SYNOPSIS: “Lurker,” a new psychological thriller now playing in theatres, sees an obsessed fan drawn, like a moth, to the flame of fame.
CAST: Théodore Pellerin, Archie Madekwe, Zack Fox, Havana Rose Liu, Wale Onayemi, Daniel Zolghadri, and Sunny Suljic. Directed by Alex Russell.
REVIEW: The thin line between fandom and obsession is examined in “Lurker,” a new show biz thriller starring Quebec-born actor Théodore Pellerin and “Saltburn” star Archie Madekwe.
We first meet Matthew (Pellerin) when he’s working at a retail store frequented by celebrities. When up-and-coming singer Oliver stops by, he’s so impressed by Matthew’s take on his music and influences, he invites the awkward shop clerk to hang out at his Hollywood Hills home.
Seduced by the power of fame, he becomes a hanger-on, doing joe jobs around the musician’s home until Oliver asks him to become a photographer on a documentary essaying his creative process. Matthew loves basking in Oliver’s reflected glow, and, despite his insecurities, makes himself an integral part of the entourage.
When a newcomer becomes Oliver’s shiny new dime Matthew feels isolated until the singer behaves carelessly, opens himself up to blackmail, and gives Matthew a way back into the inner circle.
As a story of shifting power dynamics and the allure of fame, “Lurker” is tense, edge of your seat stuff as Matthew’s behavior shifts from fan to desperate and obsessive hanger-on.
Pellerin plays Matthew as a star-struck cypher, a blank slate, waiting to be colored by Oliver’s fame. His identity, or lack thereof, is so closely tied to his relationship with Oliver, that when that bond is broken, he’s lost and unpredictable. That quiet volatility gives “Lurker” an unnerving edge.
Madekwe brings pop star swagger to Oliver, a guy with a deep emotional connection to his music, but few of the interpersonal skills to make meaningful connections with people. As Oliver’s relationship with Matthew crumbles, he uses his hip aloofness like a cudgel. Madekwe’s casual cruelty cuts to the quick but sets up an interesting character reversal when Matthew’s blackmail plot changes their power dynamic.
Despite muddled storytelling as the film approaches its end credits, “Lurker” is still an interesting, incisive commentary on fame and power with, unlike so many other movies about pop music, great tunes that cleverly comment on the action. When Oliver sings, “What’s the difference between love and obsession?” he’s not simply waxing poetic, he’s tunefully, and authentically, getting to the heart of writer-director Alex Russell’s story.
SYNOPSIS: A screwball take on the rom com, “Spiltsville” begins when Ashley (Adria Arjona) blindsids her husband, the good-natured Carey (Kyle Marvin), by asking for a divorce. Looking for support, the heartbroken Carey turns to his best friend Paul (Michael Angelo Covino) and his wife Julie (Dakota Johnson), a move that inadvertently turns all their relationships upside down.
CAST: Dakota Johnson, Adria Arjona, Marvin, Covino, Nicholas Braun, David Castañeda, O-T Fagbenle, Charlie Gillespie, and Simon Webster. Directed by Michael Angelo Covino.
REVIEW: “Splitsville” uses a fiercely funny look at modern relationships as a vehicle for a close-up examination of self-discovery and acceptance.
Married for fourteen months, Ashley (Adria Arjona) and Carey’s (Kyle Marvin) marriage crumbled in just ten tumultuous minutes. She is a podcaster and life coach who says things like, “If it isn’t said, it can’t be put to bed,” he’s a laid-back guy with a penchant for Dad jokes— Still wanna go to the beach house? Are you shore?—who dreams of starting a family.
She’s looking for excitement, he’s booking pottery classes for them.
On the way to a beach house owned by their rich friends Paul (Michael Angelo Covino) and Julie (Dakota Johnson), they inadvertently cause a car accident, an event that prompts Ashley to admit that she’s been having affairs and no longer wants to be married.
At the beach house Paul and Julie offer up a mix of condolences, jabs—“You married a life coach, what did you expect?”—and a startling confession. The secret to their seemingly perfect union, they say, is an open relationship.
