SYNOPSIS: Based on the non-fiction 2021 book “Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire” by Lizzie Johnson, “The Lost Bus” sees Matthew McConaughey navigate a bus full of children through one of California’s deadliest wildfires.
CAST: Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrera, Yul Vazquez, and Ashlie Atkinson. Directed by Paul Greengrass.
REVIEW: The old saying that something “spread like wildfire” is brought to literal life by director Paul Greengrass and stars Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera. Shot cinema verité style, “The Lost Bus’s” story of heroism amid the burning inferno of the 2018 California Camp Fire is an intense, you-are-there experience.
McConaughey is Kevin McKay, a struggling, divorced dad living in small town California. His son Shaun (Levi McConaughey) would rather live with McKay’s estranged wife, his elderly mother (played by McConaughey’s real-life mom Kay McCabe McConaughey) is in failing health, and even his dog is ill. His job as a school bus driver gives him barely enough hours to make ends meet.
When a spark from a downed power line erupts into an out-of-control wildfire, McKay is pressed into service. What begins as a straightforward pick-up of twenty-two kids and their teacher, Mary Ludwig (America Ferrera), becomes a life-and-death drive into the blazing heart of the inferno.
Greengrass’s restless camera is in constant motion as he captures the fiery action, but this isn’t an action film. Instead, it’s a horror film that casts the relentless fire as the monster. If you have ever wondered how a fire can spread so quickly, so intensely, wonder no more. Greengrass’s powerful images show the flaming rampage in vivid detail. From a spark to a living hell, you can almost feel the heat coming off the screen as the flames rapidly eat up everything in their path.
Driven by the intensity of the images, the movie is an immersive experience. Add to that the inherent peril for the kids on the bus who risk being cooked alive inside the 18-ton oven and you have relentless, high stakes storytelling.
Greengrass’s visuals are top shelf, urgent depictions of the hellish inferno so it’s unfortunate the dialogue and character development don’t keep pace. McConaughey’s McKay is all struggle and furrowed brows, but the character feels like a generic everyman hero plucked from a 90s-era disaster movie.
Made for Apple TV+, “The Lost Bus” will get a short run in theatres before moving to streaming, but Greengrass clearly had the big screen in mind when composing the film’s visuals. The epic nature of the film’s fire scenes may not translate well onto smaller screens.
SYNOPSIS: In “The History of Sound,” a historical romantic drama starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor, and now playing in theatres, college students Lionel (Mescal) and ethnomusicologist David (O’Connor) begin a romantic relationship over a shared love of music. Separated by World War One, they rekindle their romance post war as they travel through Maine recording traditional folk songs for posterity.
CAST: Paul Mescal, Josh O’Connor, Chris Cooper. Directed by Oliver Hermanus.
REVIEW: There is very little actual action in “The History of Sound.” Scenes play out at their own tempo, the restrained performances quietly pushing the movie along at a very deliberate pace.
The film’s real action lies in the emotional fireworks of yearning that light up every frame. A meandering study of love found and lost; it is understated to a fault but remains compelling because of the chemistry between Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor.
The beauty in their performances comes from what is left unsaid, what is implied between the two. The story is driven by looks of longing, self-contained emotions, long separations and stolen intimate moments between the two men. It gently dawdles along, punctuated by passionate performances of the folk songs that musically comment on the story.
The story is touched by tragedy, (NO SPOILERS HERE) but a soulful coda to the main story brings with it a sense of closure that is both bittersweet and beautiful. Set to a folk tune called The Silver Dagger—”Oh, who sits weeping on my grave, and will not let me sleep?”—ii is a powerful comment on the character’s (AGAIN NO SPOILERS HERE!) unresolved grief.
“The History of Sound” will be a bit too leisurely for some viewers, but, if you’re up for it, the deliberate pacing allows the audience to steep in the story, soaking up every nuanced moment between Mescal and O’Connor.
SYNOPSIS: In “Swiped,” a new biopic starring Lily James and now streaming on Disney+, Whitney Wolfe uses intelligence and tenacity to navigate the sexist world of the male-dominated tech industry on her way to becoming the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire.
CAST: Lily James, Dan Stevens, Myha’la, Jackson White, Ben Schnetzer, Pierson Fodé, Clea Duvall, Pedro Correa, Ian Colletti, Coral Peña. Directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg.
REVIEW: The biopic “Swiped,” the story of tech visionary Whitney Wolfe (Lily James), who founded the online dating platform Bumble, swipes left when it comes to aspiring to being anything other than a Wikipedia page come to life on screen.
As formulaic as its subject is innovative, “Swiped” begins with Wolfe struggling to get a foot in the door of the tech industry. Before she was voted one of the “50 Women Who Are Changing the World” she as an aspiring tech guru whose big break came after a chance encounter with dating app entrepreneur Sean Rad (Ben Schnetzer).
