On the Saturday May 31, 2025 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet one of country music’s most exciting and dynamic new voices, Niko Moon. He first garnered attention as a co-writer for Zac Brown Band, contributing to hits like “Homegrown” and “Beautiful Drug.” He has also wrote songs for Dierks Bentley, Zac Brown Band, Rascal Flatts, and Morgan Wallen before breaking out as a solo artist with his 2020 multi-platinum single “Good Time”.
His debut solo album “Good Time” showcased his ability to write a catchy-hook and he continued to deliver the optimism and hope he’s been known for on 2024 album “Better Days” and on his latest releases, “These Are the Days” and “These Are the Nights.”
This tour follows Niko’s latest EPs “These Are The Days” and “These Are The Nights,” which features great tunes like “Money Can’t Buy” and “Summer Don’t Go”.
Then, we’ll get to know Pete Crighton. He came of age in the early/mid 1980s in the shadow of HIV/AIDS. Growing up in Toronto, he was terrified that his friends and schoolmates would find out that he was gay at a time when being gay felt like a death sentence. He found comfort in music and eventually curated a massive record collection. That music, and his mid-life sexual awakening, from one-night stands to friendships resulting from app-based hookups, is the subject of his new book “The Vinyl Diaries: Sex, Deep Cuts, and My Soundtrack to Queer Joy.”
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.
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk about the new movies coming to theatres including the high kicking “Karate Kid: Legends,” the mannered “Phoenician Scheme” and the unsettling “Bring Her Back.”
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make the bed! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the high kicking “Karate Kid: Legends,” the mannered “Phoenician Scheme” and the horrific (in a good way) “Bring Her Back.”
SYNOPSIS: Set three years after the events of “Cobra Kai,” “Karate Kid: Legends,” the sixth film in “The Karate Kid” franchise, sees teenage kung fu prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang) and his mother relocate to New York City from Beijing, China after a family tragedy. Li befriends classmate Mia Lipani (Sadie Stanley) and her pizzeria owner father, which puts him in the crosshairs of Mia’s ex-boyfriend, aggressive karate champ Connor Day (Aramis Knight). Challenged to a karate showdown, Li trains with kung fu teacher, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), and the original Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) to prepare. “Li is to me what you meant to Sensei Miyagi,” Mr. Han says to Daniel LaRusso.
CAST: Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio, Ben Wang, Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen. Directed by Jonathan Entwistle.
REVIEW: At a tight 90 minutes, the new movie in the “Karate Kid” franchise doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel. Essentially a remake of the original film, it treads a familiar path with a simple feel-good story of an underdog and a bully.
“Karate Kid: Legends” is formulaic, predictable and leans heavily into fan service, but in this case, familiarity doesn’t breed contempt. Director Jonathan Entwistle rushes through the narrative, attempting to deepen the story with a tragic history for Li Fong and his mother, a budding romance and a shake-down gang story. None of them are particularly well developed—although as Li and Mia, Ben Wang and Sadie Stanley have good chemistry—and all serve essentially as McGuffins to point the plot in the direction of Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio and the film’s climatic showdown between Li and his nemesis, a one-dimensional Karate expert named Connor (Aramis Knight).
The presence of Chan and Macchio goes a long way to make up for the film’s complete lack of innovation. As Li’s mentors they bring humour and a warm nostalgic feel. Like so many of the film’s elements, they’re underused—Why wouldn’t they examine the parallel life paths of Li and the original Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso?—but when they are onscreen the movie perks up.
“Karate Kid: Legends” isn’t a great movie. Six movies in, it feels as repetitive as the endless “jacket on, jacket off” training Mr. Han subjects Li to throughout. It’s a film that could have gone directly to streaming, but its short runtime doesn’t overstay its welcome, and the classic underdog story still works, even if it feels a bit frayed around the edges.
SYNOPSIS: In “The Phoenician Scheme,” a new Wes Anderson film now playing in theatres, Benicio del Toro is Zsa-zsa Korda, a shady businessman who made his fortune through “unholy mischief.” On the verge of a new venture, he finds himself in the crosshairs, literally, of tycoons, foreign terrorists and determined assassins. “Why do you need to keep assassinating me all the time?” he asks.
CAST: Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, Imad Mardnli and Hope Davis. Directed by Wes Anderson.
REVIEW: There was a time when I loved Wes Anderson’s movies. His holy trinity, “Bottle Rocket,” “Rushmore,” and “The Royal Tenenbaums,” were all unconventional gems; movies with a singular point-of-view that examined the lives of misfits and oddballs.
Then I stopped loving and stared merely liking Anderson’s movies as his signature whimsical style began to squeeze the life out of his stories of self-discovery and community. Still, his stop-motion “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” for example, was mannered but also hilarious and poignant.
