I join CTV Atlantic’s Bruce Frisko to talk about the absurdist environmental dramedy “Digger,” the suburban gothic “Verity” and the psychological thriller “Heel.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Watch the whole thing HERE!
CAST: Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, Josh Hartnett, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Alex Cooper. Directed by Michael Showalter.
REVIEW: Although released in the fall, “Verity” is the equivalent of a summer beach read.
Based on Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name, “Verity” sees Dakota Johnson as struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh. Broke and facing eviction, she is in bad need of a job.
The gig as a ghostwriter for Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway), a bestselling author of thrillers who has been left immobilized and unresponsive after a terrible car accident, offers Lowen the chance to start anew at the author’s isolated Vermont estate.
At the house while sorting through Verity’s notes, Lowen uncovers what she thinks is an autobiography. The manuscript, however, is more than a straightforward look at Verity’s life. On the pages, in stark black and white, are what appear to be intimate details to the author’s culpability in her family’s tragedies. “A writer’s words should be honest and bloody and a little bit terrifying.”
In a quest for the truth, Lowen is drawn into a world of obsession where real life and fiction are tangled.
“Verity” breathes the same suburban Gothic air as “The Housemaid,” but has none of the delirious spirit that made the Amanda Seyfried/Sydney Sweeney movie a silly and steamy crowd pleaser.
There are twists and turns aplenty, but very few shocks in this talky, deliberately paced movie. Like Daphne du Maurier on quaaludes, it plods through the story of truth vs. fiction as though the set was filled with molasses. Fans of the novel may enjoy seeing Hoover’s famous “headboard sex scene” brought to life, (VERY MILD SPOILER AHEAD) but the core notion that a compelling narrative trumps facts feels forced and, by the time we get to it, morally ambiguous.
Of the top line cast only Hathaway dives in, providing a darkly theatrical turn. Seen mostly in flashbacks, she’s mean and menacing with a touch of camp.
When she is on screen, mouth bloodied after biting her lover or happily unplugging her children’s baby monitors, “Verity” comes alive, only then to be deadened by the surrounding turgid storytelling.
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make a sandwich. Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the biopic “Tony,” the dino drama “The End of Oak Street” and the slasher flick “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join CTV Atlantic’s Stephanie Tsicos to talk about the biopic “Tony,” the dino drama “The End of Oak Street,” the kid’s flick “PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie” and the stoner comedy “The Wrong Girls.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
CAST: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, Christian Convery. Directed by David Robert Mitchell.
REVIEW: Is Amblinesque a word? It’s not, but it should be because it’s the best way to describe “The End of Oak Street.” A heaping handful of classic Spielberg tropes, some genuine shocks and laughs, the movie feels like the kind of popcorn flick Amblin would have made in the 1980s.
Set in 1982, “The End of Oak Street” centers on unhappily married couple Greg and Denise Platt (Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway) and their kids, typical treen Brian (Christian Convery) and the Carl Sagan-quoting Audrey (Maisy Stella). They live lives of quiet desperation on Oak Street in the fictional town of Flowervale, Michigan. Greg has lost his job, but can’t bring himself to tell the family, so he delivers pizzas at night to keep a few dollars coming in. Denise dreams of divorce and is secretly writing a book about a frustrated housewife.
The film’s action begins with a simple question. “Is this the end of the world?” asks Brian (Christian Convery).
“I think our house, our neighborhood, our whole street has moved,” says Denise (Anne Hathaway). “I think our house is somewhere else now… in the past.”
With their suburban street transported to a prehistoric place and time, they find themselves battling bloodthirsty dinosaurs, who come complete with paleontologically correct feathers and fur. “Gather supplies,” commands Denise. “Grab anything you can use as a weapon.”
Their fight for survival brings them closer as a family but will their new family bond be enough to defeat the deadly dinosaurs who see the family as an afternoon snack.
“God’s not gonna let us die here,” says Brian.
“Greg, you only go to church at Christmas,” replies Denise, “and now you’re telling the kids God’s looking out for us?”
“What about the people who are out there getting eaten?” adds Audrey.
Call it “Jurassic Suburb” if you like, but no matter how obvious the references in “The End of Oak Street” feel, it’s not just a Valentine to the blockbusters of yesteryear. Director David Robert Mitchell mines everything from Spielberg ‘s big dino movies, “Poltergeist’s” suburban terror, and the sci fi of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” but grafts on a family drama that adds emotional investment and raises the stakes.
At a brisk 99 minutes it barrels along but allows time for character development of the core four before unleashing the dinosaurs. That combo—compelling characters and hungry dinos—goes a long way to hide the film’s absurd aspects. From the silly science behind the street’s move to prehistoric times, the dino sex and pooping, and some truly boneheaded family survival decisions, much of the story exists in a logic free zone that makes the Oak Street situation itself seem reasonable.
Still, “The End of Oak Street” is a cut above the recent “Jurassic” reboots, delivering a blast of late summer faux Amblin adrenaline on the big screen.
I sit with NewsTalk 1010 afternoon host Jim Richards to talk about the various formats available to view “The Odyssey” and why large and loud is the best.
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I join CTV Atlantic’s Todd Battis to talk about Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” the psychological drama “Steal Away” and the thriller “Rose Of Nevada.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Renée Rodgers to talk about the new releases in theatres, including Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” the psychological drama “Steal Away” and the thriller “Rose Of Nevada.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
