Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make your bed. Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the dark comedy “The Christophers,” the east coast crime drama “Little Lorraine” and the Montreal coming-of-age “Mile End Kicks.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I appear on “CTV News at 6” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the documentary “Lorne,” Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel in the dramedy “The Christophers” and the east coast crime dr5ama “Little Lorraine.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 37:00)
I sit with host Deb Hutton on NewsTalk 1010 to talk about Timothée Chalamet’s unexpected boost to ballet and opera ticket sales, a heated rivalry between a news outlet and the government, a $117 Picasso, Kim Kardashian on Broadway and I review the dark comedy “The Christophers.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with anchor Zuraidah Alman to talk about new movies in theatres including the dark comedy “The Christophers,” the east coast crime drama “Little Lorraine,” the documentary “Lorne” and the Montreal coming-of-age “Mile End Kicks.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 12:11)
I join “CP24 Breakfast” hosts Nick Dixon and Jennifer Hsiung to talk about the dark comedy “The Christophers” and the documentary SNL “Lorne.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Scott Hirsch to talk about the recently announced “Top Gun 3” and new releases in theatres, including the dark comedy “The Christophers,” the east coast crime drama “Little Lorraine,” the documentary “Lorne” and the Montreal coming-of-age “Mile End Kicks.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk about the new movies coming to theatres including the dark comedy “The Christophers,” the east coast crime drama “Little Lorraine” and the Montreal coming-of-age “Mile End Kicks.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: In “The Christophers,” a new dark comedy now playing in theatres, the greedy, estranged children of a once famous artist hire an art restorer to complete their father’s unfished paintings so they can sell them after his death. “This isn’t about the unfinished Christophers is it?” asks Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen). “I won’t paint them. I can’t paint them. Please don’t ask me. Please don’t even speak of them. My children are obsessed with them.”
CAST: Ian McKellen, Michaela Coel, Jessica Gunning, James Corden. Directed by Steven Soderbergh.
REVIEW: A finely observed story of second chances, “The Christophers” is given heart by top tier work from stars Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel.
McKellen is Julian Sklar, an ailing artist whose portraits of his ex-lover Christopher made him a sensation in the 1990s. His star faded in a swirl of cancel culture accusations, his work going the way of “the lava lamp and the leisure suit.” He lives alone in a cluttered London apartment, surrounded by memories of his heyday, visited only by health care workers and delivery people.
Even his children are forbidden from stopping by. “She’s s trainwreck; completely off the walls,” he says. “He’s a shipwreck, completely sunken.”
His hermetic existence is interrupted by Lori (Michaela Coel), a forger hired by his estranged children Barnaby and Sallie (James Corden and Jessica Gunning).
She is to pose as his assistant, find the unfinished paintings of his most famous subject, complete them and secret them out of the house for resale. “How would you know how I would have painted them when even I don’t know how I would have painted them?” he asks.
As Julian and Lori spend time together, what began as a small-scale art heist becomes a war of wills and a study of restoration of art and life. “It’s almost worth staying alive for,” Julian says.
A chamber piece, “The Christophers” is essentially a two hander. Director Steven Soderbergh opens up the action somewhat, with the occasional scene outside of Julian’s home, but the vast majority of the story happens with the two leads face-to-face.
Intimate, edgy and sweet, the back-and-forth between McKellen and Coel sparkles. In those moments the movie sings.
He’s a lion in winter, unrepentant, ravaged by time but filled with piss and vinegar. McKellan gives the verbose Julian a fierce intelligence and humor always tinged with acidity. It’s a masterful performance, theatrical yet human, funny but touched with tragedy.
Although temperamentally different, Coel’s Lori is a perfect match in this battle of wits. She’s chillier than Julian, more subdued but radiates intensity, intelligence and a sense that there is more to her relationship with Julian than is immediately obvious. It’s layered work that acts as an anchor to McKellan’s more heightened performance.
“The Christophers” would likely work well as a stage play. Dialogue-heavy and character-driven, the fireworks here come from the performances and ideas on friendship, art and legacy, more than from Soderbergh’s tasteful, subtle presentation.
SYNOPSIS: In the new animated movie “Smurfs,” starring the voice of Rihanna and now playing in theatres, what begins as No Name Smurf’s (James Corden) search for identity becomes a more traditional rescue mission when Papa Smurf (John Goodman) is abducted by the evil wizard Razamel (JP Karliak).
CAST: Rihanna, James Corden, Nick Offerman, JP Karliak, Daniel Levy, Amy Sedaris, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, Jimmy Kimmel, Octavia Spencer, Nick Kroll, Hannah Waddingham, Alex Winter, Maya Erskine, Kurt Russell, and John Goodman. Directed by Chris Miller.
REVIEW: A fun but ultimately underwhelming addition to the “Smurf” film series, the fourth franchise instalment “Smurfs” brings the whimsy and some good messages for kids but mostly feels like a rehash of their other films.
The action, which is pedal to the metal, begins with No Name Smurf’s (James Corden) identity crisis. Rather, his lack of identity crisis. Like the Seven Dwarfs, all the other Smurfs have names that reflect their personality. There’s Brainy Smurf (Xolo Maridueña), Vanity Smurf (Maya Erskine), Worry Smurf (Billie Lourd) and so on. When No Name suddenly develops the ability to summon magic from his fingertips, he feels he has found his purpose.
Problem is, his new powers attract the attention of evil wizard Razamel (JP Karliak) who kidnaps Papa Smurf (John Goodman) to get his evil hands on a magical book hidden in Smurf Village.
That sets off a rescue mission. Led by No Name and Smurfette (Rihanna, who produced the film plus wrote and recorded an original song for the soundtrack) the merry band of Smurfs travel the world. From a crazy claymation world and the inside of a mirror ball to real world (i.e. not animated) hotspots like France and Germany, they leave no stone unturned in their search.
To use Smurf vernacular, “It’s a load of smurf.”
That is to say, there’s a lot going on, often at a pace that resembles a blue streak smeared across the screen. Many of the sequences are imaginative, bordering on psychedelic—I think I now understand why the Smurfs live in magic mushrooms, er… make that mushroom houses—that entertain the eye and display a level of craft, but it’s as if director Chris Miller and screenwriter Pam Brady amped up the action to supersonic speeds to distract from the fact that story wise this is as basic as it gets.
Tone wise, it’s a different story. There’s a handful of heartfelt, radio friendly pop songs, and while they’re good tunes, there’s not enough of them to be able to call this a musical.
There are laughs, although at least some of them are of a decidedly adult nature. The film’s biggest giggle, for the grown-ups anyway, comes near the end with some judiciously applied censor bleeps courtesy of Sound Effects Smurf (Spencer X).
Like I said, “It’s a load of smurf.” A hodgepodge of music, gentle mayhem, intergenerational humour and good messages about respect, community, resilience and being yourself, it’s well performed by an interesting array of voice actors (Rihanna, John Goodman, James Corden, Nick Offerman, Daniel Levy, Amy Sedaris, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, Kurt Russell to name a few) but the scattershot storytelling may leave you feeling blue, but not in the way the filmmakers intended.
