I join the national night time show “Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift” to suggest the perfect cocktail to enjoy while taking in the new George Clooney/Brad Pitt comedic thriller “Wolfs” and then have a look at the big entertainment headlines of the night.
Listen to Booze and Reviews HERE! (Starts at 39:34)
Listen to the latest entertainment headlines HERE! (Starts at 11:01)
SYNOPSIS: “Transformers One” is the origin story of the two Transformers titans, Optimus Prime and Megatron, and how they altered the fate of Cybertron forever.
CAST: Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Hamm. Directed by Josh Cooley.
REVIEW: “Transformers One” is the story of an ideological split that drives a wedge between two lifelong friends. Nope, it’s not the story of you and your college pal who has decided to vote for Trump, it’s the animated origin story of the leaders of the Autobots and the Decepticons, the twins towers of the “Transformers” series.
When we first meet them, Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry) are
Cybertronian workers who can’t shapeshift into cars, guns or anything else. They are designed for work, nothing more. Under the rule of Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm), who they view as a kind and benevolent leader, the pair work in the mines harvesting valuable commodities.
Before they become frenemies they have a great vibe, and the film is a fast-paced blast, filled with humor and heart. It’s a buddy movie, complete with good natured ribbing between the two, some slapstick shenanigans and a bit of playful competition before D-16 allows feelings of betrayal to colour his view of the world.
As their relationship sours, the film becomes darker, but that transformation brings with it an emotional element that while inevitable, also feels bittersweet.
Hemsworth, alongside Keegan-Michael Key as B-127 (ie: Bumblebee) and Scarlett Johansson as Elita-1, deliver solid voicework, but Henry is the MVP. On his way to becoming antagonist Megatron, D-16 has the biggest character arc, and Henry gives this bucket of bolts real personality and effectively conveys the sense of disillusionment that was the catalyst for his trip to the dark side.
The animation is slick and imaginative, although the battle scenes are often so frenetic it’s hard to discern who is fighting who. Still, the visuals sparkle, especially the inventive sci fi landscapes in the background of the above ground scenes.
“Transformers One” is a standalone movie, one that offers up copious Easter Eggs for longtime fans, and a top-notch, entertaining entryway for new fans.
SYNOPSIS: In “Wolfs,” a new crime comedy in select theatres before moving to Apple TV+ on September 27, George Clooney plays Jack, a lone wolf fixer who aids the rich and powerful when they get into hot water. Need to get rid of a body? He’s your bagman.
“I was told that if I ever need help to call you,” says Margaret (Amy Smart), who finds herself in a hotel room with an inconveniently dead body. “I didn’t know people like you really existed.”
“They don’t,” he says. “There’s nobody who can do what I do.”
Except there is.
That person is Nick (Brad Pitt), a smug Mr. Fixit sent by the hotel. ”I’m here to fix your problem,” he says.
They don’t want to work together, but the hotel’s owner, whose been watching everything on hidden cameras intervenes. “The only course of action is for you to work together,” says Pamela Dowd-Henry (voiced by Frances McDormand), “to clean up this mess.”
As events spiral out of control, the two competitive troubleshooters reluctantly agree to partner up. “It’s gonna be a long night,” says Nick.
CAST: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, Poorna Jagannathan. Written and directed by Jon Watts.
REVIEW: By the time the end credits roll “Wolfs” has revealed itself to not be about men immersed in a world of murder and mayhem, but as a study in loneliness.
Clooney and Pitt play loners—the title is meant to suggest they are each a lone wolf, not part of a pack, and therefore aren’t wolves, but wolfs… or something like that—whose job, for safety reasons, requires that friendships do not get in the way of the work. But, when thrown together, they slowly form a bond. They don’t exactly become Bert and Ernie, but find commonalities and form a bond of trust, possibly for the first time in their lives.
The movie is at its best as Clooney and Pitt fall in “like.” The rest is finely tuned filmmaking, with a few laughs and some shoot ‘em up action. It’s slick and fleet-of-foot but the events surrounding the characters are not quite as interesting as the characters themselves.
The two leads begin as enemies, become frenemies and finally allies. It is their banter, chemistry and gentle acknowledgment of age that drives the movie, not the intrigue. Clooney and Pitt have an easy charm, and their combination of humorous self-depreciation and charisma is where the action is, not in the car chases or gun battles.
“Wolfs” is a great argument for the existence of movie stars. It’s a good example of how star power (alongside the goofy charm of Austin Abrams as an optimistic kid in constantly thrust into life-and-death situations) can amp an up a run-of-the-mill movie.
SYNOPSIS: In “The Substance,” a new splatter film starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, and now playing in theatres, Hollywood actress Elisabeth Sparkle is willing to do anything to be younger, more beautiful, more perfect, including using a new, black-market drug that promises to create “the best version” of herself. The cell-replicating substance does indeed create a new, younger version of Elisabeth, but youth comes with a price and some potentially horrifying side-effects.