These days, I long for the days of the relative restraint of “The Darjeeling Limited” and “Moonrise Kingdom.” Perhaps it’s a case of familiarity breeding contempt (although think that is too harsh a word), but to me Anderson’s films have lost the humanity of his earlier work. They still cover much of the same thematic ground, commenting on family dysfunction, failure and redemption, but they now feel as though they arrive covered in bubble wrap like precious museum pieces.
Such is the case with his latest, “The Phoenician Scheme,” a stylish story of big money, attempted assassinations and family, it features a topflight cast, who all seem to be having a swell time slotting themselves into Anderson’s carefully crafted, artisanal film. But there is an air of artificiality that settles over the movie like a shroud which sucks way much of the emotional depth.
“The Phoenician Scheme” is pretty, occasionally amusing and the commitment to deadpan performances is unparalleled, but even though I’ll watch anything with Benicio del Toro, it is more concerned with style than substance. As a result, its well-worn take on the evils of capitalism, as personified by del Toro, feels academic rather than authentic.
SYNOPSIS: A gripping movie about grief and loss, “Bring Her Back,” now playing in theatres, stars two-time Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins as a foster mother of two young people who hides a sinister plan behind her sunny smile.
CAST: Sally Hawkins, Billy Barratt, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips. Directed by Danny and Michael Philippou.
REVIEW: “Bring Her Back” is a horror film with some very disturbing images. Think self-cannibalization and you’ll get the idea, but it isn’t only the visuals that pack a punch. Co-directors Danny and Michael Philippou bring a tragic sense of loss and grief that hangs over every frame like a shroud. That dark sense of haunting embeds itself like a hook in a bass’s mouth in the viewer’s consciousness and will not let go until long after the end credits have rolled.
It’s a slow burn, squirmy watch filled with surprises and unsettling performances.
Set in current day Australia, the story of stepsiblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) begins with the death of their father. The two are close, with Andy helping the strong-willed Piper navigate the world as a sightless person. Forced into foster care—Andy is just three months away from turning 18, the legal age when he can apply to become Piper’s guardian—they are welcomed into Laura’s (Sally Hawkins) home. A mother still grieving the loss of her daughter, there’s something sinister lurking behind Laura’s sunny disposition.
If Andy is to become Piper’s guardian, he must prove to Laura that he is “safe and reliable.” But first Andy must decide, before it’s too late, if Laura, and the odd, seemingly feral child Ollie (Jonah Wren Phillips) who lives with her, are eccentric or dangerous.
From the opening frames “Bring Her Back” has a sense of anxiety, like everything is tilted 180 degrees. It builds over time, before exploding in a climax so twisted (NO SPOILERS HERE) it leaves one horrified as it explores the extremes that grief and loss can push a person.
Hawkins is remarkable as Laura, a woman whose deep wounds make her a tragic figure, but one capable of great menace. She is unpredictable, able to change from dangerous to doting with just the flick of an eyebrow.
Fine work from Barratt and Wong delves deep into the psychological aspect of the horror. Andy earnestly tries to do what is best for Piper, but his secrets, once revealed, erode the trust his stepsister once had for him. That heartbreaking rupture in their relationship, manipulated by Laura, is key that opens the door to the horror. Once ajar, any sense of normalcy that may have existed goes out the window, leading up to an unforgettable climax.
“Bring Her Back” has graphic moments, but it doesn’t rely on jump scares to make its point. It is the psychological horror, the very core of the film’s exploration of grief, that disturbs and devastates.
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make the bed! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about “Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning,” the kid friendly “Lilo & Stitch:” and the literary rom com “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life.”
On the Saturday May 24, 2025 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Farren Timoteo, star, Co-Creator and Co-Executive Producer of “Made in Italy,” a tour-de-force solo show packed with disco, fantastic singing and a host of hilarious character, which plays at the CAA Theatre in Toronto until June 8, 2025.
Based on his Italian family, in particular his father, it’s the story of an Italian teenager growing up in Jasper, Alberta in the 1970s, caught between two worlds and determined to make his mark. Farren and the show are the winners of a shelfful of awards, including the Calgary Theatre Critic’s Award for Outstanding Performance in a One-Person Show.
Then we’ll meet Christophe Lebold, the professor of literature, performance studies and rock culture from Strasbourg, France whose book, “Leonard Cohen: The Man Who Saw the Angels Fall,” is being called “an extraordinary piece of work, at every level” and the best book ever written on Leonard Cohen.
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.
On the Saturday May 31, 2025 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet one of country music’s most exciting and dynamic new voices, Niko Moon. He first garnered attention as a co-writer for Zac Brown Band, contributing to hits like “Homegrown” and “Beautiful Drug.” He has also wrote songs for Dierks Bentley, Zac Brown Band, Rascal Flatts, and Morgan Wallen before breaking out as a solo artist with his 2020 multi-platinum single “Good Time”.
