SYNOPSIS: In “Sharp Corner,” a new psychological drama now playing in theatres, Ben Foster stars as Josh, a family man who develops an unhealthy obsession with the car accidents that happen in his front yard, the result of a dangerous sharp corner on the edge of the property. When trimming the bushes that obscure the road signs nearby doesn’t stop the accidents, he becomes consumed by preventing the crashes and in the process, becoming a hero. “We can’t stay here. People are dying on our lawn,” says his wife Rachel (Cobie Smulders). “These aren’t freak accidents. Why do you think this house sat on the market for so long?” Josh’s refusal to leave puts Rachel and their son Max (William Kosovic) in danger.
CAST: Ben Foster, Cobie Smulders. Gavin Drea, Alexandra Castillo, Julia Dyan, Jonathan Watton, Reid Price, Leah Johnston, Dan Lett, Andrew Shaver, Mark A. Owen, Bob Mann, Allison Wilson-Forbes, Wayne Burns, Alexandra McDonald. Directed by Jason Buxton.
REVIEW: Ben Foster is known for the intensity of his roles. From “Hell or High Water’s” reckless bank robber Tanner Howard and the disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong in “The Program” to the sadistic cop in “Lawless” and the off-grid veteran of “Leave No Trace,” his performances redefine the word volatile.
It’s interesting then, to see him dial that outward intensity way down in “Sharp Corner.”
His trademarked, wild-eyed fervor has been turned inward in a performance that is no less compelling than his showier work. His take on Josh is contained, a portrait of quiet desperation that builds in complexity as his dark fascination with the aftermath of the accidents in his front yard grows.
Foster even manages to find some morbid humor in the matter-of-fact way Josh processes his involvement in the deadly events.
When a man misses the turn and burns to death on their front lawn while Josh has Max at Taekwondo class, her blames Rachel for signing their son up for the sport, keeping him away at the time of the crash. “No Taekwondo, no dead guy,” he says. “Max doesn’t need to kick pads, and that guy didn’t need to die.”
The character study of a man in pursuit of purpose in his life, even as his family and work lives unravel, is intriguing.
Foster compels, but it is Smolders, as a wife pushed to the limit by her husband’s misguided heroics, is the glue that keeps the family drama together. As Josh spirals, she remains planted firmly in the real world, and her performance grounds the story.
“Sharp Corner” isn’t the story of a hero, despite Josh’s best efforts. Instead, it’s the darkly entertaining tale of a narcissistic guy whose misplaced passion not only ruins his life, but many others.
SYNOPSIS: Set in 1984, “The Luckiest Man in America,” a new drama now playing in theatres, stars Paul Walter Hauser as Michael Larson, an unemployed ice cream truck driver who was accused of cheating, to the tune of $110,237, by the producers of the game show “Press Your Luck.”
CAST: Paul Walter Hauser, Walton Goggins, Shamier Anderson, Brian Geraghty, Patti Harrison, Haley Bennett, Damian Young, Lilli Kay, James Wolk, Shaunette Renée Wilson, David Rysdahl, Ricky Russert, David Strathairn, Johnny Knoxville, and Maisie Williams. Directed and co-written by Samir Oliveros.
REVIEW: Loosely based on real life events, “The Luckiest Man in America” is a slight story with a kitschy 1980s sheen.
A thriller set against the backdrop of “Press Your Luck,” “the most Vegas game on television,” the action hinges on Paul Walter Hauser and his itchy performance as Michael Larson. “He’s got nerves of steel, this guy,” says showrunner Bill Carruthers (David Strathairn) as Larson’s jackpot grows. Thing is, he’s more desperate than confident. “All I want to do is have breakfast with my family,” he says, “but the only way I can do that is if I’m on the television set. Tune in on the right time, on the right day.”
Show host Peter Tomarken (Walton Goggins) calls Larson “an ordinary man from Ohio,” but there’s more to him than meets the eye. Estranged from his family, Larson figures out how to game the system by memorizing the so-called “random” patterns on the game board. As the prize money grows Larson sees a way out of his financial hole and a way back into his family’s embrace.
But, as the jackpot swells, so do suspicions about his “lucky” streak.
As we learn more about Larson, director Samir Oliveros structures the story as a thriller, carefully doling out info and clues. But Hauser’s character study is the film’s most interesting aspect. Although “The Luckiest Man in America” smooths down some of Larson’s real-life edges, he’s still not particularly likeable. Instead, he’s a delusional dreamer, a guy who has messed up his life and found a far-fetched way to fix things.
Hauser gives him layers. He’s cocky and confident, desperate and determined. Most of all, he’s in over his head. When Carruthers accuses him of memorizing the board, Larson sheepishly replies, “Is that cheating?” He is, as “Press Your Luck” host Tomarken says, “dumbly great,” a guy who stumbles into his fifteen minutes of fame. Hauser embraces Larson’s brokenness, his heartbreak and awkwardness, but adds in a dollop of optimism to add a layer of emotional complexity. He’s a cypher, but an interesting one.
