I appear on “CTV News at 6” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the sports biopic “The Stunt Driver” starring Jay Baruchel and the psychological thriller “Primetime” starring Robert Pattinson.Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 37:14)
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with anchor Zuraidah Alman to talk about the captivating canine action of “Heart of the Beast,” the provocative “Primetime” and the sports biopic “The Stunt Driver.”Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 14:30)
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Renée Rodgers to talk about the captivating canine action of “Heart of the Beast,” the provocative “Primetime” and the sports biopic “The Stunt Driver.”Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk about the new movies coming to theatres including the captivating canine action of “Heart of the Beast,” the provocative “Primetime” and the sports biopic “The Stunt Driver.”Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to wind your watch. Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the captivating canine action of “Heart of the Beast,” the provocative “Primetime” and the sports biopic “The Stunt Driver.”Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: In “The Stunt Driver,” a new dramedy now playing in theatres, Jay Baruchel is Ken Carter, a real-life Canadian stunt driver who plans to drive a rocket car across the Saint-Laurent River, from a 90-foot-high ramp.CAST: Jay Baruchel, Ed Helms, Ben Foster, Laurence Leboeuf, Joe Cobden, Marc Beaupré, Dan Bakkedahl. Directed by Mike Dowse.
REVIEW: Don’t call Ken Carter (Jay Baruchel) the Canadian answer to dare devil Evel Knievel. “I’m no daredevil,” says Carter. “I’m a stunt driver.” Both performed gravity defying car jumps that put their lives on the line time after time, but Carter, nicknamed The Mad Canadian for the sheer audacity of his stunts, felt that his American counterpart was too showy—“He dresses like a Dallas cowboy cheerleader.”—and often referred to him as “Madame Knievel.”
When the action in “The Stunt Driver” kicks in Carter is planning a career defining stunt, a mile-long jump across the St. Lawrence River in a rickety rocket powered Lincoln Continental. “Evel Knievel has Snake River and I need mine,” he says.
With an NFB film crew documenting the elaborate, but under-funded, construction of a giant ramp pointed toward the mile-long gap over the river between the Quebec launch site and the American landing pad, Carter battles safety concerns, ego, delays and a reluctant engineer (Ed Helms) in his quest to make history and place his name on everyone’s lips.
Rather than recreate Carter’s acts of daring-do “The Stunt Driver” uses the NFB archival of his jumps to great effect. Director Michael Dowse mimics the style of the vintage documentary, seamlessly blending the old and new footage.
The sheer spectacle of Carter’s jumps adds a blast of excitement to the film, but it is the character study that lingers. Baruchel vividly brings the Carter to life, finding the sweet spot between the character’s bravado and his insecurity. Carter was a big personability and Baruchel captures that, his sharp tongue and impulsive behavior, but it’s not a caricature of fast-talking show off. It’s a portrait of a guy who wants to be remembered; to leave something of value behind. An underdog, he’s equal parts, destructive and ambitious, willing to risk his life for glory.
Dramatically, there is a built-in anticlimactic twist to Carter’s story that drains some of the story’s emotional momentum, but despite the unexpected gear shift, the film doesn’t crash and burn because it remains, ultimately, about the human cost of Carter’s ambition.
SYNOPSIS: In the sport biopic “Christy,” now playing in theatres, Sydney Sweeney plays a successful professional boxer who faced her biggest battles outside the ring.
CAST: Sydney Sweeney, Ben Foster, Merritt Wever, Katy O’Brian. Directed by David Michôd.
REVIEW: Boxing movies are never about the big match. Instead, they’re about the journey, which, in “Christy’s” case, is a story of the real-life triumphs and traumas of former professional boxer Christy Martin.
The action begins in late 1980s West Virginia when a gay coal miner’s daughter named Christy Salters discovers an innate talent for beating the heck out of other women in the boxing ring. Her skill catches the eye of a $500-a-fight promotor who offers her to hook her up with trainer James V. Martin (Ben Foster). Initially reluctant to work with a woman, James is won over by Christy’s ferocity in the ring. “Maybe there is something to this lady boxing business,” he says.
Leaving high school girlfriend Rosie (Jess Gabor) behind, much to the relief of her controlling mother Joyce Salters (Merritt Wever), Christy steps back into the closet, marries the unpredictable James and, in a few short years, becomes a champion, the first woman to sign with flamboyant promoter Don King and the first female boxer to appear on the cover of “Sports Illustrated.”
Her rise to the top, however, comes at a great cost, physically and mentally. Forced to subvert her sexual identity and submit to Jim’s will inside and outside the ring, she compromises every aspect of her life. “If you leave me,” Jim says, “I will kill you.”
