Posts Tagged ‘Neve Campbell’

CFRA IN OTTAWA: THE BILL CARROLL MORNING SHOW MOVIE REVIEWS!

Richard sits in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to VOD and streaming services including the trip to Mars drama “red Rover,” the opioid story “Castle in the Ground,” the French arthouse hit “Les Misérables,” the horror comedy “Porno” and the documentary “They Call Me Dr. Miami.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

CASTLE IN THE GROUND: 3 ½ STARS. “a well-made look at life in a time of crisis.”

In “Castle in the Ground,” a new opioid drama now on VOD, the more Ana (Imogen Poots) says, “Everything is going to be OK,” the more it becomes apparent that it’s not.

Set in Sudbury, Ontario, circa 2012, the film stars Alex Wolff as Henry, a young man nursing his mother (Neve Campbell) through the final stages of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Across the hall is neighbor Ana, a young woman struggling to pull herself out of the pit of addiction. When Henry’s mother dies Ana and the grieving son are drawn together, but this isn’t a mother and son sickness of the week story or a Bukowskian tale of rough romance. It’s a co-dependency thriller set against a backdrop of Ana’s plan to rip off her dealer Polo Boy (Keir Gilchrist). Henry is drawn into the scheme and a life of opioid addiction.

“Castle in the Ground” is a carefully crafted character study of a naïve—or willfully ignorant— man and a Machiavellian addict. Wolff, who impressed in Ari Aster’s “Heredity,” holds the screen during director Joey Klein’s long, unhurried scenes. He brings the hurt of a heartbroken guy, now looking for a connection, even if it isn’t in his best interest. But it is Poots who impresses. Her take on Ana is vividly painted as she plays a cat-and-mouse game with Henry in order to get what she wants. As the situations spirals her chirpy, “everything is going to be OK” assurances, become more ominous.

This is a depressing film, unburdened by light at the end of the tunnel. Dark, visually and thematically, it’s a movie about internal conflict, pain, depression and indulgence that spares none of its characters. Everyone, no matter how sympathetic, are complicit in the lead up to the film’s fiery climax.

“Castle in the Ground” is an up-close-and-personal look at a very large issue. It offers no solutions or searing insight as to how the opioid problem spun so far out of control. Instead, it is simply a well-made and well-acted look at life in a time of personal crisis.

CTVNEWS.CA: THE CROUSE REVIEW LOOKS AT “SKYSCRAPER” AND MORE!

A weekly feature from from ctvnews.ca! The Crouse Review is a quick, hot take on the weekend’s biggest movies! This week Richard looks at “Skyscraper,” the animated Adam Sandler flick “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” and the documentary “Whitney.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

 

 

RICHARD’S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY JULY 13, 2018.

Richard joins CP24 anchor Nick Dixon to have a look at the weekend’s new movies including “Skyscraper,” the animated Adam Sandler flick “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation,” the documentary “Whitney,” the biopic “Mary Shelley,” “Sorry to Bother You” starring LaKeith Stanfield and the comedy “The Death (and Life) of Carl Naardlinger.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

SKYSCRAPER: 2 ½ STARS. “Johnson in full-on the video-game hero mode.”

Dwayne Johnson has saved his family from an earthquake, fought a volcanic demon and prevented a wild, overgrown ape from destroying Chicago. If you gotta life-or-death problem, yo, he’ll solve it. His new film may be his fieriest yet. “Skyscraper” sees him hundreds of stories above the earth, trying to save his family from certain death. Let’s see him revolve that.

Johnson is former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader and U.S. war veteran Will Ford. After an bomb blast left him with a prosthetic leg he went into business as a security expert for big companies. His latest gig takes him and family, including wife Sarah (Neve Campbell) and twins, to Hong Kong where he will assess the security concerns for a building nicknamed the Eighth Wonder of the World. At three times the height of the Empire State Building, The Pearl is one of the world’s greatest architectural achievements, but is it safe? That’s what billionaire owner Zhao Min Zhi (Chin Han) wants to know. It’s the tallest most advanced building in the world, it’s a vertical city, but, as Ford says, “you have brought with it every single safety and security challenge I can think of. Not only have you brought them all indoors but you have trapped them 240 floors in the air, No one really knows what would happen if things go wrong.”

Of course things go wrong—there’d be no movie otherwise—when some terrible people sabotage the building’s security systems, starting a blaze on the ninety-sixth floor. Ford’s family is trapped above the fire line so our one-legged hero must rescue them while fighting the bad guys and convincing the cops the fire wasn’t his fault.

“Skyscraper” is the kind of over-the-top action movie that used to star Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone. It’s a manly man movie that values sweaty action over narrative logic, rockin’ schlock over the laws of physics.

It’s Johnson in full-on the video-game hero mode. Fun to watch but whatever high wire antics he gets up to ultimately the stakes aren’t very high. (SPOILER ALERT) The Rock is not going to plunge to his death, leaving his family to become lumps of coal in the world‘s biggest inferno. “Skyscraper” is all about the stunts, the adrenaline and even then they give away the film’s best deed of daring do on the poster and in the trailer.

Johnson is charismatic, has a way with a line but here he is reduced to his most obvious asset, his over developed body, capable of superhuman feats of endurance and skills. He is Hercules a slab of grade A muscle who can power his way out of any situation, most often with a roll of duct tape in tow. (Begging the question, how much did the makers of duct tape pay in product placement. Not since “The Red Green Show” has the sticky stuff been so essential to the plot.) As a man of action he’s second to known, as a character in a film, however, he not as muscular. There’s not much to Will Ford—or any character here—other than a look of grim determination and a flex arm. Even the bad guy, Kores Botha (Roland Møller), is just a Hans Gruber wannabe but without the evil charm or nasty one-liners.

