I sit in with CKTB morning show host Tim Denis to have a look at the prequel “The First Omen,” the revenge flick “Monkey Man” and the documentary “Carol Doda Topless at the Condor.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
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 prequel “The First Omen,” the revenge flick “Monkey Man” and the documentary “Carol Doda Topless at the Condor.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
The release of “The Omen” in 1976, made the name Damien synonymous with darkness and evil. Unbeknownst to wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Thorp (Gregory Peck) and wife Katherine (Lee Remick), their adopted son, five-year-old Damien (Harvey Stephens), is the Antichrist, the ultimate agent of anarchy.
That movie was a controversial sensation, and before you could chant, “Sanguis Bibimus,” it spawned big box office, a few sequels, a remake, a television show and a series of books.
A new prequel to the original film, “The First Omen,” now playing in theatres, aims to respond to a question left unanswered by all that came before it: How and why did Damien come into existence?
Set in 1971, the new movie stars Nell Tiger Free as American novitiate nun Margaret Daino, a young woman with a troubled past that includes hallucinations that she sometimes thinks are real.
Sent to work in an orphanage in Rome, she arrives as a general strike has brought the city to a standstill. Workers want more money, while students are protesting, rejecting authority and, more troubling to Cardinal Lawrence (Bill Nighy), the church. “The world is changing fast,” he says. “The young are no longer turning to us.”
Her faith is rocked when she uncovers a conspiracy to conjure up an antichrist to sow the seeds of chaos, and drive people back to the church.
“How do you control people who no longer believe?” asks Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson). “You create something to fear.”
“The First Omen” is an origin story that casts a wide net as it explores themes of both religious and body horror and a detective story of a sort. Director Arkasha Stevenson’s movie dovetails nicely into the original, using some of the same characters and new twists on some of the most memorable scenes from the 1976 film. But it also takes a helluva lot of time getting where it is going.
Like the recent, and similarly themed “Immaculate,” the juicy stuff is saved for the third act. Until then, it more or less marinates in the idea of evil, throwing a clue here, a bit of gore there. It’s uneven, but sets the scene, provides a scare or two and proves Free is capable of carrying the mystery at the centre of the story, even if it goes on a bit too long.
But it is in its exploration of body horror and the anguish of abuse that “The First Omen” finds its feet. For a time anyway. The climatic sequence is shocking, with disturbing images that provide a horrific payoff. If it ended there, “The First Omen” would go out with a visceral and thematic bang.
But the devil is in the details, and there are a few too many details and false endings before the end credits roll, blunting the primeval effectiveness of the climax.
You do not have to have seen “The Omen” to understand “The First Omen.” The new film has enough disturbing ideas to stand on its own, but feels protracted and lacks the gothic elegance of the original.
It’s a question asked of Dev Patel’s character in “Monkey Man,” a new thriller from producer Jordan Peele, now playing in theatres, but it’s also something you may want to ponder before buying a ticket.
Like the Keanu Reeves franchise, “Monkey Man” is ripe with R-rated violence, crowd-pleasing action and quirky world-building, but extreme brutality and a healthy dose of socio-political rhetoric separates the two action heroes.
Patel, who directed the film, stars as Kid, a man from the fictional Indian city of Yatana. He exists at the bottom of the caste system, tamped down by the elites, and memories of his mother’s (Adithi Kalkunte) death at the hands of corrupt police chief Rana (Sikander Kher). “In this city,” he says, “the rich don’t see us as people. To them, we’re animals.”
His suppressed rage explodes on the underground fight circuit. Wearing a monkey mask in tribute to the Hindu monkey deity Hanuman, his fists to do the talking, giving voice to his trauma. “When I was a boy,” he says, “my mother used to tell me a story of a demon king and his army. They brought fire and terror to the land until they faced the protector of the people… the White Monkey.”
Driven by revenge against those who took his mother, his childhood and his home, he exacts bloody retribution from those who wronged him. “Just one small ember can burn down everything,” says his guiding voice.
