SYNOPSIS: In “Stitch Head,” a new kid-friendly animated monster movie now playing in theatres, a strange little creature made up of spare parts runs away to join the circus, leaving behind the only family he’s ever known.
“Stitch Head is not a horror film at all, but an adventure comedy that plays with the clichés of the horror genre.” Steve Hudson
CAST: Asa Butterfield, Joel Fry, Tia Bannon, Rob Brydon, Alison Steadman, Fern Brady, Jamali Maddix. Directed by Steve Hudson with Toby Genkel as co-director.
REVIEW: Adapted from the graphic novels by Guy Bass, “Stitch Head’s” story of a patchwork “freak” who discovers his otherness is actually a strength, breathes the same air as other family-friendly gateway horrors like “Para-Norman” and “The Boxtrolls.”
The story begins in the laboratory of Castle Grotteskew, homebase to the maddest of all mad professors (voiced by Rob Brydon). He creates monsters of various shapes and sizes, only to promptly forget about them as he moves on to the next. “To life! Almost to life! Now,” he says, “what’s next—fangs or feathers?”
Keeping order in the castle is Stitch Head (Asa Butterfield), the mad professor’s first creation. He’s a pint-sized caretaker, stitched together from mismatched body parts—think Frankenstein, only cute—who quietly keeps the discarded monsters from upsetting the residents of the village Grubbers Nubbin.
Stitch Head finds his way out of the shadows and into the spotlight when a carnival, run by Fulbert Freakfinder (Joel Fry), comes to the village. Sensing the appeal of young Stitch Head, Freakfinder offers him a job in his travelling circus. “You’re no freak, lad—you’re a star! Fame, fortune, and a spotlight brighter than a bolt of lightning!”
The heart of the spotlight soon cools as Stitch Head comes to fear that his real family, the monsters at the castle, without his guidance, are in danger of being misunderstood by the villagers of Grubbers Nubbin. “We’re not monsters,” he says, “we’re family. Stitched together, not torn apart!”
A mix of humor and heart, “Stitch Head” is a lively Tim Burton-lite movie about undead characters. Packed with imaginative characters, it’s an intermittently entertaining adventure that will appeal to kids, but should keep the whole family interested, even if the pacing is a bit uneven. It winds up pretty much how you imagine it will, so no big points for originality, but it makes up for its lapses with kid-friendly messages about embracing our differences, belonging and the courage to face fears.
SYNOPSIS: “Better Man,” the biopic of Take That singer-turned-solo superstar Robbie Williams is a sex, drugs and British Pop story given an audacious treatment by “The Greatest Showman” director Michael Gracey. A surreal mix of “Behind the Music” and “Planet of the Apes,” it is a raw portrayal of the singer’s vulnerabilities and foibles with a startling gimmick.
CAST: Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton, Alison Steadman. Co-written, co-produced and directed by Michael Gracey.
REVIEW: You can’t talk about “Better Man” without first acknowledging the 500-pound monkey in the room. Or, in this case, in the film’s leading role.
The role of Robbie Williams, international pop star, is played as a chimp in a motion-capture performance by Jonno Davies. It is never directly referred to in the film, although there is some talk about how Williams, who first found fame as a young teen, was somehow stunted by the experience.
In other words, he is not as evolved as his peers.
It’s a stretch, and it is very much a gimmick, but it works. You will believe a chimp can sing and dance, and more importantly, you’ll soon forget the movie’s monkey business and be drawn in by the bombastic, unflinching portrayal of the ups and downs of Williams’s life.
From the fairly straightforward Bob Dylan biography “A Complete Unknown” to the fanciful “Piece by Piece,” the life story of Pharrell Williams, rendered completely in LEGO, 2024 has been an eventful year for music biopics. No matter what the execution, most follow a rags-to-riches trajectory, tarted up with good tunes and some sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll speedbumps along the way to a happy, triumphant ending.
“Better Man” is no different. The story beats are familiar, but it is in its execution that Michael Gracey succeeds in creating something not only entertaining, but memorable. It’s a wild ride, one that paints outside the lines, while still providing a complete portrait.
Bruce Springsteen once said, “You don’t get into this business because you had a normal childhood.” Those words echo throughout “Better Man” as we learn of Williams’s estrangement from his show biz obsessed father, his insecurities and battles with his worst enemy—himself. Amid all the glitz is a very real story of someone who discovered that money and fame can change the bank account and get you a better table at a fancy restaurant but isn’t a remedy for everything.
On some levels “Better Man” is a standard biography, but what separates it from other music bios, like the Wikipedia page style of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” is the raw honesty it displays toward its subject. Williams is a superstar whose life has been tabloid fodder for as long as he’s been in the public eye but there is no whitewashing of his foibles here. Director Gracey may sprinkle a bit of glitter over them, but he never shies away from the grit that makes Williams’s story interesting.
The chimp, loads of bad language, excessive drug use and song and dance numbers bring great energy and entertain the eye, but it’s “Better Man’s” raw, emotional that sticks.
On the Saturday December 21, 2024 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Bette Reynolds. She’s Everyone’s Favourite Granny and if you’ve been on line in the last few months—and who hasn’t?—you probably saw her performance on The Voice UK.
Earlier this year she became the show’s oldest contestant ever when she did her rendition of The Sugarhill Gang’s, Rapper’s Delight in an effort to get coaches Sir Tom Jones, Will.i.am, LeAnn Rimes and Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones to turn their chairs.
She became a sensation, and she joins me today top talk about being on the show, doing a duet to Black Eyed Peas, I Gotta Feeling, with the song’s writer Will.i.am and her new Christmas single “Grandma’s Christmas Escape.”
Then, we’ll take a deep dive into Christmas horror stories with author Joshua Millican. Over the past decade-plus, Millican has proven himself to be a horror expert of the highest caliber. He is one of the genre’s premiere journalists, and today we’ll talk about the best Christmas horror movies and his two new books, “All Through the House: The Novelization” and “Chopping Mall: The Novelization.”
Finally, I’ll share my conversation with one of the world’s most successful music stars, Robbie Williams. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching his mega successful solo career in 1996. By 2008, he had sold more albums in the UK than any other British solo artist in history and right now his record sales stand at over 77 million worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time, and now his wide ride to fame has been captured in a new movie called Better Man, which comes to select theatres on Christmas Day before opening wide on January 10.
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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SYNOPSIS: In “Stitch Head,” a new kid-friendly animated monster movie now playing in theatres, a strange little creature made up of spare parts runs away to join the circus, leaving behind the only family he’s ever known.