“Skyscraper” is a loud, over-the-top flick. The action may entertain the eye but with no characters to care about all that’s left are plumes of smoke and fire.

SCREAM 4: 3 ½ STARS

scream4aThe “Scream” movies, which follow professional survivor Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) as she outwits and outlasts a series of masked “Ghostface” killers, have fared better than most other contemporary horror franchises. Probably because the idea of combining a traditional slasher film with self-aware humor and horror film clichés was ahead of its time when Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven took a stab at creating the horror hybrid in 1996.

Just as the “Saw” films have become as appealing as a power tool to the back of the head and the “Final Destination” movies feel like they actually met their final destination two or three films ago, “Scream’s” winning formula hasn’t outlived it’s welcome.

In the shreakquel Campbell returns as Prescott, now a successful author who has returned to Woodsboro, the scene of the Ghostface killer crimes that made her a nationally famous survivor. Her book signing at a local store is, of course, scheduled on the anniversary of the original killings. Soon things get stabby and, as the bodies start to pile up Sheriff Dewey (David Arquette) and his investigative reporter wife Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) try to discover who is behind the Ghostface mask.

Like the other movies in the series “Scream 4” is a Meta-thriller that pays tribute to and takes the Mickey out of the horror genre. It uses the conventions of other fright films to cue the action, before twisting familiar clichés to form something new. Of course the idea of referencing other movies isn’t as fresh as it was in the original, but screenwriter Williamson has updated the idea, suggesting that the rules from the first few “Screams” don’t apply because horror movies have changed in the age of social media.

Not to worry though, the basic “Scream” formula is in place. This movie, like the others, still opens with a funny, bloody scene or two, spoofing horror movies. They are giddy good fun and set the tone of the movie—gory and giggly.

At the heart of it all is Campbell, “Scream’s” only truly indispensible character. She grounds the whole story, bringing a real presence to an unreal situation. She isn’t the funny girl, or the self aware, sarcastic showy character, instead she’s the one the audience cares about. Most importantly she never plays the victim no matter how many times Ghostface tries to cut her in two.

“Scream 4” is the best in the series since the original. Director Wes Craven brings the suspense, writer Williamson supplies the clever and Campbell supplies the heart.

NEVE CAMPBELL AT TORONTO PREMIERE OF “SCREAM 4” By MR. WILL-W.:POP MAVEN

100607-scream-4-poster-neve-campbell-courteney-cox-david-arquettejpg-adfe33e47e6d2ee8_largeGuelph native Neve Campbell had a busy day in Toronto today promoting the latest installment of Wes Craven’s wildly successful Scream Franchise, Scream 4 (stylized as Scre4m). To date, all three of its predecessors combined have earned $145 million worldwide at the Box Office.

Campbell’s stop-offs today included a last-minute appearance on CTV’s The Marilyn Denis Show, CBC’s George Stroumboulopoulous Tonight, Entertainment Tonight Canada and also Print Media including a Slasher-themed Photo Shoot with Eye Magazine. And that doesn’t even include all the Media who queued-up early for a spot on the Red Carpet at Scotiabank Theatre this evening.  Luckily, I was able to get Campbell to stop for a second to pose for a Photo before she was whisked away to the madness… and she was lovely!

Although I am to hold off on my Review for Scre4m until its release date, April 15, 2011, I will say that I had an amazing time enjoying Craven’s brand of campy Horror.  I literally was screaming at parts and laughing out loud at others – sometimes together simultaneously.

Campbell introduced the Film quickly in a gorgeous Alexander McQueen number – a fitting tribute the late London-based designer and Fashion Child of the City where she now resides. She returned right as the Credits rolled after enjoying a quick Dinner at Blowfish, then appearing on-stage in a brief Q&A with Toronto’s favourite resident Film Guru Richard Crouse.

The Actress told the audience that to this day her favourite Horror Film still is The Changeling, which she discovered at the age of 13. Despite having much experience filming movies of the genre, Campbell says “I’m still a Suck. I am terrible at watching Horror Movies”. In fact, she only saw her first Craven Film after her Scream Co-Star Jada Pinkett Smith bought her a stack of his DVDs while they were filming the second installment of the Series.

Despite one audience member professing his love for her in calling her a Legend, Campbell sees things on a more humble scale admitting: “To me, it’s honestly about Corn Syrup on my face while filming, Plastic Masks and being chased around by a Prop Guy”.

On filming with longtime Co-stars/former Couple David Arquette and Courtney Cox, she feels that her bond with them was tighter this time around. When they had first filmed Scream back in the mid-90s, they had little time to spend together considering that both Cox and Campbell had been busy with their respective TV series. With the new generation of Actors who are introduced in Scre4m like Hayden Panettiere and Emma Roberts, Campbell recalls joking to Cox during their Readings, “We could be their Mothers!”.

On the rise of Social Media, Campbell revealed that times have changed since working on Scream 3 back in 2000 in that this time around they had a dedicated team of individuals who would consistently monitor what others were saying about Scre4m online, making efforts to thwart ideas of what the Movie was all about. Also, despite a new Twitter account surfacing recently alleging to belong to Campbell (@MissNeve), the Actress confirmed today that this is an Impostor and that she has not yet caught on to Twitter. And to think I clicked FOLLOW!