Posts Tagged ‘Karren Karagulian’

CTV NEWS AT SIX: NEW MOVIES AND TV SHOWS TO CHECK OUT THIS WEEKEND!

I appear on “CTV News at 6” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend. I’ll tell you about the Crave documentary “Born Hungry,” and two ,Oscar hopefuls opening this week in theatres, “Anora” and “Conclave.”

Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 36:52)

 

 

RICHARD’S CP24 WEEKEND REVIEWS & VIEWING TIPS! FRIDAY OCTOBER 25, 2024.

I joined CP24 Breakfast to have a look at new movies and television shows coming to theatres and streaming services.  Today we talk about the wonderful “Anora,” the intriguing “Conclave” in theatres, and “The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist” on Netflix.

Watch the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S CTV NEWSCHANNEL WEEKEND REVIEWS FOR FRIDAY OCTOBER 25, 2024!

I join the CTV NewsChannel to talk about the wonderful “Anora,” the intriguing “Conclave,” the interspecies bromance “Venom: The Last Dance,” the revenger thriller “Seeds” and thr rock doc “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band” on Disney+”.

Watch the whole thing HERE!

 

CKTB NIAGARA REGION: THE STEPH VIVIER SHOW WITH RICHARD CROUSE ON MOVIES!

I sit in with CKTB morning show host Steph Vivier to have a look at movies in theatres and streaming including the wonderful “Anora,” the intriguing “Conclave,” the interspecies bromance “Venom: The Last Dance,” the revenger thriller “Seeds” and thr rock doc “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band” on Disney+”.

Listen to 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 the new movies coming to theatres including the wonderful “Anora,” the intruguing “Conclave” and the interspecies bromance “Venom: The Last Dance.

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

ANORA: 4 ½ STARS. “like watching plate spinning performers on Ed Sullivan.”

SYNOPSIS: In “Anora,” the Palme d’Or winning film from “The Florida Project” director Sean Baker, now playing in theatres, Brighton Beach sex worker Ani (Mikey Madison) becomes involved with the Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch. Their initial transactional relationship quickly blossoms into a whirlwind romance and elopement. Her “Cinderella” story is turned upside down when Vanya’s powerful parents swoop in to force an annulment.

CAST: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan and Aleksei Serebryakov. Written, directed and edited by Sean Baker

REVIEW: Part screwball comedy, part fight for survival, “Anora” is a triumph of controlled chaos. As in his earlier films, “Tangerine,” “The Florida Project” and “Red Rocket,” director Sean Baker keenly observes his characters with empathy and emotion in stories that examine money, class, and power.

But unlike his other movies, “Anora” constantly feels as though it is going to fly off its axis. Every scene, whether broadly comedic or heartbreaking, has a character-based urgency that propels the story. Baker’s ability to keep it all moving forward put me in the mind of watching plate spinning performers on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” It’s a film of remarkable energy and tension; one that keeps a lot of plates spinning without ever allowing the forward momentum of its anti-fairy tale to steamroll its characters.

Mikey Madison, best known to date as the oldest sibling on the sit com “Better Things” and being burned alive in both “Scream (5)” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” hands in a career re-defining performance as sex worker Anora a.k.a. Ani. An electric combination of tough-as-nails ferocity, self-assurance, desperation and poignant vulnerability, she is as compelling and charismatic a lead as we’ll see at the movies this year.

The film’s core, an extended set piece involving a city-wide hunt for Ani’s husband recalls the frenetic energy of “After Hours,” but the character building doesn’t stop when the action begins. A second scene-stealer, Yura Borisov as Igor, henchman for the Russian oligarch, emerges with a subtle but deeply felt and deeply comedic performance, tinged with an unexpected sweetness.

“Anora” is one of the best films of the year. An insightfully made look at the wealth divide, with elements of suspense and comedy, it never fails to entertain.