I appear on “CTV News at 6” with anchor Pauline Chan to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend. This week I have a look at Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” Jennifer Lawrence’s “No Hard Feelings” and the drama “Blue Jean.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 38:11)
I sit in for 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 Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” Jennifer Lawrence’s “No Hard Feelings” and the drama “Blue Jean.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I joined CP24 to have a look at new movies coming to VOD, streaming services and theatres. Today we talk about Wes Anderson’s all-star “Asteroid City,” Jennifer Lawrence’s “No Hard Feelings” and the drama “Blue Jean.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Marcia MacMillan to talk about Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” Jennifer Lawrence’s “No Hard Feelings” and the drama “Blue Jean.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I joined CP24 to have a look at new movies coming to VOD, streaming services and theatres. Today we talk about Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” Jennifer Lawrence’s “No Hard Feelings” and the drama “Blue Jean.”
Watch 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 including Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” Jennifer Lawrence’s “No Hard Feelings” and the drama “Blue Jean.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Watch as I reviews three movies in less time than it takes to turn on the lights! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” Jennifer Lawrence’s “No Hard Feelings” and the drama “Blue Jean.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
For better and for worse, there is nothing quite like a Wes Anderson film. The director’s unique production design is all over his new sci fi comedy “Asteroid City,” but with this film it is clear that whimsy has finally replaced storytelling on his to do list.
This is a twisty-turny one. Like a set of nesting dolls, it’s a film, within a play, within a show hosted by a Rod Sterling-esque talking head (Bryan Cranston), within a teleplay written by playwright Conrad Earp (Edward Norton).
The bulk of the “action” takes place in Asteroid City, a remote New Mexico desert town—population 87—where Steve Carell’s motel manager hosts a Junior Stargazer convention. Gifted kids and their parents from all over the state convene to showcase their incredible, and often outlandish, inventions.
It’s an interesting group that includes recently widowed war photographer Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman), father to “brainiac” Woodrow (Jake Ryan) and son-in-law to Stanley (Tom Hanks), movie star Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson) and the rough-n-tumble J.J. Kellogg (Liev Schreiber). Along for the ride are singing cowboy Montana (Rupert Friend), teacher June (Maya Hawke), Dr. Hickenlooper (Tilda Swinton) a scientist from the local observatory and the fast-talking Junior Stargazer awards judge, General Grif Gibson (Jeffrey Wright).
When the convention is interrupted by a visiting alien, the whole thing is locked down for a mandatory government quarantine.
Despite the quirky tone and Anderson’s trademarked stylistic choices, “Asteroid City” is a serious film, albeit one laced with a healthy dose of absurdism. A study in how people deal with grief, and the true nature of love, Anderson’s characters experience existential dilemmas, angst born of loss and dissatisfaction. Threats are posed by nuclear bombs and life from other planets unexpectedly dropping by to say hello and children wonder aloud what happens when we die. A shroud of melancholic anxiety hangs over the film, like a shroud, but Anderson’s staging of the film, the meta story within a story structure, obscures the movie’s deeper meanings under layers of style.
The cast, particularly Johansson and Hanks, bring focus to Anderson’s unfocussed story, and Carell, Cranston and briefly Goldblum are having fun, but it sometimes feels the surfeit of characters are there more to decorate the screen than to forward the story.
“Asteroid City” may delight long-time fans, but casual moviegoers or newcomers to the director’s oeuvre may find the film’s mannered obtuseness off kilter and off putting.
I appear on “CTV News at 6” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend. This week I have a look at Joaquin Phoenix in “Beau is Afraid,” the historical biopic “Chevalier” and the romantic action adventure “Ghosted.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 36:46)
