Archive for the ‘Film Review’ Category

CTV NEWS AT 11:30: MORE MOVIES AND TV SHOWS TO STREAM THIS WEEKEND!

I appear on “CTV News at 11:30” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend, including the Kate Winslet Crave series “The Regime,” the neo noir “Love Lies Bleeding” and the mockumentary “Hey Viktor!”

Watch the whole thing HERE!  (Starts at 19:27)

CTV NEWS AT SIX: NEW MOVIES AND TV SHOWS TO CHECK OUT THIS WEEKEND!

I appear on “CTV News at 6” with Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend. I’ll tell you about the Disney+ “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version), the Netflix comedy series “Girls5Eva” and the prime Video comedy special “Jenny Slate: Seasoned Professional.”

Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 37:59)

 

YOU TUBE: THREE MOVIES/THIRTY SECONDS! FAST REVIEWS FOR BUSY PEOPLE!

Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to seat a pickle! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the neo noir “Love Lies Bleeding,” the mockumentary “Hey Viktor!” and the Can Con rom com “French Girl.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY MARCH 15, 2024.

I join CP24 to have a look at the neo noir “Love Lies Bleeding,” the mockumentary “Hey Viktor!,” the Can Con rom com “French Girl” and the drama “One Life.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S CTV NEWSCHANNEL WEEKEND REVIEWS FOR FRIDAY MARCH 15, 2024!

I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to talk about the neo noir “Love Lies Bleeding,” the mockumentary “Hey Viktor!,” the Can Con rom com “French Girl” and the drama “One Life.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

CKTB NIAGARA REGION: THE TIM DENIS SHOW WITH RICHARD CROUSE ON MOVIES!

I sit in with CKTB morning show host Tim Denis to have a look at the neo noir “Love Lies Bleeding,” the mockumentary “Hey Viktor!,” the Can Con rom com “French Girl” and the drama “One LIfe.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

CFRA IN OTTAWA: THE BILL CARROLL MORNING SHOW MOVIE REVIEWS!

I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres and streaming including the neo noir “Love Lies Bleeding,” the mockumentary “Hey Viktor!” and the Can Con rom com “French Girl.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

HEY VIKTOR!: 3 ½ STARS. “a go-for-it comedy that matches humour with heart.”

In the classic 1998 film “Smoke Signals” Cree actor Cody Lightning played the younger version of the lead character Victor. “I’m Cody Lightning,” he says, “Little Victor, as most people know me. Or should know me. ‘Smoke Signals.’ Big movie. I was in it.”

A quarter century later comes “Hey Viktor!,” a new mockumentary, now playing in theatres, starring Lightning as an exaggerated version of himself as he desperately seeks to relive old glories.

“I did not want this movie to end,” said Gene Siskel of “Smoke Signals.” “In fact, I wanted a sequel.”

In the new film, Lightning aims to give Siskel his wish and create a sequel to the movie that started it all for him. “When ‘Smoke Signals 2’ comes out,” he says, “game over.”

We first meet Lightning, as an alcoholic teacher of a very intense acting classes for kids while performing in cut-rate pornos in his off hours. “A lot of people don’t understand the artist’s life,” he says.

When his ex, and mother of his kids, begins dating “Canada’s latest Indigenous superstar” (Peter Craig Robinson) and announces she’s moving to the United States, he hits rock bottom.

We see all this, because the documentary crew following him around isn’t actually making a movie about his life and career, they’re actually from an intervention style TV show called “Getting Sober” hosted by Craig Broner (Colin Mochrie).

He takes the opportunity to realize his dream. Along with the crew and his manager and BFF Kate (Hannah Cheeseman) he begins production on “Smoke Signals 2.”

“If we don’t do this,” he tells Kate, “I have nothing. I’m losing my kids. I’m not getting parts. I’m losing you. Let’s do this for us.”

“Hey Viktor!” may be the “Spinal Tap” of child actor movies. Funny and absurd, but with an undercurrent of reality that grounds the heartfelt moments, it delivers laughs and some bittersweet moments. Make no mistake, this is a comedy, first and foremost, and a raunchy one at that, but as it works its way to the end, it careens through a dysfunctional journey of self-discovery.

At the heart of the film is Lightning. Playing a character who wants to overcome the demons that plague his adult life, he makes peace with those he has wronged, and with himself. It’s not a subtle performance, the nudity, the poop jokes and the ruthless swearing see to that, but it is a heartfelt one.

He’s supported by nice performances from the cast, including Cheeseman, who does powerful work as Lightning’s faithful friend, Mochrie, who brings the fire and Simon Baker, who plays himself as a grown-up star of “Smoke Signals.”

“Hey Viktor!” is a go-for-it comedy that matches humour with heart.

FRENCH GIRL: 2 ½ STARS. “leans heavily into the genre’s conventions.”

The Quebec-set “French Girl,” now playing in theatres, may be the only rom com to feature Mixed Martial Arts as a plot point. Other than that, it’s a standard romantic comedy, heavy on the romance but light on real comedy.

Zach Braff plays Gordon Kinski, a Brooklyn, New York born-and-raised high school English teacher, who has never wandered outside the neighborhood he was born into. He lives close to his eccentric writer father (William Fichtner) and teaches at the school he attended as a teen.

He’s forced out of his comfort zone when his live-in chef girlfriend Sophie (Evelyne Brochu) gets the chance to work in a fancy hotel kitchen, run by world-famous chef Ruby Collins (Vanessa Hudgens), in her Quebec City hometown.

Bags packed, he goes along for the ride. Trouble is, Gordon, a bundle of anxiety and insecurity, tries a little too hard to impress Sophie’s French-Canadian family. On top of that, unbeknownst to Gordon, Sophie and Ruby were once a couple, and the flame of attraction may still be burning.

The CanCon rom com “French Girl” is a fish-out-of-water story that leans heavily into the genre’s conventions. You know how it will end—if you don’t, give up your RomComCard—so it is important to make the journey to the end credits as entertaining as possible.

Braff does yeoman’s work bringing as much charm as possible to Gordon. His photo should be next to the word “neurosis” in the dictionary, and after a time, his ability to put his foot in his mouth becomes almost as tiering for the audience as it does for Sophie’s family.

Brochu, in a fairly thankless role, has good chemistry with Braff, but really shines when she is interacting with the members of her family.

Hudgens plays Ruby as a ruthless chef with a passion for perfection. It’s a stereotype straight out of “Hell’s Kitchen,” which might have had more impact if we actually saw her prepare some food, and not just dip her finger into a sauce with an unkind word on her lips and a sneer on her face.

Romantic comedies can be comforting in their cliches. Like a great meatloaf or mac ‘n’ cheese, they are unpretentious, don’t demand much and in return provide a warm happy feeing. “French Girl” has the comforting traits of the genre, but in the end is mostly empty calories.