On the Saturday November 9, 2024 edition of The Richard Crouse Show I’ll tell you about the new psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, “Heretic,” now playing in theatres. In the film, door-to-door Mormon missionaries Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton are lured into a theological cat-and-mouse game by the curious (and possibly deadly) Mr. Reed, played by Hugh Grant.
Grant is remarkable in the film. It’s really something different for him, and I had the chance to talk about the movie and that performance with the film’s two other stars Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, and the film’s directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.
Then, we’ll meet Afro-Canadian rapper, singer-songwriter, and producer Kofi, who releases his newest album, “Pettyboy” on November 15th via Red Bull Records / The Orchard on all streaming platforms. We’ll learn how he balances life as a musician and professional volleyball player.
Finally, we’ll get to know meet Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, choreographers who have been at the forefront of dance creation in Europe for over 35 years. This month they come to the National Ballet in Toronto for the first time with Silent Screen, a profound theatrical experience that brings a silent film to life, set to the music of Philip Glass.
Each week on the nationally syndicated Richard Crouse Show, Canada’s most recognized movie critic brings together some of the most interesting and opinionated people from the movies, television and music to put a fresh spin on news from the world of lifestyle and pop-culture. Tune into this show to hear in-depth interviews with actors and directors, to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favourite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Recent guests include Chris Pratt, Elvis Costello, Baz Luhrmann, Martin Freeman, David Cronenberg, Mayim Bialik, The Kids in the Hall and many more!
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Check out my CTVNews.ca interview with “Heretic” stars Sophie Thatcher (who stars of Crave’s “Yellowjackets”) and Chloe East and co-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. We talk about the movie and about working with Hugh Grant and how different this role is for him.
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to tie a bowtie! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the family drama “The Piano Lesson,” the creeptastic “Heretic” and the Cillian Murphy in “Small Things Like These.”
I sit in with hosts Jim Richards and Deb Hutton on NewsTalk 1010 to play the game “Did Richard Crouse Like This?” This week we talk about the family drama “The Piano Lesson,” the creeptastic “Heretic” and the Cillian Murphy in “Small Things Like These.”
I sit in with CKTB morning show host Steph Vivier to have a look at movies in theatres and streaming including the family drama “The Piano Lesson,” the creeptastic “Heretic” and the Cillian Murphy in “Small Things Like These.”
I join the Bell Media Radio Network national night time show “Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift” for Booze & Reviews! This week we have a look at the new Hugh Grant psychological thriller “Heretic” and I’ll tell you about the perfect drink to enjoy while watching the film.
Listen to “Booze & Reviews” HERE! (Starts at 10:43)
Could a 1000 monkeys working on a 1000 typewriters really write Shakespeare? Find out HERE! (Starts at 20:45)
SYNOPSIS: In “Heretic,” a new psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant and now playing in theatres, door-to-door Mormon missionaries Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) are lured into a theological cat-and-mouse game by the curious (and possibly deadly) Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant).
CAST: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East and Topher Grace. Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.
REVIEW: Horror and religion go together like peanut butter and jam, but rarely have the two come together in such an unusual and thought-provoking way. “Heretic” is a tautly constructed thriller that questions faith, power and the very essence of belief.
From crafting a tense chamber drama with just a handful of characters and pushing interesting, provocative buttons, filmmaking duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who also co-wrote the script, do a lot of good work here, but their biggest feat is in the casting.
Hiring Hugh Grant as Mr. Reed is their masterstroke. Grant, whose last horror film was 1988’s “The Lair of the White Worm,” plays off years of goodwill earned from charming audiences with his crinkly baby blues and amiable smile. Just as he draws Sisters Barnes and Paxton (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) into his home with his polite and pious behavior, he seduces the viewer, only to double cross them as Mr. Reed’s true nature and motives become apparent. Behind the smile and sparking eyes is a guy that would make any of Grant’s former movie charmers run and hide. It plays against his well-established type and adds a layer of devilish fun to the film.
Thatcher, as the skeptical Sister Barnes, and West, as the naïve but resourceful Sister Paxton, round out the cast. Each are crucial in keeping up the film’s lively tone. This is not a horror film of jump scares. It’s meant to unsettle you with ideas and conversation. The tension comes from the conflict between Mr. Reed, who essentially believes that all religions are identical and are sold like any other commodity to customers willing to believe, and the deeply spiritual missionaries. As his questioning escalates—he’s like a stern university professor who isn’t trying to teach as much as he is trying to display how clever he is—the two young women begin to understand they are in deep trouble.
It’s a psychological thriller that eventually turns violent, and a bit more conventional, in the film’s final third, but up until then the three central performances, combined with a growing atmosphere of dread and claustrophobia, provide a fascinating, dialogue-driven game of cat-and-mouse.
