I sit in with hosts John Moore and Deb Hutton on NewsTalk 1010 to play the game “Did Richard Crouse Like This?” This week we talk about the sci fi thriller “Alien: Romulus,” the family friendly “My Penguin Friend” and the family drama “Good One.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 30:27)
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with host Zuraidah Alman, to talk about the sci fi thriller “Alien: Romulus,” the family friendly “My Penguin Friend” and the family drama “Good One.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 15:25)
I join CP24 to have a look at the sci fi thriller “Alien: Romulus,” the family friendly “My Penguin Friend,” the family dramas “Good One” and “Close to You.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join the CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to talk about the sci fi thriller “Alien: Romulus,” the family friendly “My Penguin Friend” and the family drama “Good One.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in with CKTB morning show host Steph Vivier to have a look at movies in theatres and streaming including the sci fi thriller “Alien: Romulus,” the family friendly “My Penguin Friend,” the family dramas “Good One” and “Close to You.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show to talk the new movies coming to theatres and streaming including the sci fi thriller “Alien: Romulus,” the family friendly “My Penguin Friend,” the family dramas “Good One” and “Close to You.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to snap your fingers! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the sci fi thriller “Alien: Romulus,” the family friendly “My Penguin friend” and the family drama “Good One.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: In “Good One,” a new drama now playing in theatres, Chris (James LeGros), his 17-year-old daughter Sam (Lily Collias) and his best friend Matt (Danny McCarthy) take a weekend backpacking trip in the Catskills. When tensions arise, Sam is caught in the middle, between her bickering father and his oldest friend.
CAST: Lily Collias, James Le Gros, Danny McCarthy, Sumaya Bouhbal, Diana Irvine, Sam Lanier, Peter McNally, Eric Yates. Directed by India Donaldson.
REVIEW: You could be forgiven for expecting something more from “Good One.” The in-the-middle-of-nowhere set-up seems familiar, as though there is danger lurking around every corner, but this is not that movie. Not really, anyway.
The low-fi debut from director India Donaldson defies expectations with a movie that takes a simple coming-of-age idea and amplifies it with slow burn intensity. This is not a horror film, a cabin in the woods deal, this is an emotional tale about the dread of being belittled and unappreciated.
Sam, the youngest but perhaps most mature of the member of the hiking trio, learns valuable life lessons as she confronts her father’s controlling nature and microaggressions and Matt’s loutish, inappropriate remarks.
Not that she elucidates them.
She doesn’t need to because Collias, in her biggest role to date, does a remarkable job of allowing us to read the thoughts written on her face. Her expressions portray the complexity of the performance, but the beauty of her work is in its simplicity as she effortlessly (or so it seems) acknowledges the hard truths about her relationship with her father and Matt. The look on her face when she unburdens herself to Chris, only to have him respond “C’mon… can’t we just have a nice day?” tells us more than any lines of dialogue could.
She is the “good one” of the title; younger but wiser.
Instead of simply painting LeGros and McCarthy as oblivious older guys, Donaldson, who also wrote the script, gives them something to work with. They have backstories, insecurities and quirks that make them human, and not just avatars for clueless behavior. LeGros and McCarthy are excellent, handing in naturalistic, relatable performances.
“Good One” takes its time to get where it is going. The bucolic backdrop, with its gently rolling hills and babbling brooks, sets the tone. It can sometimes feel like nothing is happening, but somehow, Donaldson delicately ramps up the tension, one crossed boundary at a time.
I’ll be reviewing four movies this week, everything from aliens and penguins to a coming-of-age story and a family drama. All reviews posted on Thursday, August 15!
Set between the events of “Alien” and “Aliens,” “Alien: Romulus,” a new sci fi flick now playing in theatres, sees a group of young space colonizers scavenging a derelict space station, only to discover the most terrifying life form in the universe.
In “My Penguin Friend,” a new family film starring Jean Reno and a penguin, and now playing in theatres, a Brazilian fisherman discovers an injured penguin drifting alone in the ocean, near death and covered in oil from a spill. He rescues the animal and rehabilitates it, forging an unconventional lifelong friendship.
In “Good One,” a new drama now playing in theatres, a father, his daughter and his best friend take a weekend backpacking trip in the Catskills. When tensions arise between the old friends, the daughter is caught in the middle, wedged between the clash of egos between her father and his oldest friend.
In “Close to You,” a new family drama now playing in theatres, Academy Award Nominee Elliot Page stars as a trans man who returns to his hometown for the first time in years.
