SYNOPSIS: “The Crow,” a re-imagining of the classic gothic superhero series of the same name, sees troubled souls Eric Draven (Bill Skarsgård,) and Shelly Webster (FKA Twigs) become soulmates after escaping from a rehab center. On the run from bad man Vincent Roeg’s (Danny Huston) violent thugs, the pair form an unbreakable bond, even in death. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Draven navigates the worlds of the living and the dead to seek vengeance against her killers. “Kill the ones who killed you, and you will get her back.”
CAST: Bill Skarsgård, FKA Twigs, Danny Huston, Josette Simon, Laura Birn, Sami Bouajila, Isabella Wei, Jordan Bolger. Directed by Rupert Sanders.
REVIEW: “The Crow” is back, but, unfortunately, never really takes flight. Director Rupert Sanders and cinematographer Steve Annis create a beautiful, neo-noir gothic canvas as a backdrop to the story of the power of love as a tool for revenge, but no amount of atmosphere can make up for spotty storytelling and murky mythology.
The film’s first forty minutes, the story of star-crossed lovers Eric and Shelly, drags as the two meet, flirt and get to know one another. Trouble is, sparks don’t exactly fly. The basis of the story is immortal love, one that cannot be broken by anything, even death, and yet their courtship feels impetuous, not particularly romantic. That lack of chemistry blunts the effectiveness of the movie’s emotional foundation and delays the start of The Crow ‘s story until midway through the film.
As for the action, it does deliver some OTT John Wick style violence, but I wouldn’t call this an action movie. The action is used sparingly, relegated to two big set pieces. Of those, it’s the opera house sequence that delivers the cathartic, nasty kills fans might want. It’s gross and gory as Draven gives new meaning to the question, “Why don’t you smile?” (You’ll know what I mean when you see the movie.) It goes for it, delivering the straightforward revenge vibe you expect, but it also makes you wonder why the rest of the movie doesn’t have the same energy or comic book sensibility.
Skarsgård is suitably angsty, and can handle himself in the action scenes, but despite his best efforts, the specter of Brandon Lee’s indelible performance in the original cult classic looms large over this version.
“The Crow” suffers from a lackluster villain (the usually reliable Danny Huston) and slow pacing, but its worst crime is that for a movie about soulmates, with a baddie who dooms souls to hell, “The Crow” feels soulless.
SYNOPSIS: In “Blink Twice,” a psychological drama directed by Zoë Kravitz, and now playing in theatres, disgraced tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) invites cater waiter Frida (Naomi Ackie) to join him and his friends for an idyllic get-a-way on his private island. “Are you having a good time?” he repeatedly asks her as champagne flows, and she is… until, in the blink of an eye, she has a startling revelation.
CAST: Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Kyle MacLachlan, Geena Davis, Alia Shawkat. Directed by Zoë Kravitz.
REVIEW: A dark psychological thriller with elements of rage, humour and danger, “Blink Twice” is a confident, if scattered, directorial debut from Zoë Kravitz. A violent riff on “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’s” memory erasing, it asks the question, Is it best to live with only good memories, burying the bad so deeply they never resurface?
A fantasy island trip gone wrong, “Blink Twice” takes a while to get where it is going, to let the Twilight Zone-ness of the situation sink in. It’s decadent and drug fueled, set to a soundtrack of dance tunes and King’s constant query, “Are you having fun?” Nothing matters except hedonism, and soon (NO SPOILERS HERE), but not soon enough, we find out why.
At this point “Blink Twice” flicks the switch. What begans as Jordan Peele style exploration of the ultra-wealthy, of the lingering, intergenerational effects of trauma and violence against women, becomes a revenge drama tinged with horror. After a long lead up, however, the transition feels rushed as the true cruelty of the party island, and the men who run it, is revealed.
Kravitz and co-writer E.T. Feigenbaum have a lot on their minds, but more isn’t always better. From the apology tours of cancelled celebrities and sexual violence against women to the price of trauma, white patriarchal privilege and gender disparity, it touches down on a litany of hot button topics. Add to that a private island with a Jeffrey Epstein vibe and a misbehaving billionaire and you have an overload of Twitter/X trending topics. With so much happening, “Blink Twice” feels like it is hop-scotching around its themes and doesn’t add much new to the discourse of any of them.
Still, as tightly packed as the movie is—no shrinkflation here—Kravitz keeps the pace up, nimbly navigating her way through to the film’s finale with style to burn. The direction trumps the storytelling, as Kravitz knows how to stage effective scenes that will entertain the eye and, perhaps even move you toward the edge of your seat.
She is aided by strong performances from the three leads, Ackie, Tatum and “Hit Man’s” Adria Arjona. Tatum is all charm as the romantic lead (for a while anyway) before revealing his true nature in a terrific turn-around for the character.
Ackie and Arjona enjoy the best-written roles and make the most of them. As Frida, Ackie (last seen playing the title role in “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody”) is relatable as someone who finds themself in an unimaginable situation, before tapping into a newfound iron will.
Arjona takes a role that could have been one-note—a reality show warrior with her eye on the billionaire’s affections—and makes her multi-faceted, kick-ass and very funny.