Grant’s career redefining performance as the charming face of theological curiosity may be “Heretic’s” biggest draw, but the movie also delivers smart, stylish thrills. It digs deep and gets dark but never forgets to have fun.
“Unfrosted,” a sweet new slice of Boomer porn now streaming on Netflix, is a one joke wonder about the corporate shenanigans behind the creation and marketing of Pop-Tarts®, the first successful shelf stable fruit jelly pastry product.
Writer/director Jerry Seinfeld stars as Bob Cabana, the product developer behind some of Kellogg’s greatest hits. When we join the story it’s 1963, in cereal’s ground zero, Battle Creek, Michigan, home to Kellogg’s and their largest rival Post.
Breakfast is defined by milk and cereal—”The magic of cereal is that you’re eating and drinking at the same time,” Cabana says.—but change is in the air. “It’s the 60s, “ says Marjorie Post (Amy Schumer) head of rival Post, “things are moving fast. There’s always a surprise in the box.”
When Cabana discovers two kids dumpster diving for discarded Post “goo,” a syrupy sweet treat they are developing for their new product, the holy grail of breakfast foods, a handheld fruit pastry.
As a corporation, Kellogg’s owns breakfast in America. They outsell Post and regularly clean up at the Bowl and Spoon Awards where they dominate the competition, winning statues in categories like “Easiest to Open Wax Bag.”
Fearing Post will get the jump on the new market, that they have “broken the pastry barrier,” Cabana flies into action. He recruits Donna Stankowski (Melissa McCarthy) a NASA scientist-turned-breakfast-food-designer to create a new breakfast treat.
But getting it to market is a long, convoluted process that involves everyone from Nikita Krushchev (Dean Norris) and President John F. Kennedy (Bill Burr) to Chef Boyardee (Bobby Moynihan) and Tony the Tiger (Hugh Grant as mascot actor Thurl Ravenscroft).
“Unfrosted” is a silly ode to Pop-Tarts®. Slaphappy and over-the-top, it does not allow facts to sully the storytelling. Seinfeld pitches the performances and story at a very heightened level, like an “SNL” sketch stretched to feature length. He has nothing on his mind other than a scattergun approach of going for the jokes. The result is a hit and miss joke-to-laughs ratio, but Seinfeld has assembled an all-star comedic cast who know how to squeeze the laughs out of the material.
Gags about the Zapruder film and an unusually playful Walter Cronkite may fly over a younger audience’s collective heads, but should hit the mark with Boomers.
Ultimately, like the snack it is based on, “Unfrosted” is empty calories but may provide a sugar rush.
All the Guy Ritchie trademarks that made so many of his other films so much fun are visible in “Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre,” a new action adventure now streaming on Amazon Prime. Jason Statham comes back for a fifth kick at the can with the director, bringing with him the gravelly voice and fisticuffs first made famous in Ritchie’s “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.” There’s also some comedy, outrageous crime, slick cameras moves and a bangin’ soundtrack.
Why then, does it feel been there done that? Is it that familiarity has bred a certain kind of contempt, or is Ritchie coasting on his merits?
All-round action man Orson Fortune (Statham), tech genius Sarah Fidel (Aubrey Plaza) and sniper J.J. Davies (Bugzy Malone) are members of a top-secret British government agency run by Nathan Jasmine (Cary Elwes). Their latest assignment involves retrieving something called “The Handle,” a gewgaw—we’re not really told—that could cause a rift in the world order.
“We don’t know what’s been stolen,” says Nathan. “That remains a mystery for you to solve. But we need to stop it from getting onto the open market. Threat’s imminent.”
Before it can be sold on the black market, the crew must infiltrate billionaire arms dealer Greg Simmonds’s (Hugh Grant) inner circle. Their ticket in? International movie star and Simmonds’s favorite actor Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett).
“The best agents are stars,” says Orson, “and the best actors are movie stars.”
“Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre” feels like a Xerox copy of the movies that made Ritchie and Statham famous. The world-ending stakes are a bit higher, and there is more lifestyle porn—like private jets and global locations—but the fast pace, the late movie reveal (we eventually find out what The Handle actually does) and the “colourful” characters that have populated his movies from the get go all return but the glow is a bit dimmer this time.
Hugh Grant’s Michael Caine impersonation is a blast, and Ritchie still knows how to move a camera during the action scenes, but because we are so familiar with so many of the elements in play here, “Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre” almost feels like a sequel to a reboot of a sequel. It’s the law of diminishing returns. The further away you get from the source, the less effective the movie will be. In this case, the sum of all the parts is a bland espionage story that is, at best, serviceable.
On the Saturday November 9, 2024 edition of The Richard Crouse Show I’ll tell you about the new psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, “Heretic,” now playing in theatres. In the film, door-to-door Mormon missionaries Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton are lured into a theological cat-and-mouse game by the curious (and possibly deadly) Mr. Reed, played by Hugh Grant.