Her input on the launch of dating app Tinder—she created the name and ignited interest for the app on college campuses—vaults her into the company’s executive suite and a relationship with company co-founder Justin Mateen (Jackson White).
When their relationship goes sideways, she leaves the company she helped make successful amid lawsuits and allegations of sexual harassment.
Leaving the misogyny of Tinder behind, she creates Bumble, a dating app that rights the wrongs of the Tinder experience and will eventually make her the world’s youngest female billionaire.
Lily James, who also produces, is fine in the lead role as an in-control woman who will not be overlooked by the men in her work life. She’s let down, however, by a paint-by-numbers script that touches on hot button topics like sexism and misogyny in the tech industry and the superficial nature of hook-up culture. Both are lobbed into the story mix but only in the most superficial of ways. What is meant to be a story of empowerment, innovation and resilience gets overshadowed by the film’s eagerness to inspire.
Lacking the drama of “The Social Network” or “Steve Jobs,” other films that have tread similar ground, “Swiped” is as standard as biopics get.
On the Saturday September 13, 2023 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we meet Rick Mercer. He needs no introduction, but here’s one anyway. Rick is a comedian, satirist, author and television host who co-created the groundbreaking CBC satire “This Hour Has 22 Minutes,” where his “Talking to Americans” segment became a cultural touchstone. As host of “The Rick Mercer Report,” he blended political rants, cross-country adventures, and celebrity encounters, earning over 25 Gemini Awards and multiple honorary degrees. He’s also a bestselling author of memoirs like “Talking to Canadians” and “The Road Years,” and has now launched the Stand-Up for Canada Comedy Tour, performing alongside rising stars in 21 cities, from Saskatoon to St. John’s. Check rickmercer.com. for tickets and info on shows near you.
Then, we meet writer, award-winning journalist and editor Joelle Kidd. In 1999, after three years of secular living in Eastern Europe, she moved back to Canada and was enrolled in an evangelical Christian school. Immediately, she found herself in a world of upbeat Christan pop music and purity education, trying to make sense of this unfamiliar preteen cultural landscape.
In her book “Jesusland,” Joelle writes about the Christian pop culture that she was suddenly immersed in, from perky girl bands to modest styling tips, and draws connections between this evangelical subculture and the mainstream.
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: “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” a new mockumentary now rockin’ in theatres, sees the estranged members of metal legends Spinal Tap thrown together for one last gig. Times have changed, but have they?
CAST: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Fran Drescher, Questlove, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Kerry Godliman and Paul Shaffer. Directed by Rob Reiner.
REVIEW: “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” the legacy sequel to the forty-one-year-old classic mock rock doc, captures the spirit of the original, but does not turn the volume of laughs up to 11.
Following a fifteen-year break, the estranged members of heavy metal band Spinal Tap— David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel, and Derek Smalls (Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer)—are forced to reunite for a one-off show in New Orleans.
Their acrimonious split sent them in different directions. Guitarist Tufnel has a shop called Nigel’s Cheese & Guitars, where he trades cheese for musical instruments. Singer/guitarist McKean writes scores for b-horror movies like the retirement home horror “Night of the Assisted Living Dead”, and bassist Smalls runs a glue museum called Stick to It.
Reluctantly reunited, they are once again under the scrutiny of documentarian Marty Di Bergi (Rob Reiner) who captures the backstage drama, ego trips and the search for a drummer.
The original film was groundbreaking, a masterful mock doc that set the template for everything from “Bob Roberts” and “Borat” to “The Office” and “A Mighty Wind.” The new film, however, feels like nostalgia. We’re used to the form, and while it’s nostalgic fun to spend time with silly-but-sweet rockers, our familiarity with the original blunts the impact of the new one.
There are some laugh out loud moments in “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” but the satire doesn’t land in quite the same way it did forty-one years ago. British comedian Chris Addison’s portrayal of the music hating concert promoter is bang on. He’s the embodiment of the ruthless music executive who, with a straight face, suggests it would secure the band’s legacy if, “during the gig at least one, but ideally no more than two of you were to die.” When he’s on screen the spoof is sharpened to a fine point.
It’s when the film gets awkwardly reflective with a mix of satire and emotion that it hits a flat note. As old wounds are opened and an air of mortality hangs over the band, the jokes become fewer and further between. A new song, “Rockin’ in the Urn,” is a reflection on aging, but it hits the expected tone, self-serious, over the top and metal as hell. That scene hits the right chord, managing laughs with the band’s reflections on refusing to stop rockin’ in the face of their own impermanence.
“Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” is a cover version of a fan favorite. Guest, McKean, Shearer and Reiner, who directs as well as appears as Marty Di Bergi, are game, but the looming specter of the original casts a long shadow over the proceedings.