Over the next several years, bonds are tested as the four main characters discover the enduring nature of love and relationships, even when they go wrong.
If Neil Simon wrote about love in the 2000s, he might have come up with something like “Splitsville.” It’s silly and sophisticated, unafraid of male nudity but willing to seriously contemplate messy relationships with a mix of heartbreak and humor.
One sequence, an extended fight between Carey and Paul, is hilarious, but at its heart it’s fueled by raw, unchecked emotion, the consequences of jealousy and insecurity. It’s absurd, and knee slappingly funny, but it also hits the heart.
“Splisville” is a comedy, and often a farcical one, but underneath its comedy veneer is a carefully observed look at desire vs. romance.
SYNOPSIS: In “The Toxic Avenger,” a remake of the 1984 Troma Films gross-out classic, Peter Dinklage plays a down-on-his-luck janitor transformed by radioactive gunk into the mutated superhero, The Toxic Avenger.
CAST: Peter Dinklage, Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Julia Davis, Jonny Coyne, Elijah Wood, and Kevin Bacon. Directed by Macon Blair.
REVIEW: A modern-day adaptation of the goofy and gory 1984 film of the same name, “The Toxic Avenger” updates the story, but maintains the original’s glorious bad taste.
At the heart of both films is an underdog janitor who uses his newfound powers to fight corruption and abuse of power, but the circumstances are different.
Originally, the main character Melvin (Mark Torgl) was a bullied outcast who, once transformed by a dip in a vat of toxic waste, meted out vigilante justice to get revenge on the baddies who terrorized him and his hometown of Tromaville.
In the new movie Peter Dinklage is Winston Gooze, janitor for corporate behemoth BTH by night, single father to a teenage son Wade (Jacob Tremblay) by day. Diagnosed with a terminal illness, he’s terrified of leaving his son without a father. In desperation he approaches BTH head honcho Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon) to beg for help. In short order he finds himself left for dead in a pool of BTH toxic goo which transforms him into The Toxic Avenger. With his trusty mop, Winston fights to create a future for Wade.
There may be a deeper emotional core to the contemporary Toxie tale, but along with the family drama comes wonderfully over-the-top juvenile humor, exploding heads and bloody mop wounds that need to be seen to be believed.
Director Macon Blair is reverential in his handling of the material. He embraces the shocking schlock of the original, with a cavalcade of practical effects and ridiculous jokes that ensure the spirit of Troma Films lives on. It’s a gory good time with a better-than-expected cast (Dinklage, Bacon and Elijah Wood are having fun here) that doesn’t cater to a mainstream audience.
Fans of midnight movies will be in on the joke, all others, approach with caution.
I appear on “CTV News at 11:30” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the best shows and movies to watch this weekend, including Disney+’s Simpson’s Back to School stream, the docu-series “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys” on Netflix and the Apple TV+ sci-fi show “Invasion.”
On the Saturday August 23 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we meet New York Times bestselling author Joy Fielding. With a career spanning over four decades, she has eraned readers with her ability to weave intricate plots, complex characters, and emotional depth. Known for bestsellers like “See Jane Run,” “Don’t Cry Now,” and “Someone Is Watching,” Fielding explores themes of relationships, betrayal, and human resilience.
Today we’ll talk about her latest novel, the psychological thriller “Jenny Cooper Has a Secret.” The book follows a 76-year-old widow named Linda who visits Legacy Place, a memory care facility where she meets 92-year-old Jenny Cooper, a dementia patient who shocks Linda with a confession: “I kill people.” Initially dismissing it as delusion, Linda grows intrigued as Jenny lucidly recounts tales of her victims—mostly men who wronged her. When a resident dies under seemingly natural circumstances, Linda begins to question whether Jenny’s claims might hold truth.
