YOU TUBE: THREE MOVIES/THIRTY SECONDS! FAST REVIEWS FOR BUSY PEOPLE!
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Posts Tagged ‘Christian Convery’
CTV NEWS AT 6: RICHARD ON MOVIES AND TV SHOWS TO STREAM THIS WEEKEND!
I appear on “CTV News at 6” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the two dinosaur movcies in theatres this weekend, “The End of Oak Street” and “PAW Patrol 3: The Dino Movie.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 37:50)
CTV ATLANTIC: RICHARD AND TODD BATTIS ON NEW MOVIES IN THEATRES!
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!
CTV NEWS TORONTO AT FIVE WITH ZURAIDAH ALMAN: RICHARD ON WHAT TO WATCH!
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with anchor Zuraidah Alman 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! (Starts at 15:06)
CFRA IN OTTAWA: THE BILL CARROLL MORNING SHOW MOVIE REVIEWS!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with guest host Andrew Pinsent to talk about the new movies coming to theatres including 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.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
THE END OF OAK STREET: 4 STARS. “a cut above the recent “Jurassic” reboots.”
SYNOPSIS: In “the End of Oak Street,” a new sci fi survival film starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, and now playing in theaters, the Platt family finds their quiet neighborhood overrun by dinosaurs when their suburban street is transported to a dangerous prehistoric realm. “Gather supplies. Grab anything you can use as a weapon.”
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.
THE MONKEY: 3 ½ STARS. “splatter gags in great big gory blasts.”
SYNOPSIS: In “The Monkey,” a new horror comedy based on Stephen King’s 1980 short story of the same name, a vintage toy monkey brings murder and mayhem into the lives of twin brothers Hal and Bill, both played by Theo James.
CAST: Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Christian Convery, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, and Sarah Levy. Directed by Osgood Perkins.
REVIEW: An inanimate object horror film about the randomness of life and death, “The Monkey” feels like an old-fashioned Stephen King movie. It’s a little rough-and-tumble, meanspirited and it delivers a series of practical splatter gags in great big gory blasts.
There’s even a callback to one of King’s favorite psychopaths.
It’s the story of an organ grinder monkey toy—Wait! Don’t call it a toy! It’s evil incarnate! “It’s basically the devil,” says Hal.—who, with grinning rictus of terror, bangs on a drum like he’s Charlie Watts. As he taps away people die in increasingly terrible ways. From fishhook trauma and aneurisms to immolation and canon fire, the monkey is indiscriminate in choosing his victims or how they will perish. Think “Final Destination,” minus the monkey, and you’ll get the idea.
Try as they might, the twins can’t stop the monkey from dancing to his own drum. “We know it couldn’t be destroyed,” says Hal, “but we hoped it could be controlled.”
As the body count rises, they soon realize that won’t be possible.
Director Osgood Perkins channels his inner Sam “Evil Dead” Raimi, combining old school splatter with very dark humor. It makes for a giddy goodtime, especially as the kills get more and more slapsticky and outlandish.
“The Monkey” does feel stretched from its short story origins to feature film, but Perkins keeps the energy up and the storytelling efficient enough to warrant its 97-minute runtime.
PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE: 3 STARS. “a big story about a small pup.”
As the “PAW Patrol” franchise enters its 66th year—that’s in dog years—it shows no signs of slowing down. A new film, “PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” based on the canine first responder characters from the wildly successful Canadian kid’s show, now playing in theatres, is a big story about a small pup.
Featuring an all-star voice cast, the begins with a meteor crash in Adventure City. “It’s giving off some kind of energy,” says Ryder (Finn Lee-Epp), the leader of the PAW Patrol. The mysterious meteor imbues the PAW Patrol pups with superpowers, like super strength, elasticity, super speed and the ability to manifest fireballs. “Great, now the clumsy pup shoots fireballs out of his paws.”
For seven-year-old cockapoo Skye (Mckenna Grace), the smallest member of the newly dubbed Mighty Pups, the new powers finally levels the playing field, giving her the chance to make up in super strength what she has always lacked in confidence and size.
When Humdinger (Ron Pardo), the ex-mayor of Adventure City, and his Kitten Catastrophe Crew escapes from prison and teams with meteor expert and supervillain Victoria “Vee” Vance (Taraji P. Henson) to steal the superpowers, the Mighty Pups must fight back to save their city and possibly the world.
“When you go up against one of us, you go up against all of us,” Ryder tells Vance.
“PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie” is bigger and louder than 2021’s “PAW Patrol” or the television show. Returning director Cal Brunker pumps up the action, creating a sort of Marvel movie for the preschool set. Colourful action scenes will grab kid’s attention, but the spirit of cooperation, and messages of over-coming obstacles and never judging a book by its cover, that lie at the heart of the “PAW Patrol” franchise are never far away.
Voice work from Kim Kardashian, Chris Rock, Lil Rel Howery, Kristen Bell and James Marsden is solid, but Henson is having all the fun here. Her villain—don’t call her a “mad scientist”—is a blast, funny and fearless, she steals every scene she’s in.
“PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie” maintains what made the TV show so appealing for kids, but also has enough gags aimed at parents to round out the experience for the whole family.
SCREEN RANT: Cocaine Bear Reviews Say Movie Is Exactly What You’d Expect
My review of “Cocaine Bear” is quoted in this article from Screen Rant.
“Before buying a ticket to “Cocaine Bear” ask yourself this question: Am I likely to enjoy a movie called “Cocaine Bear”? I can tell you authoritatively that it is the best stoned bear movie of the year. Admittedly, it is a small field, but if that turns your crank, by all means check it out…” Read the whole thing HERE!
