I join the CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to talk about the surreal sci-fi of “Companion,” the animated adventures of “Dog Man’ and the doc “Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I’ve written eleven books, and for the last few I’ve been convinced that this would be the last one to come out in physical form. And yet, every release date sees a boxes of big, beautiful books delivered to book stores. On CP24’s new 4-episode show “The Great Debate” I argue, with political strategist and audio book enthusiast Scott Reid, about the benefits of good, old fashioned books.
Watch the episode HERE!
I join the Bell Media Radio Network national night time show “Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift” for “Booze & Reviews!” This week I give you the perfect libation to enjoy while watching “Liza: Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story,” the terrific story of how Liza with a Z became mononymous. She is a superstar who bacame one of the faces of disco era nightclub Studio 54. I take you behind the scenes of that storied club.
Find out why Adele is making it difficult for the owner of her rental to sell the house in Richard’s entertainment hit HERE!
Find out all about Liza Minelli and Studio 54 on Booze & Reviews HERE!
SYNOPSIS: In “Companion,” a darkly comedic sci-fi thriller starring Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid, and now playing in theatres, a weekend get-a-way at a billionaire’s palatial home takes a turn when the host is killed.
CAST: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén and Rupert Friend. Directed by Drew Hancock.
REVIEW: (CAREFUL! MILD SPOILERS AHEAD) “Companion” is a fast paced, entertaining thriller that tackles big subjects like power structures, misogyny and our relationship with technology.
I’m keeping the synopsis and review vague as to not give away the film’s secrets. The pleasure of “Companion” is in its reveals, the way it invites the viewer in, and then subverts expectations.
Writer/director Drew Hancock sets the off-kilter tone off the top, staging a love-at-first sight meet cute between Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and Josh (Jack Quaid) as Iris narrates, “There have been two moments in my life when I was happiest. The first was the day I met Josh. And the second, the day I killed him.” It’s a delicious film noir flourish that hints us at the darkness to come in an intriguing manner.
Without giving too much away, I can say that there is more (or less, depending on how you look at it) to Josh than you might think at first glance. Hidden under his boyish charm is a conniving misogynist, incapable of deep feelings who feels the world owes him a debt. Quaid, who inherited his famous father Dennis’s toothy grin, gleefully goes from hero to zero, slowly revealing the cruelty that simmers inside.
The less you know about Iris the better. Just know that Thatcher, who impressed as a Mormon missionary in last year’s “Heretic,” is given the freedom to showcase many sides of her talent. From rom com princess to otherworldly femme fatale to action star, she does it all in a variety of languages and accents, and she’s a blast.
At its wizened heart “Companion” is a movie about (CAREFUL! SPOILERISH COMMENTS AHEAD) technology. But unlike “Westworld,” which mined similar territory, it’s not a technology gone wild movie, it’s about how tech can be manipulated by humans to do their bidding. (FINAL WARNING! STOP READING NOW!) “You programmed me to murder someone Josh,” says Iris. “It’s really hard to come back after that.”
“Companion” breathes the same air as shows like “Black Mirror” and “The Twilight Zone,” blending social commentary with genuine thrills and lots of dark humor.
SYNOPIS: “Dog Man,” a new animated movie featuring the voices of Pete Davidson and Isla Fisher, and now playing in theatres, begins when Petey, the “world’s evilest cat,” blows up Officer Knight and his dog Greg. In a lifesaving operation, Greg’s head is grafted onto Officer Knight’s body. “I tried to get rid of both of you,” says Petey, “but instead I made a supercop.”
CAST: Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, Billy Boyd, Ricky Gervais. Written and directed by Peter Hastings.
REVIEW: Like an episode of Short Attention Span Theatre, most of “Dog Man” is so fast paced, it’s like someone is leaning on the fast forward button. To say it is frenetic is an understatement, like saying Count Orlock is not a morning person.
Adapted from the phenomenally successful graphic novels by Dav Pilkey, creator of the “Captain Underpants” books, “Dog Man” values silliness above all else. It never misses an opportunity to crack wise or showcase a visual gag. For instance, archenemy Petey (Pete Davidson) attacks Dog man with the one thing every dog is afraid of, a giant vacuum cleaner. It’s “an approach that sucks,” says “Live Breaking News Live” reporter Seamus (Billy Boyd). When that fails Petey resorts to The Butt Sniffer 2000 and mechanical exploding squirrels.
By the time an entire block of buildings, that fart great green clouds of gas, comes to life, the movie begins to resemble an acid trip for kids.
Subtle, it is not, but in between the goofy jokes are good messages on the importance of family, however you define it, logical or biological.
The style of animation will be familiar to lovers of the books, and there’s a lot of you out there, as the graphic novels have sold 60 million copies globally. Director Peter Hastings calls it “high-end handmade,” and it captures the organic feel of the original book art, which blends “South Park” style, comic book art and Pilkey’s book art. It’s exaggerated, playful and fits the film’s wild tone to a T.
“Dog Man” is a lot. It’s a pedal to the metal experience, filled with childish humor (and the odd gag aimed at parents) but the anarchy is tempered somewhat by heartfelt messages of the importance of doing the right thing, forgiveness and family.
SYNOPSIS: The documentary “Liza: Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story,” now playing in select theatres, is a look at the life of Liza with a Z in and out of the spotlight. From her beginnings as the child of two superstars, to etching out her own iconic career on the world stage, the movie focuses on the “truly terrific absolutely true story” of how it all happened.
CAST: Liza Minnelli, Michael Feinstein, Ben Vereen, Mia Farrow, Jim Caruso, Chita Rivera, George Hamilton, Joel Grey, Kevin Winkler, John Kander, Darren Criss, Ben Rimalower, Lorna Luft, Ann Pellegrini, Allan & Arlene Lazare, Christina Smith, Ralph Rucci, Naeem Khan. Directed by Bruce David Klein.
