Posts Tagged ‘Ayisha Issa’

DARK MATCH: 3 STARS. “an over-the-top exercise in genre filmmaking.”

SYNOPSIS: In “Dark Match,” a new horror wrestling flick now playing in theatres, mixes amateur wrestling with ritualistic sacrifice.

CAST: Chris Jericho, Ayisha Issa, Steven Ogg, Sara Canning, Mo Jabari, Michael Eklund, Jonathan Cherry. Directed by Lowell Dean.

REVIEW: According to Wikipedia, in the wrestling world a dark match refers to a non-televised match, often used to test new talent or warm up the crowd. The term takes on a different meaning in “Dark Match,” a new down and dirty indie that sees an amateur company of wrestlers unwittingly take a gig from a cult leader, played by Chris Jericho, to be human sacrifices in literal death matches.

A mix-and-match of retro 1980s wrestling and lurid horror, “Dark Match” is a fun movie right up until, but not including its final shot. The abrupt ending is a bit of a bitter pill (no spoilers here), but until then it’s an energetic romp that features the same kind of oversized showmanship that makes wrestling such a hoot. The ritualistic kills are gorey, often ridiculous and often bigger and more effective than you might expect from a low budget film.

Director Lowell Dean embraces the grindhouse aesthetic, bringing dynamic camerawork and inventive lighting to create energy and suspense. There are plots holes you could suplex The Rock through, but the verve Dean brings to the material ensures you likely won’t notice… or care.

“Dark Match” is an over-the-top exercise in genre filmmaking that finds occasional grace notes—mostly from Ayisha Issa’s performance as Miss Behave who brings some welcome emotion to the film—amid the wild antics.

POP LIFE ENCORE: AN IN-DEPTH TALK WITH ‘THE GOOD DOCTOR’S” CHRISTINA CHANG!

On the August 8, 2020 encore presentation of “Pop Life” we talk with an actor who plays a doctor on one of the most popular shows on television. You’ve seen Christina Chang in films like “28 Days” and “Random Hearts,” and on television on “24,” “CSI: Miami,” “Boston Legal,” “Suits” and “Nashville” but she is best known as Dr. Audrey Lim on “The Good Doctor.” We talk about a little bit of everything, including what it was like to move to the United States from Taiwan when she was a teenager and the kind of research she does about medical procedures to convincingly play a doctor on TV.

Then, the “Pop Life” panel, two real doctors, Dr. Brian Goldman—he’s an ER physician, host of CBC’s White Coat, Black Art and author of the national bestseller “Power Of Kindness”–and Emergency Physician and Canada’s ER Blogger Dr. Raj Waghmare, speak with an actor who plays a doctor on television, that’s “Transplant’s” Ayisha Issa about real life medicine versus what we see on television.

Watch the whole thing HERE!

Film critic and pop culture historian Richard Crouse shares a toast with celebrity guests and entertainment pundits every week on CTV News Channel’s exciting talk show POP LIFE.

Featuring in-depth discussion and debate on pop culture and modern life, POP LIFE features sit-down interviews with celebrities from across the entertainment world, including rock legends Sting and Meat Loaf, musicians Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman, comedian Ken Jeong, writer Fran Lebowitz, superstar jazz musician Diana Krall, stand-up comedian and CNN host W. Kamau Bell, actors Danny DeVito and Jay Baruchel, celebrity chefs Bobby Flay and Nigella Lawson, and many more.