Then, we’ll hang out with singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith. Often called a “songwriter’s songwriter,” his fans include Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Leonard Cohen and many, many others. He’s release 17 albums to date, and collaborated with producers like Daniel Lanois, Mitchell Froom and Bob Rock. His songwriting appears on albums from Rod Stewart, Michael Bublé, k.d. lang, Emmylou Harris and Feist. Today we talk about his latest album, “Hangover Terrace,”
The album was sparked during Ron’s extended stay in the UK in late 2024, following his Sexsmith at Sixty tour. Inspired by time spent recording at London’s Eastcote Studios, Ron says the album was inspired by “the hangover I feel from the last few years of pandemic and life knocking us around.”
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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Deb Hutton is off, so I sit in with host Jim Richards on NewsTalk 1010 to go over some of the week’s biggest entertainment stories and let you know what’s happening in theatres. We talk about Kewrmit the Frog making his Broadway debut, why Willem DaFoe doesn’t talk politics and I review the Netflix rock doc “DEVO.”
I joined CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to have a look at new movies coming to theatres, including the thriller “Relay,” the neo-noir “Honey Don’t” and the rock doc “DEVO” on Netflix.
SYNOPSIS: There’s a lot more to DEVO than the herky-jerky funk of their biggest hit “Whip It.” A new documentary, now streaming on Netflix, offers a complete, and completely entertaining, look of a band who, as keyboardist Mark Mothersbaugh says, “did some absurd things.”
CAST: Gerald Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh, Bob Casale, Josh Freese. Directed by Chris Smith.
REVIEW: My teenage brain wouldn’t have allowed the thought that DEVO, the art rock band from Akron, Ohio who occupied my teen ears for years, would still be a going concern in 2025. Their music was so of-the-moment it felt destined to become dated as pop culture trends shifted and even their name, a shortening of de-evolution, suggested they would disappear over time.
And yet, half a century after they first chanted, “Are we not men? We are Devo!” on stage, they are having a bit of a renaissance, complete with the “Cosmic De-Evolution Tour” and “DEVO,” a new documentary, now streaming on Netflix, that details their unlikely rise to fame.
Like most music docs “DEVO” utilizes new and archival talking head interviews with the band and their contemporaries to shape the story, but the real magic comes with director Chris Smith’s vivid wallpapering of the film with a collage of educational films, ads, old black & white movies, cartoons and television shows to create a sense of time and place.
From the eerie “Island of Lost Souls”—which provided their famous “Are we not men?” refrain—and the religious pamphlet “Jocko Homo Heavenbound” to David Bowie concert footage and industrial films, the surreal images contextualize the influences that created the band’s ethos.
Born as an art rock experiment, the early satirical work of DEVO’s founding members, Gerald Casale and Bob Lewis, quickly became serious following the Kent State massacre of May 4, 1970. Their embrace of “de-evolution” as a metaphor for societal decline became central to their subversive cultural commentary and aesthetics. Their lyrics, like 1979’s “Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA”—”He’s just a clone / Of a chromosome / He’s our Mr. DNA / He’s a mutant on the loose / He’s the living proof / We’re not what we used to be”—spoke to what they saw as social regression.
Add to that their matching jumpsuits, strange “energy dome” hats and sunglasses and the comment on corporate conformity and societal homogenization was complete.
Using the hallucinogenic visuals and new firsthand interviews with band member Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh, and Gerald Casale, Smith creates a portrait of a committed, uncompromising band who rode a wave of success in the kind of corporate medium they were satirizing.
Sure, “DEVO” has a good beat, and you can dance to some of it, but, as the film reveals, underneath the band’s crazy costumes and off-kilter music, are keenly observed positions on consumerism, alienation, conformity and regression.
The songs may be nostalgic for those of us who grew up hearing them on the radio, but their philosophies haven’t aged a day. “This is not how we wanted to be right at all,” says Gerald Casale. “We sure wish we had been wrong.”
“DEVO” is a fascinating look into the machinations of a misunderstood band who maintained their Dadaesque integrity for half a century, treating every phase of their career as an art project.
SYNOPSIS: “Lurker,” a new psychological thriller now playing in theatres, sees an obsessed fan drawn, like a moth, to the flame of fame.
