CTV NEWS AT 6: RICHARD ON MOVIES AND TV SHOWS TO STREAM THIS WEEKEND!
I appear on “CTV News at 6” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the upliftiung “I Play Rocky” and the crime thriller “How to Rob a Bank.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Posts Tagged ‘John C. Reilly’
CTV NEWSCHANNEL: RICHARD’s MOVIE REVIEWS FOR FRIDAY NOVEMBER 13, 2026!
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Akshay Tandon to talk about the feel-good “I Play Rocky,” the wild “Victorian Psycho,” the “Ebenezer” remake and the crime thriller “How to Rob a Bank.”
Watch the whole thingh HERE!
CTV NEWS TORONTO AT FIVE WITH ZURAIDAH ALMAN: RICHARD ON WHAT TO WATCH!
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with anchor Zuraidah Alman to talk about the feel-good “I Play Rocky,” the wild “Victorian Psycho” and the crime thriller “How to Rob a Bank.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 14:20)
CTV ATLANTIC: RICHARD AND TODD BATTIS ON NEW MOVIES IN THEATRES!
I join CTV Atlantic’s Todd Battis to talk about the feel-good “I Play Rocky,” the wild “Victorian Psycho” and the crime thriller “How to Rob a Bank.”
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 about the feel-good “I Play Rocky,” the wild “Victorian Psycho” and the crime thriller “How to Rob a Bank.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
YOU TUBE: THREE MOVIES/THIRTY SECONDS! FAST REVIEWS FOR BUSY PEOPLE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to wind your watch. Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the feel-good “I Play Rocky,” the wild “Victorian Psycho” and the crime thriller “How to Rob a Bank.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
HOW TO ROB A BANK: 2 ½ STARS. “plenty of ideas but no nuance.”
SYNOPSIS: In “How to Rob a Bank,” a new heist film starring Nicholas Hoult and Zoë Kravitz, and now playing in theatres, a crew of social media-savvy bank robbers are hunted by a veteran FBI agent and a software engineer. “You know what’s more powerful than money?” asks Ryan (Nicholas Hoult). “An audience.”
CAST: Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, Anna Sawai, Rhenzy Feliz, Pete Davidson, John C. Reilly. Directed by David Leitch.
REVIEW: A play on Robin Hood for the Instagram age, “How to Rob a Bank” sees a crew of influencer bank robbers called the Wolf Pack (Nicholas Hoult, Anna Sawai, Rhenzy Feliz and Pete Davidson) post their heists on-line to expose the exploitation of banks on regular citizens. “Welcome to our channel, How to Rob a Bank,” says Ryan (Nicholas Hoult), “where we teach our followers how to steal from the banks that steal from them.”
As their notoriety grows, they attract the attention of FBI veteran Agent West (John C. Reilly) and computer hacker Reagan (Zoë Kravitz). “You know,” he says, “I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and I’ve never come across a group of people as ballsy as this. Why are they posting it on social media? That’s 15 banks now. They must have a pretty big pile of money. Why are they taking these risks?”
As the FBI closes in, the thieves, driven by a sense of social responsibility, plan one last heist, their biggest one yet. “The city has a police force of hundreds,” says Ryan (Nicholas Hoult). “We’re an online community of thousands.”
A revenge fueled riff on “rob from the rich and give to the poor” for Tik Tokers, “How to Rob a Bank” is a slickly made but overstuffed heist flick with plenty of ideas but no nuance.
Director David Leitch, working from a script by Mark Bianculli, rides the line between dumb fun and social commentary.
Leitch stages several pulse racing car chases and there’s an action filled finale, but for a heist film, there’s not all that much actual robbery. We’re shown the crew at work, but the film gets weighed down with flashy music video inspired screeds about the death of the American Dream.
Wolf Pack leader Ryan (Nicholas Hoult) talks about the how-tos of bank robbing, systemic inequality, predatory lending and other revolutionary hot button topics, but his take at societal woes has a “I did my own research” vibe that undercuts its effectiveness. It’s a cavalcade of bold statements, percentages and graphics that feels like a quick scroll through the darker corners of the internet on the big screen. No subtlety, no depth, just scattershot collections of images and graphics.
As captured by Leitch ‘s camera, the emphasis on action and social comment prevent any degree of character building, save for the basics. Several characters get backstory while others are place holders without much to do.
As odd couple investigators Reilly and Kravitz have good chemistry, and it’s fun to see him as the rumpled but sharp-as-a-tack FBI agent, but after Kravitz (NO SPOILERS HERE) does her thing, her character is forgotten about, relegated to the background.
“How to Rob a Bank’s” championing of civil disobedience is either timely or irresponsible depending on your outlook. The issues it raises about affordability are timely and real, but the glamorization of violence in the wake of the attack and breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 and the 2024 shooting of Brian Thompson, the CEO of the health insurer UnitedHealthcare in New York City, place the film’s philosophy in a harsher light.
STAN & OLLIE: 3 ½ STARS. “easy chemistry between the leads, Coogan and Reilly.”