Part “Star 80,” part “Raging Bull,” “Christy” is a gritty, if overlong, story of struggle and resilience, of compromise and abuse. Director David Michôd, who co-wrote the script with Mirrah Foulkes, tackles every aspect of Christy’s life. Christy’s rise to fame is pure by-the-book underdog sports biopic material, amped up with sometimes brutal boxing scenes, which are very convincingly played by Sweeney and her various opponents.
Sweeney’s transformation to pitbull, win-at-any-cost fighter in the ring is impressive, but it is her work in the film’s family drama sections that showcases her best work. The emotional brutality she experiences at the hand of James surpasses any punishment she suffers in the ring. She convinces as Christy the athlete and as a person trying desperately to keep her head above water. It’s remarkable work in a movie that, unfortunately, doesn’t live up to its central performance.
As a movie “Christy” is on the ropes, but is elevated by a transformative, knockout star turn from Sweeney.
SYNOPSIS: In “Sharp Corner,” a new psychological drama now playing in theatres, Ben Foster stars as Josh, a family man who develops an unhealthy obsession with the car accidents that happen in his front yard, the result of a dangerous sharp corner on the edge of the property. When trimming the bushes that obscure the road signs nearby doesn’t stop the accidents, he becomes consumed by preventing the crashes and in the process, becoming a hero. “We can’t stay here. People are dying on our lawn,” says his wife Rachel (Cobie Smulders). “These aren’t freak accidents. Why do you think this house sat on the market for so long?” Josh’s refusal to leave puts Rachel and their son Max (William Kosovic) in danger.
CAST: Ben Foster, Cobie Smulders. Gavin Drea, Alexandra Castillo, Julia Dyan, Jonathan Watton, Reid Price, Leah Johnston, Dan Lett, Andrew Shaver, Mark A. Owen, Bob Mann, Allison Wilson-Forbes, Wayne Burns, Alexandra McDonald. Directed by Jason Buxton.
REVIEW: Ben Foster is known for the intensity of his roles. From “Hell or High Water’s” reckless bank robber Tanner Howard and the disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong in “The Program” to the sadistic cop in “Lawless” and the off-grid veteran of “Leave No Trace,” his performances redefine the word volatile.
It’s interesting then, to see him dial that outward intensity way down in “Sharp Corner.”
His trademarked, wild-eyed fervor has been turned inward in a performance that is no less compelling than his showier work. His take on Josh is contained, a portrait of quiet desperation that builds in complexity as his dark fascination with the aftermath of the accidents in his front yard grows.
Foster even manages to find some morbid humor in the matter-of-fact way Josh processes his involvement in the deadly events.
When a man misses the turn and burns to death on their front lawn while Josh has Max at Taekwondo class, her blames Rachel for signing their son up for the sport, keeping him away at the time of the crash. “No Taekwondo, no dead guy,” he says. “Max doesn’t need to kick pads, and that guy didn’t need to die.”
The character study of a man in pursuit of purpose in his life, even as his family and work lives unravel, is intriguing.
Foster compels, but it is Smolders, as a wife pushed to the limit by her husband’s misguided heroics, is the glue that keeps the family drama together. As Josh spirals, she remains planted firmly in the real world, and her performance grounds the story.
“Sharp Corner” isn’t the story of a hero, despite Josh’s best efforts. Instead, it’s the darkly entertaining tale of a narcissistic guy whose misplaced passion not only ruins his life, but many others.
I hosted a screening of the new psychological thriller “Sharp Corner” in front of a sold out audience at The Royal Theatre in Toronto last night. Joining me for a post screening Q&A were writer/director Jason Buxton and star Cobie Smulders. We talked about how Buxton adapted the film from a short story in a book called “Whirl Away” by Russell Wangersky, how Smulders plays a couples therapist who struggles to understand her husband’s trauma and obsession and much more.
SYNOPSIS: In “Sharp Corner,” a new psychological drama now playing in theatres, Ben Foster stars as Josh, a family man who develops an unhealthy obsession with the car accidents that happen in his front yard, the result of a dangerous sharp corner on the edge of the property. When trimming the bushes that obscure the road signs nearby doesn’t stop the accidents, he becomes consumed by preventing the crashes and in the process, becoming a hero. “We can’t stay here. People are dying on our lawn,” says his wife Rachel (Cobie Smulders). “These aren’t freak accidents. Why do you think this house sat on the market for so long?” Josh’s refusal to leave puts Rachel and their son Max (William Kosovic) in danger.
Photo credits: George Pimentel Photography!
