I joined CP24 to have a look at new movies coming to VOD, streaming services and theatres. Today we talk about the epic “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the court room drama “Anatomy of a Fall,” the raunchy “Dicks: The Musical” and the John le Carré documentary “The Pigeon Tunnel.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Renee Rogers to talk about the epic “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the court room drama “Anatomy of a Fall” and the raunchy “Dicks: The Musical.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Were it not for the explicit language, X-rated songs and a pair of monstrous puppets called The Sewer Boys, “Dicks: The Musical,” a raunchy new movie now playing in theatres, could have been a 1960s sitcom style family comedy about a pair of twins who conspire to get their estranged parents back together.
Instead, it’s a no-holds-barred ode to the likes of John Waters, attempting to find that sweet spot between shock and awe.
Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson are Craig and Aaron, two high-powered salespeople who meet for the first time when their company Vroomba! merges their two offices into one. They’re alpha males, sharks in tight suits and ultracompetitive, but one musical number later, they realize they share a birthday, looks and goals. They are long separated twins, one raised by their mother Evelyn (Megan Mullally), the other by father Harris (Nathan Lane). They concoct a plan to be a family again, to bring their parents back together, despite the fact that Evelyn keeps her winged genitals (you read that right) in a purse and Harris is gay and keeps The Sewer Boys, two toxic creatures he found in the NYC sewer, in a cage as his children.
“We didn’t realize being lied to your entire lives would be so upsetting,” says Harris.
Cue a barrage of crude jokes and a series of show tunes with double entendre titles like, “I’ll Always Be on Top” and “Love in All Its Forms” (“All love is gross/But all love is love.”) as this unconventional family discovers how to love again.
Originated as a two-hander theatre piece by Upright Citizens Brigade members Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson, “Dicks: The Musical” feels like an attempt at a Midnight Madness movie, but is more outrageous than actually funny. There are amusing moments, mostly courtesy of Mullally and Lane, who understand, unlike Sharp and Jackson, that not every line has to be delivered with the annoying enthusiasm of Woody Woodpecker in the midst of an amphetamine binge.
When Evelyn says, “I’m dumbfounded and flummoxed,” Harris sharply shoots back, “Those were always your best qualities.” It’s a classic set-up and response that raises a laugh because it is character based and delivered with panache. Unfortunately, the rest of the material is dispensed at a fever pitch, like a manic children’s show television host, creating a white noise that becomes tiresome early on.
“Dicks: The Musical” was probably a blast as a half-hour underground cabaret show, but on the big screen it feels stretched paper thin. For all its surrealist affectation, envelope pushing and yes, even blasphemy, it’s never as shocking as it wants to be.
I appear on “CTV News at 11:30” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend, including the Paramount+ documentary “Reinventing Elvis: The 68 Comeback,” the male stripper comedy “Back on the Strip,” now playing on theatres and the animated “The Monkey King” on Netflix.
Watch the whole thing HERE! (starts at 19:20)
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Akshay Tandon to talk about the adorably raunchy “Strays,” the superhero origins of “Blue Beetle” and the animated fable “The Monkey King.”
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 the adorably raunchy “Strays,” the superhero origins of “Blue Beetle,” the gyrations of “Back on the Strip” and the animated “The Monkey King.”
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 the adorably raunchy “Strays,” the superhero origins of “Blue Beetle,” the gyrations of “Back on the Strip” and the animated “The Monkey King.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I sit in with CKTB morning show host Tim Denis to have a look at the adorably raunchy “Strays,” the superhero origins of “Blue Beetle,” the gyrations of “Back on the Strip” and the animated “The Monkey King.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
A fable that pits ego against ambition, acceptance against insecurity, “The Monkey King” is a new animated Netflix film starring the voices of comedian Jimmy O. Yang and Bowen Yang.
Based on a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty attributed to Wu Cheng’en, the film centers around The Monkey King (Jimmy O. Yang), a rebellious monkey born from a magical rock. Filled with an exaggerated sense of self-worth, his ego has alienated him from friends and family.
“An old geezer once told me, ‘You don’t belong here,’” he says. “And he was right. I belong with the Immortal ones. I’ll become legendary and then they’ll have to accept me.”
Trouble is, to get the attention of the Immortals, led by the Jade Emperor (Hoon Lee), he’ll have to defeat at least 100 demons.
“One hundred demons,” he says, “coming up!”
Despite being told by his elder (James Sie) to, “know your place, young one,” the braggadocious warrior sets off with a rallying call of “Anyone need a hero?” On his journey to find immortality he looks to the duplicitous Dragon King (Bowen Yang) for help, does battle with Red Girl (Sophie Wu), gets his mighty fighting stick and meets his trusty (but underappreciated) sidekick Lin (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport). “Whatever the Monkey King does,” he says, “I do big!”
“The Monkey King” is a big action-adventure, one that moves at the speed of light, filled to wild battle scenes and slapstick humor. But at its heart, it is the story of a search for family, approval and a sense of belonging. The titular character is driven to fighting demons—literal and personal—as a way to assuage his feelings of seclusion from his peers who wouldn’t accept him for who he is. It provides the film’s emotional core, even if the movie’s unrelentingly frenetic pace threatens to overwhelm the message. A film that is all peaks and very few valleys, needs a moment or two of introspection. A few more heartfelt scenes between the Monkey King and Lin could have slowed the action, but upped the emotional impact.
The story feels episodic and, despite featuring characters that have endured since the Ming Dynasty, a tad generic in its animated form. Director Anthony Stacchi pumps it up with vibrant animation and production design that mixes familiar CGI art with flavorings of traditional Chinese brushwork, a couple fun Broadway style musical numbers and a collection of voice actors that bring the characters to life, but it reverberates with echoes of similar movies like “Emperor’s New Groove.”
“The Monkey King” has laughs and gags, mostly for young viewers, and diverting well-choreographed martial arts scenes, but offers very little new stuff in its retelling of an old tale.
