On the January 3, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we meet Canadian author, speaker, and productivity consultant Chris Bailey. Over the past decade, he’s built a devoted international following through his newsletter and podcast (~1M downloads) and has delivered hundreds of talks and consultations for clients including Microsoft, Zipcar, IDEO, Intuit, and The New York Times Content Studio. In “Intentional,” he argues that intentionality, not intensity, is the real key to following through. Through this shift, he offers a counterintuitive, refreshing alternative to our culture’s all-or-nothing approach to productivity.
Then we get to know Julie Daniluk is a registered holistic nutritionist, TV host, and bestselling author of “Meals That Heal Inflammation” (with a revised edition featuring over 110 recipes). The book focuses on reducing chronic inflammation through diet, exploring its root causes, identifying food triggers, and providing delicious, healing recipes.
Then Victoria Hetherington, novelist, nonfiction writer, NPR’s The Moth storyteller, educator and author of “The Friend Machine: On the Trail of AI Companionship” stops by. A deeply personal blend of memoir, cultural criticism, and investigative journalism examining loneliness, AI companions (like Replika), commodified intimacy, and the blurring lines between human and machine relationships it’s available now wherever fine books are sold.
Finally, historian, award-winning educator, and commentator J.D.M. Stewart drops in to talk about his latest book, “The Prime Ministers: Canada’s Leaders and the Nation They Shaped.” It is the first comprehensive chronicle of all Canadian prime ministers in over 25 years, covering from Sir John A. Macdonald to the current one (Mark Carney in the book’s timeline). It emphasizes fresh perspectives on Indigenous relations, environmental policies, U.S. ties, and evolving reputations, while aiming to make history accessible amid concerns about young Canadians’ knowledge gaps.
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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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 zombies of “We Bury the Dead,” the psychological drama of “The Plague” and the social satire of “No Other Choice.”
Deb Hutton is off this week so I sit with Mark Twohey on NewsTalk 1010 to go over some of the week’s biggest movies playing in theatres. Today we talk about “Marty Supreme,” the zombie flick “We Bury the Dead” and the psychological thriller “The Plague.”
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with guset host Andrew Pinsent to talk about the new movies coming to theatres including the zombie flick “We Bury the Dead,” the psychological thriller “The Plague” and a look at some of the years best films!
SYNOPSIS: In “No Other Choice,” a new comedic thriller from Oscar winning director Park Chan-wook, a middle-aged paper mill manager is driven to violent extremes after being laid off after twenty-five years of working for the same company.
CAST: Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran and Cha Seung-won. Directed by Park Chan-wook.
REVIEW: A satirical black comedy that touches on themes of economic anxiety and living to work instead of working to live, “No Other Choice” is a timely, if exaggerated, look at the price people pay to make money.
When the story begins Yoo Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) has a good, long-time job at the papermaking company Solar Paper. When he’s not at work he lives a comfortable life with wife, children and dog. But when an American company buys the factory, Man-Su is laid off, throwing his life into chaos.
Unemployed for the first time in twenty-five years, he promises his family he’ll be able to land another job, maybe even a better one, within three months. Thirteen months later, still unemployed and unable to pay the mortgage, he devises a risky plan to reclaim his dignity and provide for his family—he’ll make himself in-demand by killing his competition. “It’s how I’m meant to be,” he says, “I’ve no other choice.”
Despite the dark subject, Man-su’s desperation and the relatively high body count, “No Other Choice” is a playful film. Director Park Chan-wook’s peek at ruthless corporations and expendable workers is delightfully absurd and yet grounded in real human behavior.
Man-su’s actions are over the top, and increasingly chaotic, but the driver of his deadly journey are the primal forces of respect and self-worth. The film’s villain isn’t entirely the guy who’s knocking off his competition, it’s the dehumanizing system that pushed him to extremes, that gave him “no other choice” but to act out.
“No Other Choice” isn’t a delicate movie. It’s a hair overlong and delivers its message with the subtlety of a slap across the face, but the story’s unpredictability is very entertaining.
SYNOPSIS: In “The Plague,” a new psychological drama-thriller now playing in theatres, a socially anxious 12-year-old boy is hazed at an all-boys’ water polo camp for showing kindness to another outcast.
CAST: Everett Blunck, Kayo Martin, Kenny Rasmussen, and Joel Edgerton. Written and directed by Charlie Polinger.
REVIEW: A mix of “The Lord of the Flies” and body horror, “The Plague” is a coming-of-age drama that explores peer pressure, gaslighting and toxic masculinity.
Set in 2013, “The Plague” sees 12-year-old Ben (Everett Blunck) desperate to be one of the guys at his all-boys water polo summer camp. When he meets Eli Kenny Rasmussen), an outsider who always wears a long-sleeved shirt, even in the pool, he asks school top dog Jake (Kayo Martin), “What’s with Eli?”
“He’s got the plague. It turns your brain into baby food.”
Jake and the other boys bully Eli with a vigor that borders on sadism, but Ben is a considerate kid and treats him with kindness which puts him in Jake’s crosshairs.
“The Plague” is as tense as a drawn bowstring as Ben attempts to find a place for himself within the camp’s social hierarchies. It’s that push and pull that creates the film’s thick, intense atmosphere. Couple that with Johan Lenox’s anxiety-inducing score and you have an intentionally uncomfortable viewing experience that may leave you with an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach.
The ensemble cast, made up of mostly newcomers, feels authentic, particularly the lead trio. Blunck brings depth to Ben’s conundrum; is being popular more important than empathy? Martin as the cherubic looking villain, appears to be hiding a personal hurt that fuels his bullying bravado while Rasmussen, as social outcast Eli realistically plays a youngster on the outside looking in at the “cool” kids.
“The Plague” is a horror film but the horror here isn’t Eli’s rash, it’s alpha Jake’s lack of humanity spreads like a plague.
On the January 3, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we meet Canadian author, speaker, and productivity consultant Chris Bailey. Over the past decade, he’s built a devoted international following through his newsletter and podcast (~1M downloads) and has delivered hundreds of talks and consultations for clients including Microsoft, Zipcar, IDEO, Intuit, and The New York Times Content Studio. In “Intentional,” he argues that intentionality, not intensity, is the real key to following through. Through this shift, he offers a counterintuitive, refreshing alternative to our culture’s all-or-nothing approach to productivity.