“Blink Twice” doesn’t entirely work, but as a story about the nature of memory, it is memorable enough to earn a recommendation.
SYNOPSIS: In “Strange Darling,” a new crime movie now playing in theatres, nothing is what it seems when a one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
CAST: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Barbara Hershey and Ed Begley Jr. Directed by JT Mollner.
REVIEW: There’s a scene in “Strange Darling” that sees two old hippies doing a puzzle, keeping score for each of the pieces they put in place. It’s a cute and playful scene, but it’s also an apt analogy for the watching of the film. The movie is a puzzle of a sort, a jumble of six chapters, presented out of order, that doles out information like the pieces of a puzzle. Viewers are urged to keep score as they piece together what is going on as the full picture slowly takes shape.
Clever and subversive, writer/director J.T. Mollner’s cat-and-mouse game is an expertly made exercise in nihilism. (POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD) What begins as a standard serial killer flick—a scared woman on the run from a gun toting stalker—soon widens and deepens to become something else.
Here’s where it becomes spoilerific, so read ahead with caution. I’ll be as careful as possible in making my points about this ingenious cat-and-mouse story, but before you read on, know I think that this movie is best seen with little to no prior knowledge of the plot.
Still curious? Read on.
“Strange Darling” is a Gordian knot, a film that plays our expectations like a drum as Mollner introduces subversive twists and turns that question gender roles.
As the chapters—with names like “Can You Help Me Please? and “Do You Like to Party?”—build up a head of steam and seem about ready to blow apart, Mollner often hits the release valve. Instead of deflating the situations, however, he creates tension with some humour and clever editing.
You’ll wonder what’s real, and what’s not, and it’s hard to know until things get… well, very real. Then, the violence, which had mostly been implied, becomes visceral. Even then, it’s the high voltage charge from principal players Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner that keeps the film interesting, not the violence. Both hand in career best work and keep stride with the film’s exhilarating pace.
“Strange Darling” feels like a throwback. Shot on 35mm, by cinematographer Giovanni Ribisi, it has a grindhouse feel, as though it’s visually paying tribute to the aesthetic of the b-crime movies of the 1970s. It begins with a voiceover that sounds borrowed from a 1960s Quinn Martin Production, the broken timeline feels very 1990’s, as do the chapter title cards and Miramax logo, but Mollner’s treatment of the film’s central themes is anything but old fashioned.
I write about “chicken-soup” movies that’ll cure what ails you for CTVNews.ca!
“Along with some painkillers, your mom’s chicken soup and plenty of fluids, the best thing to fight a cold is taking it easy. Rest and relaxation come in many forms, but for me, curling up in front of a movie always makes me feel better…” Read the whole thing HERE!
On the Saturday August 17, 2024 of the Richard Crouse Show we meet Michael Hirsh. He is a co-founder and the CEO of Nelvana, and one of the driving forces behind Canada’s animation dominance. His new book, “Animation Nation” is his behind-the-scenes account of working with such famous cartoon franchises as Babar, The Adventures of Tintin, Franklin, The Magic School Bus, and Beetlejuice, and larger-than-life personalities including Roseanne Barr, Mr. T., Deborah Harry, and Tim Burton.
The book is a frame-by-frame account of how creative talent and entrepreneurial zeal built a global cartoon empire.
Then, we meet Caroline Suh and Cara Mones, co-directors of a documentary Louis CK’s fall and return to the spotlight called “Sorry, Not Sorry.” The film, whoch is available on several streaming services, features interviews with fellow comedians and women who spoke up about his sexual misconduct.
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.
SYNOPSIS: In “My Penguin Friend,” a new family film starring Jean Reno and a penguin, and now playing in theatres, a Brazilian fisherman discovers DimDin, an injured penguin drifting alone in the ocean, near death and covered in oil from a spill. He rescues the animal and rehabilitates it, forging an unconventional friendship. “He’s not my pet,” says Joao (Reno) of the tenacious penguin. “He’s my friend.”
CAST: My Penguin Friend, Jean Reno, Adriana Barraza, Rochi Hernández. Directed by David Schurmann.
REVIEW: Set against the backdrop of unimaginable personal loss and guilt, “My Penguin Friend” develops into a story of finding comfort in strange places, including small, penguin shaped packages. It’s about connections, community and compassion, wrapped up in an indie kids’ movie.
French actor Reno hands in an understated performance and plays well off of Mexican star Adriana Barraza. They share many scenes, but this is the penguin’s movie.
Kids will likely enjoy DimDin. He is a bit of a troublemaker and a thief—“stealing” shoelaces and other small items to feather his nest—with a swaggalicious waddle and a tenacious spirit. Thankfully, the filmmakers don’t anthropomorphize him. He is just a plain penguin, who behaves more like a friendly puppy than a flightless bird, and that brings the film a great deal of charm.
Gently paced—read: S-L-O-O-O-O-O-O-W—“My Penguin Friend” sometimes feels like an episode of “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” with a heartwarming “inspired by true events” story attached to the nature photography. It’s an old-fashioned family movie, low on stakes, that serves up compassion rather than high action but may entertain any young, aspiring Marine Biologists in the house.
