I joined CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to have a look at new movies coming to theatres, including the rebooted “Superman” and the chilling “Sovereign.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join the Bell Media Radio Network national night time show “Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift” for “Booze & Reviews!” This week I review the return of the Man of Steel in “Superman” and then suggest some supersized cocktails to go along with the movie.
Click HERE to listen to Shane and me talk about the 1978 Superman, the highest grossing actor of all time at the box office and the Disney – Playboy crossover that never happened!
For the Booze & Reviews look at “Superman” and some supersized cocktails click HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make the bed! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the rebooted “Superman,” the chilling “Sovereign” and the documentary “Apocalypse in the Tropics.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: “Look, up at the IMAX screen! It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s the rebooted Superman!” Set in the DC Universe, the new film is the story of 30-year-old Metropolis journalist and Kryptonian Clark Kent, a.k.a. Superman (David Corenswet) and his commitment to the old-fashioned values of truth, justice, and kindness. “My parents sent me to serve the people of Earth and be a good man,” he says. His benevolence has left the cynical public skeptical of his motives, including tech billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) who is tired of being overshadowed by the Man of Steel, and is steadfast in his belief that Superman’s unrestricted power is a threat to humanity. “Superman is not a man,” he says. “He’s an ‘it’ who somehow became the focal point of the entire world’s conversation. Nothing has felt right since he showed up.” Capitalizing on the fear of the “other,” Luthor uses technology and disinformation to dehumanize and destroy Superman.
CAST: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, and Milly Alcock. Directed by James Gunn.
REVIEW: The new “Superman” is a state-of-the-art movie with whiz-bang special effects that nonetheless feels old-fashioned. The moody, sombre vibe of the Zack Snyder films has left the building, ushering in a heartfelt story that harkens back to the optimistic, earnest tone of the 1950s and ‘60s comics.
Where Snyder portrayed the Man of Steel as a modern god, new DC head honcho James Gunn frames him as an extraterrestrial with human foibles. “They’ve always been wrong about me,” Superman says, “I love, I get scared… but that is being human. And that’s my greatest strength.”
It’s a throwback, but there’s a timeliness to it as well.
Gunn’s “Superman” reflects a polarized public, poisoned by tech billionaires, the government and on-line toxicity. Hope is a rare commodity, and anger is the new normal.
Sound familiar?
You don’t have to look further than your X feed to see the real-world inspiration for Gunn’s Metropolis. He weaves hot button references to the Russia–Ukraine war, grooming, Fox News and even bot farms that stoke outrage 24/7 into the story’s fabric. Shows like “The Boys” and the animated “Invincible” have used similar methods to essay the world’s current cynicism, with often grim results, but Gunn flips the script, opting for optimism.
Is it corny or is it heartfelt and hopeful? It’s all that, and proudly so.
Under the superhero’s S-shield is a beating heart, brimming with compassion for a world in which goodness is as rare as a hair on Lex Luthor’s head. It’s a gear shift from Snyder’s dark, introspective storytelling; not necessarily better, just different. It’s more surface, but it’s a pretty good surface. The messianic messaging is gone, replaced by a Clark Kent conflicted by his dual identity as an alien and a human, raised on a Midwestern farm. Mix in some of Gunn’s trademarked goofy humour, and a riff on John Williams’ classic “Superman” theme and you’re left with a character-driven film that values uplift over angst.
David Corenswet brings both nostalgia and a modern sensibility to his charismatic take on the Man of Steel. His heroics recall the Supermen of the past, but his Clark Kent is of the present day. In a less cartoonish performance than the exaggerated take of some earlier movies, his Clark is grounded in reality.
He shares great chemistry with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Whether they’re sharing intimate moments as Lois and Clark, challenging one another as journalists and love interests, or in action as the movie leans into the big set pieces of the final third, Brosnahan’s dynamic Lois easily sits on the shelf next to Margot Kidder’s beloved performance.
Every superhero movie needs a villain, and Nicholas Hoult delivers a cold, calculating tech billionaire framed as a modern-day baddie.
There are fun supporting turns from Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific and Nathan Fillion as the abrasive Green Lantern Guy Gardner, but the film’s scene stealer is the CGI, scruffy-but-loyal superdog Krypto.
It would be easy to be cynical about a movie that wears its heart on its sleeve as loudly and proudly “Superman” does, and while it gets a little supermanic in its final half hour, it delivers an up-to-the-minute feel filtered through the nostalgic lens of a vintage comic book.
I join NewsTalk 1010’s morning show “Moore in the Morning:” and host John Moore to talk about how “Superman” director balanced the film’s nostalgic feel with a modern sensibiltiy.
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
My CTVNews.ca review of “Superman” is up!
“’Superman,’ the latest iteration of the Man of Steel now playing in theatres, is a state-of-the-art movie with whiz-bang special effects that nonetheless feels old-fashioned…” Read the whole thing HERE!
I join the CTV NewsChannel to talk about Jude Law in “The Order,” the whimsical “Universal Language,” the Irish drama “Bring Them Down,” the Nertflix comedy “Kinda Pregnant” and the horror comedy “Heart Eyes.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to do a high five! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about Jude Law in “The Order,” the whimsical “Universal Language” and the Irish drama “Bring Them Down.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: Based on a real event, “The Order,” a new true-crime drama starring Jude Law and now streaming on Prime Video, gruff Idaho-based FBI agent Terry Husk (Law) identifies crime activity in the Pacific Northwest that could be related to Bob Mathews and The Order, his white supremacist militant group.
CAST: Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Alison Oliver, Odessa Young, Marc Maron, Huxley Fisher, Sebastian Pigott, Phillip Forest Lewitski, George Tchortov, Victor Slezak, Philip Granger, Daniel Doheny. Directed by Justin Kurzel.
REVIEW: Set in the early 1980s “The Order” is an unsettling film, made all the more chilling in our time of rising white nationalism and extremist militant groups.
Jude Law is firmly in character actor mode as the disheartened Husk. Still stinging from a broken marriage and stationed in a town where, as the local sheriff says, “the only crime around here is catching trout without a licence,” he’s paunchy and world weary, but while he may be burnt-out, he still has a burning desire to find justice.
He is a standard issue rumpled cop with a past and a depressing present. Even more standard is his sidekick squeaky-clean cop Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan). Both are terrific, but how many times have we seen an older, dishevelled cop paired with a younger go-getter?
Their match up may be conventional, but director Justin Kurzel keeps the action taut enough, and the violence visceral enough, to make up for the more familiar elements.
As Matthews, Nicolas Hoult is the disturbing face of extremism. In his reckless pursuit of a racial revolution, he stages risky robberies, bombs synagogues and kills at will. The robberies are meant to finance his plans for an uprising and his followers, who, like him, don’t think the Aryan Nations are hardcore enough in their beliefs, would follow him into hell.
His motives aren’t political as much as they are ideological, and as such, he is more a cult leader than a soldier but Hoult’s cool demeanour and chiseled good looks give his portrayal of the controlling but charismatic Matthews a terrifying edge.
In many ways “The Order” is a run-of-the-mill police procedural about two men, one good guy, one bad guy, who are willing to do anything for their cause. We’ve seen that before, but the way Kurzel builds tension and shines a light on the dark underbelly of white nationalism elevates the traditional plotting.
