Posts Tagged ‘drama’

ORDINARY ANGELS: 3 STARS. “the highs are really high, the lows are really low.”

“Ordinary Angels,” a new faith-based film starring Hillary Swank and Alan Ritchson, and now playing in theatres, is an uplifting film about the virtues of not taking “no” for an answer.

Based on a true story, “Ordinary Angels” sees Ritchson, still pumped-up from playing former U.S. Army military policeman on Amazon Prime’s “Reacher,” as Ed Schmitt, the recently widowed single father of two preteen girls, Ashley (Skywalker Hughes) and Michelle (Emily Mitchell).

If it wasn’t for bad luck, Ed would have any luck at all.

“Have faith,” his mother (Nancy Travis) tells him.

“A lotta good faith is doing me,” he says.

Already drowning in debt from his late wife’s medical bills, Ed is also struggling with Michelle’s life-threatening liver condition. She will need a transplant, but finding a donor could take years, and until then, the medical bills will continue to pile up.

In another part of town, while Michelle waits for a new liver, Sharon Stevens (Swank), a brassy hairdresser with a drinking problem, is doing everything she can to ruin hers. She is bold, the kind of drunk who dances on (and falls off of) bars, and says “I ain’t great with boundaries.”

The morning after a bender, while buying beer at a local shop, a newspaper headline about Michelle’s dire condition grabs her by the heart. Uninvited, she shows up at Ed’s church as the preacher implores his flock to, “Find a way to help this family.”

Sharon trades her enthusiasm for drinking with fund-raising efforts to help Ed and his family dig themselves out of their financial hole. After she arrives at Ed’s home with an enveloped stuffed with $3000, he reluctantly accepts her assistance. “I’m good at a lot of things,” she says. “Taking ‘no’ for an answer isn’t one of them.”

Co-writers Kelly Fremon Craig (who recently wrote and directed the film adaptation of “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”) and Meg Tilly, lean on the details of true story from 1994 in linear fashion. So, there are no big surprises in “Ordinary Angels,” just compelling characters and a three Kleenex story.

Ritchson leaves Jack Reacher’s sarcastic brashness on the shelf to play Ed as a quiet, broken man who puts his family’s needs ahead of his own. Without time to properly grieve his late wife, he has tamped down his heartache as he carries the weight of the world on his very broad shoulders.

Swank gives Sharon a blustery shell that camouflages a troubled past. Her soured relationship with her adult son and alcoholism are confronted, but neither are fully explored. Sharon says she doesn’t like to talk about herself, but a bit more backstory may have fleshed out the psychology behind her extraordinary generosity. Still, Swank makes her forceful in an Erin Brockovich kind of way.

“Ordinary Angels” is formulaic—the highs are really high, the lows are really low—and the climatic race against time goes on too long to be truly exciting, but the film’s themes of the importance of community, of the healing power of kindness and of how one person can make a difference, may tug at the heartstrings.

CTV NEWS AT SIX: NEW MOVIES AND TV SHOWS TO CHECK OUT THIS WEEKEND!

I appear on “CTV News at 6” with Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend. I’ll tell you about the superhero flick “Madame Web,” the survival story “Land of Bad” and the sublime “Perfect Days.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY FEBRUARY 16, 2024.

I join CP24 to have a look at the music biopic “Bob Marley: One Love,” the superhero flick “Madame Web,” the survival story “Land of Bad” and the sublime “Perfect Days.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

CFRA IN OTTAWA: THE BILL CARROLL MORNING SHOW MOVIE REVIEWS!

I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres and streaming including the music biopic “Bob Marley: One Love,” the superhero flick “Madame Web,” the survival story “Land of Bad” and the sublime “Perfect Days.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

PERFECT DAYS: 4 STARS. “a beautiful movie, a film in love with life.”

“Perfect Days,” the new, Oscar-nominated film from director Wim Wenders, now playing in theatres, is a contemplative movie that examines the simple pleasures in life. Music, literature and nature are showcased, but this poetic, profound film celebrates finding contentment in all aspects of life.

Veteran Japanese actor Kôji Yakusho is Hirayama, an everyman who leads a quiet life made up of routine and simple pleasures. He wakes up at the same time each day, finds joy in reading poetry and his American punk rock cassette collection and takes pride in his work as a public toilet cleaner.

When he’s not on the clock, he enjoys a sandwich lunch at a local park, soaks at the local bathhouse and occasionally grabs a bite at his favorite restaurant.

His carefully calibrated life hits the occasional hitch when outsiders are added into the mix. An annoying co-worker named Takashi (Tokio Emoto) is always short of cash and his niece Niko (Arisa Nakano) suddenly arrives on his doorstep, upending his life and making him reflect on the past.

“Perfect Days” is not the kind of movie that benefits from a detailed synopsis. Wenders revels in the mundane; the little things that make up a day. It’s a joyful celebration of a quiet life, of finding pride in your work, of taking advantage of simple pleasures.

At the heart of the film is Yakusho. His unpretentious performance brims with empathy, compassion and the understanding of the minutia that makes up a successful, happy life. It’s a deceptively simple performance, but rich in its execution. Yakusho takes an unassuming character and brings him to vivid life by emphasizing the stillness and grace that exemplifies Hirayama, a man of few wants and great appreciations.

“Perfect Days” is a beautiful movie, a film in love with life. It’s a meditative slice-of-life that will leave you feeling better as the end credits roll than you did when you went to the theatre.

CTV NEWSCHANNEL: MOVIE REVIEWS FOR SUNDAY JANUARY 20, 2024!

I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to have a look at the space thriller “I.S.S.,” the poignant “Memory” and the drama “Origin.”

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 host Natalie Johnson, to talk about the space thriller “I.S.S.,” the poignant “Memory” and the drama “Origin.”

Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 13:06)

NEWSTALK TONIGHT WITH JIM RICHARDS: DOES RICHARD CROUSE LIKE THESE MOVIES?

I sit in with NewsTalk 1010 host Jim Richards on the coast-to-coast-to-coast late night “NewsTalk Tonight” to play the game “Did Richard Crouse Like This?” This week we talk about the space thriller “I.S.S.,” the poignant “Memory” and the drama “Origin.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY JANUARY 12, 2024.

I join CP24 anchor Andrew Brennan to have a look at the space thriller “I.S.S.,” the poignant “Memory” and the drama “Origin.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!