Posts Tagged ‘Dominic Cooper’

RICHARD’S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY JUNE 10, 2016.

Screen Shot 2016-06-10 at 3.14.58 PMRichard and CP24 anchor Nneka Elliot talk about the weekend’s four big releases, “Now You See Me 2,” the Cos Play freak-out “Warcraft,” the great Greta Gerwig’s “Maggie’s Plan,” and the spooky atmosphere of “The Conjuring 2.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S CTV NewsChannel REVIEWS FOR JUNE 10 WITH MARCIA MacMillan.

Screen Shot 2016-06-10 at 11.38.58 AMRichard and CTV NewsChannel morning show host Marcia MacMillan chat up the weekend’s big releases, the magically delicious “Now You See Me 2,” the Cos Play freak-out “Warcraft,” Greta Gerwig’s marvelous “Maggie’s Plan,” and the spooky atmosphere of “The Conjuring 2.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

WARCRAFT: 1 STAR. “’how many times did I look at my watch’ drinking game.”

Screen Shot 2016-06-06 at 6.50.32 AMPeter Jackson may have exhausted the Tolkien catalogue with his “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” movies, but for moviegoers with a taste for JRR’s brand of fantasy along comes “Warcraft.”

Based on the video game series and novels of the same name, the Duncan Jones film is set in the world of Azeroth, a realm blessed by titans and home to humans and all manner of mythical creatures, including elves, dragons and everything in between. Lush and peaceful, it’s ruled by homo sapiens, the kindly king and queen (Dominic Cooper and Ruth Negga).

The warrior Orc clan homeworld of Draenor, on the other hand, is the polar opposite. A dying dominion, it’s led by warlock Gul’dan (Daniel Wu) and Warrior-In-Chief Blackhand (Clancy Brown) who use a mysterious portal—“the Great Gate!”–to bring unrest, terror and a mighty army called the Horde to Azeroth. “This is a new time,” growls Gul’dan. “The time of the horde. Be feared or be few!”

In the midst of the mayhem are the Orc give-peace-a-chance chieftain Durotan (Toby Kebbell), his pregnant, swashbuckling mate Draka (Anna Galvin) and Garona (Paula Patton), a half human, half Orc who leans toward her human side while exercising her Orcian charms.

For a film that cost as much as this one did “Warcraft” sure looks a lot like Halloween at a Cos Play Convention, fake fangs and all. It has all the primal elements of any epic story—good, evil, betrayal, birth, death, biblical references, honour and even terrifying glowing eyes—but it also has distinct b-movie feel that hangs over the whole thing like like a shroud. There’s an unmistakeable campy aura that must be intentional although in my heart I suspect it isn’t.

For instance, when one of the Guardian keepers of the wisdom is flummoxed by a mysterious gizmo and says, “It’s never done that before,” he sounds less like a mystical being and more like my grandfather trying to figure out why the App Store won’t load on his iPad. It’s funny, but probably unintentionally so.

With all the faux gravitas of a Steve Reeves epic, “Warcraft” is more Dungeons And Dragons than Tolkien. As it plods on toward the end credits it only reinforces a long held belief of mine: videogames are videogames, movies are movies and never the twain shall meet. It’s becoming more and more obvious that sourcing videogames as the inspiration for films is as effective as pulling stories from the backs of milk containers. They are two different art forms and perhaps should stay that way.

I admired Duncan Jones’s last two films, “Moon” and “Source Code,” but this time out he’s crafted a movie that is most entertaining as an excuse for a “how many times did I look at my watch” drinking game.

RICHARD’S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2015.

Screen Shot 2015-11-06 at 3.50.44 PMRichard’s CP24 reviews for Daniel Craig as James Bond in “Spectre,” the Charlie Brown reboot “The Peanuts Movie” and the Drew Barrymore cancer drama “Miss You Already.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S “CANADA AM” REVIEWS FOR OCTOBER 23 WITH MARCI IEN.

Screen Shot 2015-11-06 at 10.11.18 AMRichard’s “Canada AM” reviews for Daniel Craig as James Bond in “Spectre,” the Charlie Brown reboot “The Peanuts Movie” and the Drew Barrymore cancer drama “Miss You Already.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

MISS YOU ALREADY: 3 ½ STARS. “designed to open the tear ducts.”

Screen Shot 2015-11-02 at 10.44.25 AMThere are two and three hanky movies and then there are films like “Miss You Already” that demand more extreme measures. It’s one of those stories that is bound to inspire both happy and sad crying, so bring a box of Kleenex, or better yet, an absorbent towel.

Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette are Jess and Milly, childhood friends who have remained close even though their lives have taken different paths. Jess is an environmentalist, an earth mother who lives on a Thames houseboat with her husband Jago (Paddy Considine). Milly is a self-centered publicist, mother of two, married to a former roadie-turned-millionaire Kit (Dominic Cooper).

When Milly is diagnosed with breast cancer, her best friend is at her side but when the cancer comes back as Jess and Jago are expecting their first child the decades long relationship becomes strained.

“Miss You Already” begins as a light-hearted romp but develops into something deeper. As Milly’s cancer progresses the movie stays with her at every step, from disbelief, to anger, to denial and finally acceptance. It is unflinching—anyone who has experienced chemo will feel a twinge during the early scenes—and doesn’t pull any punches with its depiction of the treatments or its characters. Milly doesn’t become the poor sainted cancer victim we’ve seen in other films, instead she stays true to the character we met at the film’s start, likeable but not always loveable. Collette keeps it real as she works through the stages of the disease.

Barrymore brings her usual warmth and amiability but the real star is the portrayal of the effect of cancer on its victim, friends and family. “Miss You Already” captures the frustration and sadness inherent to the process but also the humour. “I look like a leopard,” Milly says as her thinning hair is shaved off. “A leper or a leopard?” replies her hairdresser.

“Miss You Already” has moments clearly designed to open the tear ducts but for the most part director Catherine Hardwicke doesn’t get maudlin, treating the material with respect but not with kid gloves.

NEED FOR SPEED: 3 STARS. “a car crazy story where characters take a backseat.”

Need-For-Speed-Movie-Cast-Official-Photo-1024x574Remember the Mazda commercials that were on a few years ago? I felt like the kid from those ads was sitting on my shoulder whispering “zoom, zoom” into my ear for the entire running time of “The Hot Wheels Movie,” er…. “Need for Speed.”

Based on the most successful racing video game franchise ever, the movie is Aaron “Breaking Bad” Paul’s first lead in a feature. He plays Tobey Marshall, a speed-demon mechanic, jailed for a crime he did not commit. Out of the hoosegow with revenge against adversary Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper) on his mind, he finagles a spot at the De Leon, a high-octane underground race that makes the Cannonball Run look like a kid’s Go-Kart sprint. You just know it’s only a matter of time until someone says, “We’ll settle this behind the wheel.”

Between him and the race, however, are miles of hard road, bounty hunters and police. Will his dreams of racing and revenge come true? Or will his need for speed go unfulfilled?

This is a fast paced car race movie that zips along as quickly as you’d hope a movie with the word speed in the title would, but character wise, it’s not quite as fast or furious as you might like. The cars are the stars, while the characters are largely left in the dust. The story and the characters feel like McGuffins to support the screeching tires and revving engines.

Paul, who brings a gruff Batman voice to the role, and his navigator / flirty love interest Julia (Imogen Poots) are charming and charismatic, but aren’t given much to do other than shift gears. That’s OK, this is a car movie after all, but when the story grinds its gears when it shifts from the action sequences to the human story.

Poots starts off strong, but is soon reduced to the hysterical girl role while Paul could have used a lesson or two from Jesse Pinkman in the passion department. It says something when the movie’s most interesting character—the eccentric millionaire The Monarch, played by Michael Keaton—never gets behind the wheel of a car.

I liked the race scenes. They feel authentic and by and large done by brave speed demon stunt drivers without the use of CGI. They’re exciting, pedal-to-the-metal sequences that put the audience in the driver’s seat. You may wonder about glorifying the romance of reckless street racing, but the movie isn’t a commercial for vehicular mayhem. There are some wild rides, but there are also consequences for many of the drivers and their need for speed.

“Need for Speed” isn’t “Downton Abbey.” It’s a car crazy story where characters take a backseat to the action, but if you know what a Two Lane Grasshopper is, then you’ll probably get a kick out of the driving scenes.

Reel Guys Need for Speed. “not quite as fast or furious as you might like.”

SA_Need-for-Speed_2014_Sickest-Addictions_Sick-Addicts_2013By Richard Crouse & Steve Gow – Metro Canada Reel Guys

SYNOPSIS: Based on the most successful racing video game franchise ever, Need for Speed is Aaron ‘Breaking Bad’ Paul’s first lead in a feature. He plays Tobey Marshall, a speed-demon mechanic, jailed for a crime he did not commit. Out of the hoosegow with revenge against adversary Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper) on his mind, he finagles a spot at the De Leon, a high-octane underground race that makes the Cannonball Run look like a Go-Kart sprint. You just know it’s only a matter of time until someone says, “We’ll settle this behind the wheel.” Between him and the race, however, are miles of hard road, bounty hunters and police. Will his dreams of racing and revenge come true? Or will his need for speed go unfulfilled?