For twenty-three years, between 1927 and 1950, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy worked non-stop. According to The Sons of the Desert, their official international fraternal organization, they appeared in 106 films together, including feature films, featurettes, short subjects and cameo appearances. This year we can add one more to the list, sort of. It’s not a recently uncovered long lost reel of film or a documentary. This time around the comedic duo get into “another nice mess” in “Stan & Ollie,” a new biopic starring Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly that lovingly looks back on the double act’s 1953 farewell tour.
The action begins with the pair’s best days behind them. Their heyday a memory, the ageing duo reteam after a betrayal that blew apart their friendship. “We’re getting to know one another again,” says Stan. “It’s complicated.” Booked on a variety hall tour of post-war Britain the pair trot out some of their best known routines to small audiences. “We’re getting older,” says Ollie, “but we’re not dead yet.”
A slow start gives way to bigger and bigger crowds as audiences rediscover the pair’s wit and charm. Behind the scenes, however, tensions arise. Stan felt betrayed when Ollie didn’t back him up in a power play with producer Hal Roach years before, effectively ending their professional relationship. “The only reason we were in this situation,” scolds Stan, “is because you didn’t have the guts to ask Hal Roach for the money we deserved.” In a stinging rebuke Ollie says, “You love Laurel and Hardy but you didn’t love me.”
Those frictions, a hectic schedule and Hardy’s failing health complicate things but with the help of their strong-willed wives, Lucille (Shirley Henderson) and Ida (Nina Arianda), the comedy legends rekindle their love of performing and one another.
Never before has Laurel and Hardy’s signature “Dance of the Cuckoos” been more poignant. The story is a show biz tale but at its heart it’s the story of two very different men, thrown together on a film set, who formed an unbreakable bond.
The film begins with a long tracking shot as the men walk from their dressing room to the set. It tells us everything we need to know about Stan and Ollie in one five-minute tour de force shot. Stan is the funny one, considered in his approach with a head for business. Ollie is impulsive, going broke and many times married. They are an odd couple with unmistakable chemistry. It’s a lovely way to familiarize the audience with these almost-forgotten characters and showcase the easy chemistry between the leads, Coogan and Reilly.
By the time the end credits roll it’s that chemistry and the just-as-entertaining double act of Henderson and Arianda that elevates this story of friendship and loyalty.
RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: 3 ½ STARS. “heartfelt examination of friendship.”
Given the movie’s subtext “Ralph Breaks the Internet” could have been called “Ralph Wants You to Think About the Ramifications of Internet Usage.” Not as catchy, I’ll admit, but amid the fun and games the sequel to “Wreck-It Ralph” is a strong message about the dangers of Internet culture.
It’s been six years since we met Wreck-It Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly), a disgruntled video game character who demanded respect. This time around the action begins when the steering wheel controller on the Sugar Rush game console breaks. “It might be time to sell Sugar Rush for parts,” says Stan Litwak (Ed O’Neill), owner of Litwak’s Family Fun Center & Arcade.
Before Litwak unplugs the machine Ralph and the game’s racer Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) rescue Sugar Rush’s characters by moving them to other games.
To get the game up and running Ralph and Vanellope hit the Internet, using the Arcade’s wifi to explore the net in search of a replacement steering wheel. They find the wheel at eBay, trouble is, they don’t have any money. “I left my wallet at home,” Ralph tells the eBay cashier. “In the wallet room and the door is locked!”
When they befriend Shank (Gal Gadot), a racer in Slaughter Race, their problems seem to be over. The violent racing game overs a source of money but as Shank’s influence on Vanellope grows Ralph worries that his friend is drifting away.
“Ralph Breaks the Internet” is at its best when it’s subversive. The colourful animation, coupled with an imaginative take on what it would be like to be inside the internet—eBay is an actual auction house, and “likes” are sucked up by a vacuum cleaner—will make eyeballs dance but it’s the messaging that is memorable. Woven into the story are clever lessons on toxic friendship, how insecurity can infect a relationship like a virus on the computer and the dangers of obsessing about getting likes on social media posts.
Even better is a scene where Vanellope, while visiting OhMyDisney.com, stumbles into the Disney Princess break room. Here the film makes fun of Disney’s bread-and-butter, the stereotype of the princess. “Do people assume all your problems get solved because a strong man came along?” Fans of the first film know that Vanellope is a reluctant princess, preferring the title president. Her, among her spiritual sisters, she helps them shed some of their stuffy weays and they help her along the way to figuring out her path in life. “I stare at the important water and all of a sudden I start singing about my problems? I don’t think so,” Vanellope says, bursting one of Disney’s most familiar princess tropes.
The princess scene is a highlight in a film that has laughs but isn’t exactly a comedy. It’s more a heartfelt examination of friendship—“It’s not right to hold a friend back from her dreams.”—with some wild cartoon action and satire.
“Ralph Breaks the Internet” is a very specific story about two animated characters that illuminates universal themes from the real world.