The ferocious violence of “Monkey Man” is abundant, but doesn’t have the elegance of the abovementioned Keanu Reeves franchise. It’s grittier, driven by rage, a manifestation of Kid’s brutal revenge against the people that did him wrong. The powerful fight scenes, à la “Only God Forgives” or “Raid,” establish Patel as a filmmaker outside the mainstream, unafraid to take risks.
He keeps the camera up-close-and-personal, using close-ups to convey Kid’s anguish and wrath and the pained looks on his victim’s faces. It makes for an intense viewing experience as Patel’s frenetic camera paints the screen with wild, occasionally surreal, images.
“Monkey Man” is an experience, an in-your-face flick about a guy who takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Part exploitation cinema, part revenge story, it’s elevated by Patel’s arthouse flourishes and the film’s political and spiritual bent.
The documentary “Carol Doda Topless at the Condor,” now playing in theatres, paints a picture of an accidental trailblazer whose provocative performances transformed not only San Francisco’s North Bay neighborhood, but the national nightclub business.
Before Haight-Ashbury became San Francisco’s most famous neighborhood, the North Beach area was the most bohemian part of that town. Home to dozens of clubs with enough neon signage to illuminate anyone’s darkest desires, it played host to everyone from Lenny Bruce and
Barbra Streisand to Thelonious Monk and Richard Pryor.
At the heart of this very competitive night club business was the Condor Club, a music venue that featured cool cocktails, popular bands like Bobby Freeman, The Righteous Brothers and Sly Stone and, to accompany the music, Go Go Dancers like twenty-six-year-old Carol Doda. When she wasn’t slinging drinks, Doda made a name for herself as an enthusiastic performer who was lowered to the stage, dancing on top of a baby grand piano.
Her act became notorious on June 19, 1964 when her publicist, “Big” Davy Rosenberg, suggested she wear a Monokini, a topless swimsuit from designer Rudi Gernreich. It was the first time anyone in San Fran had performed topless without the benefit of pasties, and it was a sensation. As audiences and celebrities (like Walter Cronkite and pop artist Andy Warhol) lined up to see Doda’s risqué act, which she performed 12 times a night, copycats popped up all over North Beach and soon, across the nation, ushering in an era of sexual freedom on stage and off. For a time, there were even topless shoe shine outlets in North Beach.
Bay Area directors Marlo McKenzie and Jonathan Parker assemble an impressive collection of archival footage and new interviews with Doda’s contemporaries to tell the tale. The brightly illustrated film follows Doda’s career, from her early topless days and her later bottomless days, to the 44 liquid silicone injections that enlarged her breasts from size 34 to 44 to her attempts to stay relevant once the novelty of her act began to wear thin.
What emerges is a spicy portrait of a mysterious woman, with a murky, possibly troubled past, who found agency for the first time in her life on the Condor stage. McKenzie and Parker reject the idea of Doda’s act as compliance to the male gaze, instead framing her and those who followed her, as symbols of women’s liberation. In an archival interview, however, Doda rebuffs the larger sociological impact of her work. “I wanted to be in show business, and I didn’t know any other way than showing my business.”
Doda is an interesting character, but because details of the inner workings of her life are sketchy, it feels like we learn less about her as the movie progresses. Tangents into the story’s other aspects are entertaining, but pull focus from the main feature. Ultimately, “Carol Doda Topless at the Condor,” co-produced by Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, succeeds best as a document of the time rather than the artist.
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 Apple TV+ bio “Steve (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces,” the Crave bio “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon” and the Prime Video show “Davey & Jonesie’s Locker.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 19:44)
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to talk about the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em action of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” the found footage scares of “Late Night with the Devil” and the Liam Neeson actioner “The Land of Saints and Sinners.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to brush your teeth! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em action of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” the found footage scares of “Late Night with the Devil,” the Liam Neeson actioner “The Land of Saints and Sinners.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in with NewsTalk 1010 host Jim Richards on the coast-to-coast-to-coast late night “NewsTalk Tonight” to play the game “Did Richard Crouse Like This?” This week we talk about the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em action of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” the found footage scares of “Late Night with the Devil” and the Liam Neeson actioner “The Land of Saints and Sinners.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
