past and wants to set a good example for his son. Gibson pulls off the action—when pushed, he occasionally uses his special set of skills to solve problems—but it is in the relationship with his son that the character is at his most interesting. He’s been-there-done-that and uses his life experience like a sword to cut through the tough guy nonsense his son spouts.
Liotta on the other hand is far more one dimensional. It’s fun to see Liotta go full-on mad dog, and he is effective, but his character is less nuanced and supplies far fewer surprises than Gibson.
As a crime drama “1992” doesn’t plough much new ground. The robbery, and resulting complications, are straight out of the Heist 101 Handbook for Screenwriters, but the family drama and contrasting parenting skills freshen up what otherwise may have been a standard b-movie.
SYNOPSIS: In “Out Come the Wolves,” a new survival drama now playing in select theatres and day-and-date on VOD/Digital, Sophie (Missy Peregrym) chooses a hunting trip at a remote cabin in the woods, to introduce her childhood best friend Kyle (Joris Jarsky) to fiancé Nolan (Damon Runyan). The idea is to for Kyle to teach Nolan how to hunt for an article he’s writing, but jealous tension hangs in the air. When the two men are ambushed by a ferocious wolf pack, Sophie must rely on her hunting prowess to come to the rescue.
CAST: Missy Peregrym, Joris Jarsky, Damon Runyan. Directed by Adam MacDonald.
REVIEW: Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf? Well, in “Out Comes the Wolves,” Sophie, Kyle and Nolan are, but the biggest threat isn’t the wolves. This a survival film, but the animals, despite their lupine snarls, fierce presence and taste for humans, are symbolic predators.
The real threat here is human nature. The specter of jealousy hangs over this trio’s interactions like a shroud—“He’s not the one for you,” Kyle says about Nolan—infecting their behavior, leading to tragedy.
That’s the metaphorical big, bad wolf.
The actual wolves provide the bite, quite literally, but “Out Come the Wolves” works best when it concentrates on the interpersonal dynamics. When Kyle reminds Sophie they once made a deal to marry if they weren’t otherwise engaged by age forty, she snorts, “Weren’t we, like twelve?” not realizing that, for him, it was more than just a childhood joke. It opens a discussion about “real” predators, who, as Kyle states, “are fascinating. They see an opportunity and they take it.”
When the movie moves away from the true nature of, well, nature, human and otherwise—“In nature,” Kyle says, “what you see is what you get.”—it becomes more visceral, but less interesting.
My review for “The Crow” was quoted by GeekTyrant.com and ruetir.com in their round-ups of the film’s reviews.
On the Saturday August 24, 2024 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet David Huebert. As the author of two books of short fiction, two poetry collections, and the new novel, Oil People, described by Quill and Quire as “inventive,” “hallucinatory,” and “lushly poetic,” The Literary Review of Canada called him “One of the most captivating authors of the last decade.” He says that after many years of research, writing, and editing, his debut novel, “Oil People,” is now ready for readers.
We’ll also get to know Ruth Reichl, the New York Times bestselling author of five memoirs, the novel “Delicious!,” and the cookbook “My Kitchen Year.” She was editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, and previously served as restaurant critic for The New York Times, as well as food editor and restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times. She has been honored with six James Beard Awards.
Today we’ll talk about her new book “The Paris Novel,” which follows Stella St. Vincent, an introverted thirtysomething, who finds purpose in a search for art, fashion and food on a 1983 Paris trip.
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 Chris Pratt, Elvis Costello, Baz Luhrmann, Martin Freeman, David Cronenberg, Mayim Bialik, The Kids in the Hall and many more!
All iHeartRadio Canada stations are available across Canada via live stream on iHeartRadio.caand the iHeartRadio Canada app. iHeartRadio Canada stations are also connected through Alexa, Siri, and Google Home smart speakers.
Listen to the show live here:
C-FAX 1070 in Victoria
SAT 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
SUN 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
CJAD in Montreal
SAT 8 PM to 9:00 PM
CFRA in Ottawa
SAT 8 PM to 9:00 PM
NEWSTALK 610 CKTB in St. Catharines
Sat 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM
NEWSTALK 1010 in Toronto
SAT 8 PM to 9:00 PM
NEWSTALK 1290 CJBK
SAT 8 PM to 9:00 PM
AM 1150 in Kelowna
SAT 11 PM to Midnight
BNN BLOOMBERG RADIO 1410
SAT 8 PM to 9:00 PM
I appear in a CTV National News report from Andrew Johnson on the controversy surrounding the fake critic quotes used on the television and on-line ads for the upcoming Frances Ford Coppola film “Megalopolis.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
