SYNOPSIS: In “Fuze,” an explosive new race-against-time crime thriller now playing in theatres, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is a bomb-disposal specialist brought in to manage the fraught situation when a World War II-era bomb is discovered in London. Complicating things are a group of thieves who use the explosive discovery as cover to steal a load of diamonds.
CAST: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sam Worthington. Directed by David Mackenzie.
REVIEW: A ticking clock thriller, “Fuze” isn’t interested in its characters as much as it is making your pulse race.
Set in contemporary London, the action in “Fuze” begins with the discovery of an unexploded 1000-pound WWII bomb at a busy construction site, sparking citywide chaos.
“Could it blow any minute?”
“Theoretically, yes.”
As Chief Superintendent Zuzana (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) organizes an immediate evacuation, and military bomb squad led by the unflappable Major Will Tranter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) get to work, an order to cut off power to the whole area makes an already charged situation more difficult.
Using the blackout as cover, a gang of thieves, led by Karalis (Theo James) and X (Sam Worthington), drill underneath a nearby bank to steal a cache of diamonds and money.
As the clock ticks, both groups work to complete their missions. “When everything is on the line,” screams the film’s tagline, “there’s no turning back.”
“Fuze” doesn’t mess around.
Within one minute of the opening credits the bomb has been discovered, and director David Mackenzie already has the pedal to the metal. More concerned with momentum than the characters, Mackenzie, working from a pulpy, convoluted script by Ben Hopkins, keeps the action tight, upping the tension throughout.
The result is a slickly cool caper film with charismatic turns from Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Theo James, and some unexpected twists and turns that, if you don’t think about it too hard, is an entertaining time waster.
SYNOPSIS: The story of a young woman looking to make a break from family traditions, “The Bearded Girl” is a coming-of-age tale about rejecting conformity while finding a place in the world.
REVIEW: Charmingly off kilter, “The Bearded Girl” sees Anwen O’Driscoll as 88th-generation bearded woman Cleo Nightingale. Like her mother, the strong-willed Lady Andre (Jessica Paré), and all the women in her family, she’s destined to become a sword-swallowing circus performer and take over the reins of the family carnival.
“People need leaders,” Lady Andre tells her. “And like it or not, you’re the next one in line.”
Trouble is, Cleo feels lost. “I don’t feel right,” she says. Her mother isn’t interested in her ideas to modernize their show, and she’s tired of feeling like a “freak.” Rebelling against her family’s traditions, she shaves her beard, leaves the circus and her mother behind in search of a “normal” life.
“Do you think it’s going to be easier out there,” Lady Andre asks. “That you’ll be able to find yourself a new life?”
As Cleo navigates life outside the family and her first romance with a young guy named Blaze (Keenan Tracey), her absence puts the circus and everything her mother has worked for in jeopardy.
Set in a heightened world that feels separated from real life by 180 degrees, “The Bearded Girl” is a fairy tale that deals with real life issues of self-acceptance, legacy and rebellion in delightful, heartfelt ways. But, despite the unusual backdrop, it feels grounded because instead of playing up the absurdity of a community of bearded women living and working in their own carnival compound, it digs into relatable issues.
As Cleo attempts to make her mark in the world, she comes to realize that embracing who she really is will be the ticket to happiness. It’s a lovely message in a movie that accentuates living life on your own terms.
“The Bearded Girl” isn’t a movie for the whole family, there’s some language and Lady Andre smokes up a storm, but as young-adult-and-up entertainment, it has its own unique voice and low-key appeal.
I join Jorge Molina, Andrea Lyons and Bonnie Anderson’s “SNAK: The Show” podcast for a quick interview to celebrate National Canadian Film Day!
What is “SNAK: The Show”? A bite-sized interview show created by actors and friends Jorge Molina, Andrea Lyons and Bonnie Anderson featuring #CanadianTalent in a spontaneous Zoom chat full of surprises, fun & heart! Why have a meal when what you really want is a SNAK.
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make your bed. Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the dark comedy “The Christophers,” the east coast crime drama “Little Lorraine” and the Montreal coming-of-age “Mile End Kicks.”
“Saturday Night Live” is chaotic, it’s high-stakes, and it shouldn’t work… but for 50 years it has. From the ‘Killer Bees’ to the gritty edge of the new UK reboot, we’re dissecting the house that Lorne built. Is Saturday Night Live the last gasp of ‘Old Showbiz,’ or is it the only thing keeping live performance alive? Today, we’re talking the new Lorne Michaels documentary, the Canadian comedy mafia, and the time I ended up at an after-party with Paul McCartney and Allen Ginsberg. Everything is broken, but the red light is on. Let’s go.
