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 redemptive prison drama “Sing Sing,” the locked-room thriller “Trap” and the British folk horror of “Starve Acre.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in with hosts Jim Richards and Deb Hutton on NewsTalk 1010 to play the game “Did Richard Crouse Like This?” This week we talk about the redemptive prison drama “Sing Sing,” the locked-room thriller “Trap” and the British folk horror of “Starve Acre.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 26:50)
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with guest host Natalie Johnson, to talk about the redemptive prison drama “Sing Sing,” the locked-room thriller “Trap” and the British folk horror of “Starve Acre.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 14:32)
I join “CTV News Atlantic at Six” anchor Todd Battis to talk about the success of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” and two new releases iunb theatres, M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller “Trap” and the redemptive prison drama “Sing Sing.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join the CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to talk about the redemptive prison drama “Sing Sing,” the locked-room thriller “Trap” and the british folk horror of “Starve Acre.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
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 redemptive prison drama “Sing Sing,” the locked-room thriller “Trap” and the Netflix documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story.”
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 redemptive prison drama “Sing Sing,” the locked-room thriller “Trap” and the british folk horror of “Starve Acre.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with guest host Andrew Pinsent to talk the new movies coming to theatres and streaming including the redemptive prison drama “Sing Sing,” the locked-room thriller “Trap” and the british folk horror of “Starve Acre.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: Set against the backdrop of a pop superstar’s concert, “Trap,” a psychological thriller from twist meister M. Night Shyamalan, and now playing in theatres, sees Josh Hartnett play Cooper, a father who takes his teen daughter to see her favorite musician only to discover it’s a trap set by police to catch a ruthless serial killer.
“You know the Butcher?” a vendor (Jonathan Langdon) asks Cooper. “That freakin’ nutjob that goes around just chopping people up? Well, the feds or whatever heard that he’s gonna be here today, so they set up a trap for him. This whole concert? It’s a trap. They’re watching all the exits, checking everyone that leaves. There’s no way to get out of here. It’s kinda dope, right?”
CAST: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills, Alison Pill, Marnie McPhail, Vanessa Smythe, Kid Cudi. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan.
REVIEW: (SPOILERS FOR ANYONE WHO HASN’T SEEN THE TRAILER OR READ A SYNOPSIS) “Trap” is a pretty good thriller until it isn’t. The suspense isn’t about the identity of the serial killer. Shyamalan is upfront about that in the first ten minutes. The entertainment value comes from Cooper and how he will evade the long arm of the law.
We know Hartnett plays the baddie, and it is his performance that keeps “Trap” as entertaining as it is. As the serial killer who leaves his victims dismembered, or “deli-prepped” as they call it in the movie, he shines, using his good guy charm as a disguise for his murderous rage. The slow build toward his full-blown descent into madness is telegraphed by his stealthy looks at the increasing police presence in the concert arena. It’s an intentionally hilarious and menacing performance that provides the movie with much of its punch.
Harnett’s performance aside, the movie falters when it allows Cooper to escape detection in increasingly convenient, and unbelievable ways. Some suspension of disbelief will get you through the vast bulk of “Trap,” but when the point of view suddenly shifts to another character, the film becomes less interesting, and more of a run-of-the-mill cat-and-mouse game.
Hartnett ensures that “Trap” is a bit of over-the-top fun, but the conventional ending sucks much of the devious playfulness that came before it away.