REVIEW: Rich in archival footage, including many never-before-seen images from Liza Minelli’s private collection, “Liza: Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story” is not just a document of one performer’s life, but a look at the era and the people that produced her.
The story of Minelli’s well documented life is engagingly told through archival news and movie footage, home movies, photographs and the firsthand recollections of friends, but it is in the performance footage that a true picture emerges. Early performance clips show a young women bursting with raw talent, but no clear vision. Weighed down by the legacy of her famous family, she had eyes on her before she was fully formed as a chanteuse.
As the film reveals, through the efforts of mentors that she came into her own. Performer, author and godmother Kay Thompson, who along with helping to bring the young woman out of her shell, also gave her this sage advice, “Never go around with people you don’t like.” Next came French superstar Charles Aznavour who taught her to act the lyrics of her songs, Bob Fosse who streamlined her dancing and directed her to an Academy Award in “Cabaret” and lyricist Fred Ebb who became her professional guiding light and personal confidant. “Fred really invented me,” she says.
With their help, along with her superstar designer friend Halston, who created her signature look, we learn how Liza shed the shackles of her past to become mononymous.
Preternaturally talented, director Bruce David Klein paints her as smart, funny and gutsy, but the entertaining and often hilarious “Liza: Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story” is at its best when it allows her to express herself in her natural habitat, on stage in front of an adoring audience.
SYNOPSIS: In “I’m Still Here,” a new political drama now playing on theatres, Golden Globe winner Fernanda Torres stars as real-life Brazilian lawyer and activist Eunice Paiva, in the aftermath of her husband’s forced disappearance during the military dictatorship in Brazil.
CAST: Fernanda Torres, Fernanda Montenegro, Selton Mello, Guilherme Silveira, Antonio Saboia, Valentina Herszage, Maria Manoella, Luiza Kosovski, Marjorie Estiano, Barbara Luz. Directed by Walter Salles.
REVIEW: Set in 1971, the first thirty minutes of “I’m Still Here” lures the viewer in with scenes of Eunice and Rubens Paiva (Fernanda Torres and Selton Mello) and their five kids, living in Rio de Janeiro, happy and contented despite living under military dictatorship. The housewife—she became a lawyer later in life—and former congressman are upper-middle-class, comfortable and seemingly untouched by the new chaotic world order until their daughter Vera (Valentina Herszage) is interrogated by police at gunpoint.
Later the family’s life is upended when Reubens is detained for routine questioning and “disappeared,” never to be seen again.
In her search for answers Eunice becomes our guide to the darkest recesses of Brazil’s recent history of human rights violations.
“I’m Still Here” features a high-wire performance from Fernanda Torres that finds its power in its understatement. The depths of her anguish are mightily portrayed without histrionics, just pure determination and emotion. As the film’s tone turns darker Torres doesn’t allow the story’s weight to drag the performance down. She never forgets that Eunice is a person, a mother, a grieving widow. She may be remembered for her activism, but Torres takes pains to ensure that she is not reduced to an avatar or overly mythologized. It’s lovely work that brings real humanity to a story touched by inhumanity.
“I’m Still Here” sidesteps melodrama to paint a human portrait of grief in the microcosm, and the hellish results of authoritarianism in the macro.
SYNOPSIS: In “Dark Match,” a new horror wrestling flick now playing in theatres, mixes amateur wrestling with ritualistic sacrifice.
CAST: Chris Jericho, Ayisha Issa, Steven Ogg, Sara Canning, Mo Jabari, Michael Eklund, Jonathan Cherry. Directed by Lowell Dean.
REVIEW: According to Wikipedia, in the wrestling world a dark match refers to a non-televised match, often used to test new talent or warm up the crowd. The term takes on a different meaning in “Dark Match,” a new down and dirty indie that sees an amateur company of wrestlers unwittingly take a gig from a cult leader, played by Chris Jericho, to be human sacrifices in literal death matches.
A mix-and-match of retro 1980s wrestling and lurid horror, “Dark Match” is a fun movie right up until, but not including its final shot. The abrupt ending is a bit of a bitter pill (no spoilers here), but until then it’s an energetic romp that features the same kind of oversized showmanship that makes wrestling such a hoot. The ritualistic kills are gorey, often ridiculous and often bigger and more effective than you might expect from a low budget film.
Director Lowell Dean embraces the grindhouse aesthetic, bringing dynamic camerawork and inventive lighting to create energy and suspense. There are plots holes you could suplex The Rock through, but the verve Dean brings to the material ensures you likely won’t notice… or care.
“Dark Match” is an over-the-top exercise in genre filmmaking that finds occasional grace notes—mostly from Ayisha Issa’s performance as Miss Behave who brings some welcome emotion to the film—amid the wild antics.
As Canadians we don’t make a big deal of our contributions to world cuisine… We have Bannock, Malpeque oysters, Alberta beef and pineapple on pizza.
I know it’s controversial, but I see this as a matter of Canadian pride. We should celebrate our innovations, whether it’s the walkie-talkie, the electric wheelchair… or putting pineapple on pizza.
Created in 1962 by Chef and innovative flavor genius Sam Panopoulos of the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham-Kent, Ontario. It not only represents out of the box thinking, but it represents the best of the Canadian multicultural make-up… it is an invention by a Greek immigrant, inspired by Chinese cuisine to put a South American fruit on an Italian dish… what could be more representative of the grand cultural mosaic of our country than that?
Watch my whole, impassioned defence of pineapple on pizza HERE!
Richard Crouse shares a toast with celebrity guests and entertainment pundits every week on CTV’s exciting talk show POP LIFE.
Saturdays at 8:30 on CTV NewsChannel, midnight on CTV.
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