I appear on “CTV News at 11:30” with anchor Andria Case to talk about season to of “Dexter: Resurrection” on Paramount+, the Netflix documentary “SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of” and the family drama “& Sons.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 13:50)
I join CTV Atlantic’s Todd Battis to talk about the family dramedy “& Sons,” the crime drama “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” and the historical drama “Fatherland.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with anchor Zuraidah Alman to talk about the family dramedy “& Sons,” the crime drama “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” and the historical drama “Fatherland.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 16:46)
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll. This week we talk about the passing of Patrick Stewart and I have a look at the new movies coming to theatres including the family dramedy “& Sons,” the crime drama “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” and the historical drama “Fatherland.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
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 family dramedy “& Sons,” the crime drama “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” and the historical drama “Fatherland.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: A story of regret, legacy and the worst dad since Darth Vader, “& Sons,” now playing in theatres, is a nuanced look at intergenerational pain and the difficulty of healing old wounds.
CAST: Johnny Flynn, Bill Nighy, George MacKay, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Noah Jupe. Directed by Pablo Trapero.
REVIEW: An uncompromising, but often very funny family drama, “& Sons” is anchored by an inhibition free performance from Bill Nighy.
Directed by Pablo Trapero and based on David Gilbert’s novel, Nighy plays Andrew Dyer, an ageing, reclusive one-time literary superstar trapped in a prison of his own making, a booze filled Oxfordshire mansion. Following the death of an old friend, he’s convinced his time has also come.
Feeling his time is short, he summons his adult sons from his first marriage, Richard (Johnny Flynn) and Jamie (George MacKay), and their teenage half-brother Andy (Noah Jupe), the child of the affair that broke up his first marriage to Isabel (Imelda Staunton). “I haven’t been here for like 20 years,” says Richard. “I didn’t think I’d ever come back.”
Any expectation of an apology from their estranged father goes out the window when Andrew divulges a secret that brings decades of jealousy and anger to the surface.
“I know you’re familiar with the story of Andy’s conception,” says Andrew.
“Oh, you mean the one about you having an affair and destroying mom’s life and taking the baby in afterwards?”
“All of which is true,” says Andrew. “Except the story itself.”
A dark comedy about legacy and secrets, the over-the-top “& Sons” could have slipped into melodrama but the twisty-turny family drama is elevated by clever writing, and a powerful performance from Nighy. He’s ably supported by Flynn, MacKay, Jupe and Staunton, who all ensure “& Sons” doesn’t get lost in the absurdity of its central premise.
Chances are good you have seen the extraordinary viral video of elderly London stockbroker Nicolas Winton, given a standing ovation by the grown survivors of the 669 children, mostly Jewish, he rescued from Czechoslovakia before the Nazi occupation closed the borders. Taken from the BBC television show “That’s Life,” it is moving footage that has been viewed millions of times.
“One Life,” a new biopic starring Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn, Jonathan Pryce and Helena Bonham Carter, and now playing in theatres, provides the background of the much-viewed video and the man known as the “British Schindler.”
Based on the book “If It’s Not Impossible…: The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton” by Barbara Winton, the film toggles back-and-forth between 1987 London and 1938 Czechoslovakia. In the contemporary scenes Winton (Hopkins) is in retirement, puttering around a house stuffed with memories, paperwork and artefacts from his past. He continues his charitable work, still haunted that he was not able to save more children, while his wife Grete (Lena Olin) urges him to clear out the ephemera of the past and slow down. “Why would I want to slow down?” he asks.
Played by Flynn in the flashbacks, Winton is on assignment for the British Committee for Refugees From Czechoslovakia. In Prague, taken by the plight of the stranded children he encounters, the hunger and the mortal danger the impending Nazi occupation, he puts into motion the massive relocation of hundreds of children. Through money raising efforts, arranging visas and foster care, he spirits nine trainloads of children, through precarious circumstances, to safety in Britain.
The famous viral video, in which Winton is finally able to see, and maybe for the first time, understand, the results of his work, is recreated to great emotional effect. But even as his status as a national hero grows, he grumbles, “This is not about me.”
As the latter-day Winton, Hopkins gives a quietly powerful performance. It is empathetic work colored by the guilt Winton carried. “I’ve learned to keep my imagination in check,” he says, referring to the children left behind, “so I don’t go raving mad.” In a restrained movie, it is his inner work that bursts forth, making us feel the immense impact of Winton’s work.