“The Luckiest Man in America” succeeds because of Hauser and the strong supporting cast. Oliveros vividly fashions the flash and trash of the game show set, paying careful attention to the period details, to create a slightly surreal backdrop for this human story of dreams, hope and greed.
SYNOPSIS: In “Fight or Flight,” an adrenalized comedy thriller now playing in theatres, Josh Hartnett plays disgraced secret agent Lucas Reyes. In exile in Thailand for two years, he accepts a job escorting a cyber-terrorist named The Ghost on an international flight to the United States. “Deliver him to us alive,” says his CIA handler Katherine (“The Mandalorian’s” Katee Sackhoff), “and you get your life back.” Trouble is, there is a bounty on The Ghost’s head, and the flight is packed with assassins who want to collect. “Are you telling me that plane is full of killers?”
CAST: Josh Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Marko Zaror, and Katee Sackhoff. Directed by James Madigan.
REVIEW: A check-your-disbelief at the Concession Stand kind of movie, “Fight or Flight” is an hour of all out action at 37,000 feet. You might wonder how the passengers—all killers of some sport—manage to smuggle weapons—everything from Uzis to chainsaws—on board. If so, this isn’t a movie for you. It’s a buy the ticket, take the ride action flick with a silly premise and a sense of fun. Nothing more, nothing less.
As familiar as the idea of one man against an army of hitpersons is, Reyes is no John Wick. Hartnett, with dyed blonde hair and perpetually hungover look, finds the sweet spot between world weariness, ruthless brutality and dark humor. The kills are fierce—champagne flute to the eye, anyone?—and nicely choreographed for the small space aboard the aircraft. It’s not as slick as “Bullet Train,” or as elegant as “John Wick,” but there’s a b-movie scrappiness to it that feels right. Especially after Reyes is hit with a dose of toad venom that changes his perspective on everything.
“Fight or Flight” is fun, high-concept nonsense fueled by brawn not brains.
SYNOPSIS: In “Rust,” a new Western now playing in theatres, an outlaw grandfather breaks his grandson out of jail after he accidentally killed a man. On the run toward Mexico, the pair are pursued by a relentless sheriff and a dogged bounty hunter.
CAST: Alec Baldwin, Patrick Scott McDermott, Josh Hopkins, Frances Fisher, and Travis Fimmel. Directed by Joel Souza.
REVIEW: If not for the tragic circumstances surrounding the making of this film, it’s unlikely much ink would be spilled on “Rust.”
Over-long, miscast and cliché riddled, it’s destined to be remembered not as a compelling horse opera, but as the film that cost cinematographer Halyna Hutchins her life.
In October 2021 the forty-two-year-old was fatally shot when a prop gun, fired by actor Alex Baldwin, was accidentally loaded with a live round. The same bullet struck director Joel Souza in the shoulder. He was treated in hospital and released the next day.
As a result, it’s difficult to view the 1882-set “Rust,” a movie whose narrative is driven by an accidental shooting and features Baldwin suggesting to his young grandson to make sure his gun is loaded, “the next time you want to kill somebody,” through any other lens than real life.
Still, I’ll give it a go.
A traditional Western that explores well-worn themes of family, redemption and the morality of violence, “Rust” plants many of the same story seeds as “Unforgiven” and “The Searchers,” but, unfortunately, they never bear fruit. Mixing morality and survival with archetypal characters (Baldwin’s loner with a past, etc.) is fine, not everything has to blaze a new trail, but to be effective, the story needs interesting characters and worldbuilding.
That’s where “Rust” suffers.
A miscast Baldwin shares chemistry with his young co-star Patrick Scott McDermott, but fails to deliver a frontier vibe. His character is more grumpy grandfather than grizzled gunslinger. “I may be long in the tooth,” he says in one of the film’s many overwritten bits of dialogue, “but no one has sawn my horns off yet.”
His take on elderly outlaw Harland Rust feels like a faint shadow of those who came before. He’s a wannabe William “Will” Munny, but unable to hold the movie’s core.
Touched by tragedy, “Rust,” despite Halyna Hutchins’s beautiful, moody cinematography, is an uncomfortable watch and overstays its welcome at 140 minutes.
NOTE: The film is dedicated to Hutchins and a portion of the film’s profits are going to her family.
I hosted a screening of the new psychological thriller “Sharp Corner” in front of a sold out audience at The Royal Theatre in Toronto last night. Joining me for a post screening Q&A were writer/director Jason Buxton and star Cobie Smulders. We talked about how Buxton adapted the film from a short story in a book called “Whirl Away” by Russell Wangersky, how Smulders plays a couples therapist who struggles to understand her husband’s trauma and obsession and much more.
SYNOPSIS: In “Sharp Corner,” a new psychological drama now playing in theatres, Ben Foster stars as Josh, a family man who develops an unhealthy obsession with the car accidents that happen in his front yard, the result of a dangerous sharp corner on the edge of the property. When trimming the bushes that obscure the road signs nearby doesn’t stop the accidents, he becomes consumed by preventing the crashes and in the process, becoming a hero. “We can’t stay here. People are dying on our lawn,” says his wife Rachel (Cobie Smulders). “These aren’t freak accidents. Why do you think this house sat on the market for so long?” Josh’s refusal to leave puts Rachel and their son Max (William Kosovic) in danger.