STAR RATINGS:

Richard: 3 Stars

Steve: 2 Stars

Richard: Steve, remember the Mazda commercials that were on a few years ago? I felt like the kid from those ads was sitting on my shoulder whispering “zoom, zoom” into my ear for the entire running time of The Hot Wheels Movie, er…. Need for Speed. This is a fast paced car race movie that zips along as quickly as you’d hope a movie with the word speed in the title would, but character wise, it’s not quite as fast or furious as you might like. The cars are the stars, while the characters are largely left in the dust. What did you think?

Steve: Yes, the way they’re upstaged by the racing sequences, the term “vehicular manslaughter” could easily apply to the actors.  Sure, Aaron Paul showed us he had chops in Breaking Bad but that only makes the choice of playing a gravelly-voiced, vengeance-seeking street car racer all the more curious. After all, as much as Need For Speed tries to design depth in its characters, nobody in the thriller rises above conveniently routine. Or all that interesting.

RC: I liked the race scenes. They feel authentic and by and large done by brave speed demon stunt drivers without the use of CGI. They’re exciting, pedal-to-the-metal sequences that put the audience in the driver’s seat.  You have to wonder about glorifying the romance of reckless street racing, but the movie isn’t a commercial for vehicular mayhem. There are some wild rides, but there are also consequences for many of the drivers and their need for speed. I just wish the characters were stronger. It says something when the movie’s most interesting character—the eccentric millionaire The Monarch, played by Michael Keaton—never gets behind the wheel of a car.

SG: He was definitely working the same oddball over-the-top angles as Nicolas Cage. Imogen Poots (That Awkward Moment) was appealing enough as a British assistant of the car’s owner who hitchhikes along with Paul for the nationwide ride. However, I couldn’t help thinking how contrived the entire plot was. Then again, I suppose that shouldn’t be surprising considering the story was culled from a video game—albeit a very successful video game.

RC: Need for Speed isn’t Downton Abbey. It’s a car crazy story where characters take a backseat to the action, but if you know what a Two Lane Grasshopper is, then you’ll probably get a kick out of the driving scenes.

SG: This movie definitely isn’t for graduates of Juilliard’s drama program. Its for high-octane gearheads who want to stuff their faces with over-buttered popcorn and watch innocent bystanders and cops get taken out in the careless (but cunningly choreographed) act of illegal street racing. It does a fine job there but I’m not sure I’ll remember much else about Need for Speed by tomorrow morning.

THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE: 2 STARS

1_e_the-devils-double-movie-poster-01“The Devil’s Double,” a new drama starring Dominic Cooper in the dual role of Saddam Hussein’s eldest son and heir apparent Uday and his look-a-like body double and body guard, captures much of the surface details of the decadence of the life of the son of a dictator, but what it lacks is insight into the mind of a madman.

Out of Sundance “The Devil’s Double” garnered lots of attention for Cooper’s performance. He plays two characters, one a pampered party boy with a taste for sex, drugs and disco music. The other an unwilling participant in the madness who was forced to become Uday’s body double. Its attention grabbing work which displays his range as an actor, but unfortunately he is hemmed in by a script that values overkill (literally) over nuance.

Painted in very broad strokes Uday simply comes off as a Tony Montana clone without the snappy one liners or depth. He’s unpredictable yet, on film he’s a completely predicable bad guy. Imagine a casting call for the son of a dictator and this is who Central Casting would send over. Perhaps it’s because Uday had so little character in real life that Cooper has such a hard time finding the character on the big screen.

Also, it doesn’t really help that for much of the movie Cooper resembles the late, lamented lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury, more than Uday.

Better is his take on Latif Yahia, the stoic stand in. With the theatrics of Uday gone he reveals a more understated and more interesting performance, but his better work is overshadowed by the bombast of the rest of the movie.

“The Devil’s Double” isn’t about the stunt double performance, or the violence. In fact, it isn’t about anything much at all. With no insight as to how Uday became a murderous playboy—he’s insane, we’re told once or twice—the movie comes across as a unilayered sensationalist portrait of the absolute corruption of absolute power, but little more.