“One Life” is a potent story of doing the right thing, trapped in a staid historical biopic, but given life by the emotional story and performances.
Based on a British Second World War deception operation to camouflage the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily, “Operation Mincemeat,” now playing in theatres, moving to Netflix on May 11, is an entertaining retelling of a little-known plan to break Hitler’s grasp on Europe.
Based on historical records, the movie details a plan so outlandish it sounds as though it sprung from the fanciful mind of a screenwriter. That the plan was, in part, hatched by a young Ian Fleming (Johnny Flynn), who would later go on to create the outlandish 007 spy stories, would seem to be another flight of the imagination, but even that flourish is based on fact.
The plan, nicknamed Operation Mincemeat, involved tricking Hitler into believing the Allies planned to invade Greece, not Sicily. But how to pull it off? QC-turned-Lieutenant-Commander Ewen Montagu (Colin Firth) and MI5 agent Charles Cholmondeley (Matthew Macfadyen) marshal an audacious disinformation plan to drop a dead man off the coast of Spain, where the Nazi spy chain begins. In the pockets of the corpse’s uniform are “wallet litter,” faked love letters, military ID etc. In his case are “classified” military correspondence indicating the Allies were about to invade Greece. If that information falls into German hands and distracts them, it will allow a full-scale Allied invasion of Sicily.
“Operation Mincemeat” is a spirited recreation of the meticulous planning that went into the scheme to fool the Fuhrer. Director John Madden finds the suspense, the espionage and even the romance in the situation. The first two elements work well, creating a forward momentum that builds excitement as the running time ticks by. The romance between Montagu and Jean Leslie, played by Kelly Macdonald, is less convincing and feels wedged in.
Better are the comedic aspects. While some of the dealings with the dead man evoke memories of “Weekend at Bernie’s,” most of the laughs come from the absurdity of the situation, and feel organic to the story.
A welcome addition to the stranger-than-fiction genre, “Operation Mincemeat” is a well-appointed, well-crafted period piece that avoids the stoicism of other war time espionage thrillers.
Mark Rylance is tailor made to play the lead role in “The Outfit,” a new gangster film set entirely inside a bespoke suit maker’s shop. I own up to the stupid joke in the first sentence of this review, but it is true. Rylance astounds as the “cutter”—tailors are best at sewing on buttons and not much else he says—at the center of the action in this twisty-turny chamber piece.
Set in the mid-1950s, the movie revolves around Leonard Burling (Rylance), a former Savile Row cutter who lovingly details the process of making a suit from scratch in the film’s opening voiceover. “This isn’t art,” he says proudly, “it’s a craft.”
Working the front desk is his assistant Mabel Sean (Zoey Deutch), a young woman who has her sights set on a horizon far beyond the tailor shop.
Discreet and meticulous, Burling makes beautiful clothes for his Chicago clients, including members of the Boyle Gang, the heavies who run the neighborhood. “If we only allowed angels in here,” he says, “we’d have no customers.” His services to the gangsters extend beyond making them look good. His store also doubles as a drop spot for the Boyles, a safe place for Richie (Dylan O’Brien), son of the Boyle Gang boss, and the ambitious mobster Francis (Johnny Flynn), to pass messages back and forth.
Burling stays out of the way, rarely makes eye contact with the tough guys and is unfailingly polite. “I don’t judge,” he tells Richie. “I just don’t want to be involved in whatever it is you do.”
Unfortunately, when it becomes clear there’s a rat in the Boyle Gang who may, or may not, be making surreptitious tapes of their criminal activities for the FBI, Burling is drawn into their nasty business.
What unfolds from this point is a whip-lash inducing game of twister as the character’s motivations tie the story in knots. Manipulation, deceit, double dealings and death are the name of the game in this literate, adult thriller. Although “The Outfit” was written for the screen by director Graham Moore, who took home an Oscar for writing “The Imitation Game,” it feels like a stage play. From the minimal sets—the whole thing takes place in two rooms—to the intimate performances and the intricate, wordy script, it is unabashedly and wonderfully theatrical.
An understated performance from Rylance sets the tone for the ensemble cast. His enigmatic character is a sounding board for everyone from the gangsters who cause all the trouble to Mabel, the neighborhood woman who just wants to see the world. The characters fit together like puzzle pieces to really bring this story alive.
“The Outfit” is a small film that is unafraid to rely on the characters and the words and not elaborate set pieces to make an impact. Writer, director Moore has made a film that, unlike how Burling feels about his life’s work, emphasizes both craft and art.