CAST: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid. Written and directed by Coralie Fargeat.
REVIEW: In its willingness to push buttons, “The Substance” is quite unlike any other movie you’ll see this year.
Violent and gory, and culminating in uncontrolled chaos, it’s a horror film about the downside of selfishness and the virtue of playing by the rules. It’s a showbiz cautionary tale, à la “Sunset Boulevard” by way of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and it allows Demi Moore to let her freak flag fly.
The dual quest for youth and fame is front and center. Both subjects have been essayed before in film, but never with such squirm inducing intensity. It’s outlandish, unrealistic and over-all rather silly, and yet, the idea of using some sort of substance to change your body seems less outlandish, unrealistic and not quite as silly in the age of Ozempic usage and plastic surgery ads beamed into our homes via TV and the internet.
The question at the heart of the film, “Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? Younger? More beautiful?” isn’t some wild horror premise. It’s a common notion, pushed to an extreme. Because it is a question thrown at us daily through advertising, the action becomes wretchedly relatable, even if the exact situation isn’t.
As a faded Oscar winner who takes an opportunity to literally shed her old skin, Demi Moore is perfectly and ingeniously cast. She is obviously a successful movie star in real life, so when we see her wracked by insecurity when she overhears obnoxious studio head Harvey (Dennis Quaid), in full-on Hollywood a-hole mode, bellow, “Find me somebody new, now!” it packs a punch. It may be a career best performance for Moore. At any rate, it is certainly unlike anything she has ever done before.
As Moore’s younger, “best” self, Qualley shines. Moore undergoes the broadest physical change, but, as Sue, Qualley takes the character on a journey from naïve and sweet to calculating and disturbing.
“The Substance” has a lot on its mind. Writer/director Coralie Fargeat’s infuses the story with her thoughts on youth, beauty, fame and Hollywood’s unrealistic beauty standards, and uses body horror coupled with the bonkers, Grand Guignol ending to make her points. It goes on a bit too long, but Fargeat’s gruesome vision, and the finale’s ankle-deep bloodbath, is a thing of terrible beauty.
SYNOPSIS: In “The Invisibles,” a new fantasy family drama starring Tim Blake Nelson and Gretchen Mol, and now playing in theatres, Charlie is feeling invisible. Ignored at work and having trouble at home, he leads a life of quiet desperation. As his troubles mount, he slowly disappears; literally unseen by everyone except those in a parallel universe who have also vanished from real life.
CAST: Tim Blake Nelson, Gretchen Mol, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Webster, Rachel Wilson, Tennille Read, Laura de Carteret, Juno Rinaldi, Courtenay J. Stevens, Rob Ramsay, Vinson Tran, Golden Madison, Jean-Michel Le Gal, Tal Gottfried, Elina Miyake Jackson, Nathan Alexis, Philip Van Martin, Grace Loewen. Written and directed by Andrew Currie.
REVIEW: Charlie’s (Nelson) trip into a new dimension isn’t so much an exploration of the hereafter as it is a journey of self-discovery. Charlie isn’t dead, he is simply absent from his life, watching his old reality from another point of view. It’s a little bit “It’s a Wonderful Life,” (with a charming Nathan Alexis subbing in for Clarence), and part low-key “Interstellar” rumination on human agency and what it means to be alive.
At the heart of it all is Nelson who gives Charlie a world weariness born of trauma, disappointment and apathy. He’s a “don’t know what you have till it’s gone guy,” forced to fight for his place in the world, and to accept that disappointment, frustration and loss are equal threads in the great human tapestry alongside love and joy.
The secret to the performance is in his eyes, as we see him processing whether to return to the unpredictable real world or stay in the relative emotional stasis of the invisible world. It’s lovely work, vulnerable but determined, imbued with both bliss and the blues.
As otherworld bartender Carl, Bruce Greenwood makes a convincing argument for sidestepping the pains of real life, but writer/director Andrew Currie chooses to dive deep, examining how and why emotional tumult shapes us.
“The Invisibles” is thoughtful, provocative filmmaking that asks fundamental questions about life, love and trauma is an entertaining, and often funny, way.
I join The Shift with Patty Handysides on AM800 in Windsor to talk about the Emmys and the first Canadian father and son host in the show’s history!
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I joined the CTV National News with Sandie Rinaldo to talk about the Emmy, and the hosts, Dan and Eugene Levy.
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 17:50)
I join Marilyn Denis and David Corey on the CHUM FM morning show to talk about TIFF and why Robbie Williams is played by a chimp in the new biopic “Better Man.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I join NewsTalk 1010 host John Moore of Moore in the Morning to talk about the big winners at the Emmys and why “Hacks” beat “The Bear” for best comedy.
Listen to the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 18:40)