On the Saturday April 18, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet USA TODAY, Globe and Mail, and Toronto Star bestselling author Rick Mofina. He’s the author of more than thirty crime fiction thrillers that have been published in nearly thirty countries.
A former journalist, he has interviewed murderers on death row, flown over Los Angeles with the LAPD and patrolled with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near the Arctic. He is a two-time winner of the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence, and a multiple finalist for the International Thriller Writers Awards and the Shamus Award, presented by the Private Eye Writers of America. Library Journal calls him “one of the best thriller writers in the business.”
His latest novel, “One Second Away” is a high-octane global thriller that begins with a parent’s desperate search and rapidly escalates into an international investigation involving the FBI, uncovering a far-reaching web of secrets and lies. Set across multiple cities, the story delivers relentless suspense while exploring the emotional fallout of life-altering decisions made in an instant.
Then, we’ll meet Tom Howe, the British-born (now LA-based) film and TV composer known for his versatile work across dramatic scores, animations, documentaries, and feel-good series. He’s scored over 100 projects, including major highlights like Ted Lasso, Shrinking, The Great British Bake Off and many more. We talk music and Ted Lasso with Tom.
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 join CTV NewsChannel anchor Scott Hirsch to talk about the recently announced “Top Gun 3” and new releases in theatres, including the dark comedy “The Christophers,” the east coast crime drama “Little Lorraine,” the documentary “Lorne” and the Montreal coming-of-age “Mile End Kicks.”
SYNOPSIS: In “Little Lorraine,” a new true crime drama starring Stephen Amell, Sean Astin, J Balvin and Stephen McHattie, a seaside fishing village in Nova Scotia becomes the center of an international cocaine smuggling ring in the 1980s.
CAST: Stephen Amell, Sean Astin, J Balvin, Matt Walsh, Rhys Darby, Stephen McHattie, Steve Lund, Sugar Lyn Beard, Hugh Thompson, Mike Dopud, Kaelen Ohm, Joshua Close, Auden Thornton, Manuel Rodriguez-Saenz, Mark A. Owen, Dax Ravina, Luis Javier, David Mortimer. Directed by Andy Hines.
REVIEW: Inspired by true events, “Little Lorraine” is a crime story set amid Cape Breton’s post-coal mining difficulties, that authentically depicts how far desperate people will go to support their families.
As the movie begins, hard times have come to Cape Breton’s tight-knit blue-collar community Little Lorraine. A faltering fishing industry coupled with a coal mine explosion that killed ten men and led to the closure of the local mine has left many of the community’s 60 inhabitants unemployed, desperate for work.
To keep food on the table former miner Jimmy (Stephen Amell) and two locals, Tommy (Joshua Close) and Jake (Steve Lund), accept an offer of good-paying jobs on a lobster boat run by Jimmy’s shady great-uncle Huey (Stephen McHattie).
Unfortunately, the honest work is anything but.
Turns out Huey’s boat and the secluded town are part of a global cocaine smuggling ring, with Jimmy, Tommy, and Jake unknowingly moving the drugs. The operation distributes cocaine via funeral homes, hiding it in coffins.
Faced with the choice of breaking the law to feed their families, Jimmy and his friends debate what to do as an Interpol agent, played by Colombian musician J Balvin, closes in.
Rich in atmosphere, “Little Lorraine” paints a vivid picture of a town and its people plunged into crisis.
Urgent and realistic, it succeeds because isn’t just about the crime, it’s about the people.
There’s loads of suspense, but director Andy Hines (who co-wrote the script with Adam Baldwin) makes sure that the cocaine smuggling takes a backseat to the effect of Uncle Huey’s scheme rather than the scheme itself.
As Jimmny, Amell leaves behind the high gloss of his best-known role as the crime fighting Green Arrow on the CW superhero series “Arrow” to find a welcome grittiness that serves the everyman character and the story. A man roiled by guilt, his self-destructiveness cuts through his stoicism to reveal the moral dilemma at the heart of the film.
As good as Amell is in the movie, it’s McHattie who steals scenes. A charismatic rogue, he drips menace through the malevolent smile on his face.
“Little Lorraine” is a stranger-than-fiction exploration of economic desperation, loyalty and moral dilemmas that finds the humanity in the situation without ever romanticizing or sensationalizing it.