On this special episode of “Maple Syrup For Your Eyes” I have an in-depth look at the movie “Blackberry,” the lessons learned from the film, about what it means to be Canadian, why we don’t celebrate our own stories and much more with the film’s stars Jay Baruchel and Matt Johnson (who also co-wrote and directed).
On the Saturday May 3, 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 (2024), which features great tunes like “Money Can’t Buy” and “Summer Don’t Go”.
Then, we’ll meet Keira Jang, star of Can I Get A Witness?” a Canadian eco-sci fi/coming-of-age film now on streaming sevices. It’s set in a future where climate change and world poverty have been eradicated. To mitigate these modern-day issues, travel and technology are banned and every citizen must end life at 50. Documenting the process are artists as witnesses, like the character Kiera plays, a teenager on her first day on the job.
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!
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SYNOPSIS: In “Thunderbolts*,” the new Marvel superhero movie starring Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan now playing in theatres, a team of mostly of reformed supervillains must confront their past deeds when they’re lured into a deadly trap by the manipulative Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.
CAST: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Directed by Jake Schreier.
REVIEW: A popcorn movie that delivers big boffo action and introspective moments, “Thunderbolts* is a welcome return to form for Marvel after a rough couple of years.
Marvel has often examined ideas of responsibility within their superhuman characters, but rarely have they delved into mental health issues as they do here.
As Yelena Belova, a Black Widow assassin whose hands are stained by blood, Florence Pugh has the physicality to play the rough n’ tumble character, but it is her meditative side that makes her interesting. She can punch, kill and quip with the best of them, but in her work is tinged with an edge of loneliness and lack of purpose that are the result of her deadly, isolating work.
Handled with maturity, the examination of mental health is sensitive, especially so in the case of Bob (Lewis Pullman), who (SLIGHT SPOILER) becomes Yelena’s guide into “The Void,” a dark place where their trauma is endlessly enacted. These vividly rendered scenes of mental anguish are as vivid and suspenseful as any of the film’s battle scenes, but they also provide backstory that deepens the characters and relationships.
“Thunderbolts*” is meditative up a point, but this isn’t a Marvel movie à la Ingmar Bergman.
The character’s self-analysis fuels the gritty action as the entire misfit team—Belova, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (a very funny David Harbour), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen)—learn they are stronger together than apart.
One for all and all for one.
It’s pop psychology, but it provides a welcome entryway into exploring larger themes of psychological trauma left from a lifetime of killing and personal loss.
Is it too soon to say that “Thunderbolts*” harkens back to “classic” Marvel on the big screen? It’s back to basics, doing away with multiverses and the onerous weight of crossovers with the other films, to deliver an entertaining, relatively straight-ahead blockbuster with action, humor and heart.
SYNOPSIS: “Being Maria,” a new French language biographical film now on VOD, is the story of Maria Schneider, the young actress who found fame and trauma after starring in the controversial “Last Tango in Paris” opposite Marlon Brando.
CAST: Anamaria Vartolomei, Céleste Brunnquell, Giuseppe Maggio, Yvan Attal, Marie Gillain, Jonathan Couzinié and Matt Dillon. Directed by Jessica Palud.
REVIEW: A story of exploitation, “Being Maria” is marred by a straightforward approach to a very difficult topic.
The instigating incident happens on the set of “Last Tango in Paris,” director Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1972 erotic drama about an anonymous sexual relationship between an American man who has an affair with a much younger French woman.
During the filming of one of the film’s scenes Schneider is subjected to an unscripted, humiliating sexual act. Despite Brando’s “don’t worry, it’s just a movie” admonition, she is left emotionally unsettled.
The film becomes an international hit, drawing raves for Brando and Bertolucci. Schneider, however, is subjected to ridicule and left with a festering sense of resentment.
Based on Vanessa Schneider’s memoir “My Cousin Maria Schneider,” “Being Maria” goes on to detail the actress’s struggles with addiction, depression and suicide ideation, all resulting from the scandal generated by her on-set exploitation.
At the film’s center is Anamaria Vartolomei’s sensitive portrayal of Schneider (who passed away in 2011). As Schneider personal life falls into disarray Vartolomei allows the character an interesting sense of agency. Her take on Schneider allows the character to have hope, even when she is at her most hopeless.
It’s a portrait of a naïve nineteen-year-old, victimized by people who had power over her on set, director Bertolucci (Giuseppe Maggio) and Brando, (played convincingly by Matt Dillon) who is presented as a creative mentor.
The emotional injury caused by Brando and Bertolucci reveals itself in bits and pieces, worsening over time. Vartolomei, seen recently opposite Robert Pattinson in “Mickey 17,” always feels emotionally authentic, even when the film itself dips into a melodramatic second half.
“Being Maria” is raw, with a terrific central performance, but stops short of fully exploring the power imbalance.
