I appear on “CTV News at 11:30” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the weekend’s best shows, including the Paul Rudd movie “Power Ballad” and the new Samara Weaving crime drama “Carolina Caroline.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with anchor Michelle Dube to talk about new movies in theatres including the new “Scary Movie,” the live-action cartoon “Masters of the Universe” and the tuneful “Power Ballad.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 13:05)
I join CTV Atlantic’s Todd Battis to talk about the new “Scary Movie,” the live-action cartoon “Masters of the Universe” and the tuneful “Power Ballad.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 29:53)
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Akshay Tandon to talk about the new releases in theatres, including the new “Scary Movie,” the live-action cartoon “Masters of the Universe” and the tuneful “Power Ballad.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to brush your teeth. Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you wazzzzup with the new “Scary Movie,” the live-action cartoon “Masters of the Universe” and the tuneful “Power Ballad.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: In “Power Ballad,” a new feel-good dramedy starring Paul Rudd now playing on theatres, a pop star, desperate for a hit, steals a song from a washed-up wedding singer.
CAST: Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, Havana Rose Liu, Jack Reynor. Directed by John Carney.
REVIEW: Filmmaker John Carney infuses “Power Ballad” with his trademark emotional authenticity. The director of “Once,” “Begin Again” and “Sing Street,” uses music as a vehicle to tell a story of ambition and personal transformation.
Paul Rudd is Rick Power, an American musician who fell in love with an Irish woman while on tour. He relocated to Dublin, married and raised a daughter, leaving his dream of playing Madison Square Garden on the back burner. He pays the bills in a wedding band called The Bride & Groove, playing covers songs that provide a paycheque but no artistic satisfaction.
At a gig at an old Irish castle Rick meets Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas) when the former boy-band star jumps up on stage to sing a spirited version of the Stevie Wonder standard “I Wish.” Later, over beers and a bottle of scotch, the two jam, building a tune around one of Rick’s old songs called “How to Write a Song (Without You).”
“I’ve been toying with this one for years,” Rick says. “You have to record that. That’s my song.”
Six months later, while walking through a mall, Rick hears the song again, this time as a fully finished track pouring out of a store speaker. “That’s my chorus and verse. I wrote that song.” As the tune rises on the charts, Rick fights for recognition.
Paul Rudd leaves the broad humor of “Anchorman” behind to blend humor and heart à la his work in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” or “I Love You, Man.” The script, co-written by John Carney and Peter McDonald, is gently humorous, milking laughs out of the situations rather than from outright jokes. There are laughs but they are touched by anguish, allowing Rudd to exercise his dramatic chops.
The showdown between Rick and pop star Danny, nicely portrayed by real life musician Nick Jonas, is a little too slapticky to provide a real emotional crescendo to the story but what that scene lacks in authenticity, the movie makes up for in a crowd pleasing, more personal, final act.
Carney uses music as the basis of “Power Ballad,” but it works best when it puts down the guitar and focusses on Rick’s personal tale and not just his chase for recognition.
Richard finds the perfect cocktail to enjoy while having a drink and a think about the dystopian young adult drama “Chaos Walking.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
On paper “Chaos Walking,” a new dystopian movie starring Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland and now on PVOD, seems like a can’t fail for sci fi fans. In execution, however, the story of a world where men’s thoughts are manifested for all to see, is a letdown.
Based on “The Knife of Never Letting Go,” the first book of the Patrick Ness “Chaos Walking” trilogy, the story takes place in the year 2557 in a place called Prentisstown on the planet New World. Colonized by refugees from Earth, New World’s original inhabitants, the Spackle, fought back, slaughtering many of the male settlers and all the women. The surviving men contracted something called “The Noise.”
“It happened when we landed on the planet,” says Mayor Prentiss (Mads Mikkelsen). “Every thought in our heads is on display.”
Prentisstown residents, like Todd Hewitt (Holland), walk around with their thoughts exposed like wisps of multicolored cigarette smoke swirling around their heads.
When her spaceship crash lands on New World it leaves earth woman Viola (Ridley) stranded in this strange world. Todd, who has never seen a woman before, helps her navigate the dangers of her new home, as they both discover the deeply held secrets of New World.
“Chaos Walking” has ideas that feel ripe for satire, social commentary and drama but squanders them in favor of crafting a tepid young adult friendly dystopian story. Todd’s “Noise” reveals the kind of thoughts a teenager may have when first laying eyes on a girl, although in a g-rated fashion. His inner voice mumbles “Pretty” in Viola’s presence, but that’s about as deep into his psyche we get. It’s a shame because the “Noise” device could have been used to provide some much-needed humour into this earnest story. Or to more effectively drive the plot or the tension between the two characters. Instead, it is inert, a ploy to add some interest to a generic dystopian tale.
“Chaos Walking” was shot in 2017, deemed unreleasable, and has been fiddled with ever since. It hits PVOD as a film of unrealized potential, a minor footnote on the IMDB pages of its stars.
There is nothing particularly “next level” about the second instalment of the all-star, rebooted “Jumanji” franchise. It provides pretty much exactly the same level of entertainment delivered by 2017’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” a family-friendly action flick that offered up some good-natured laughs.
The last time around nerdy gamer Spencer Gilpin (Alex Wolff), mean girl Bethany Walker (Madison Iseman), jock Anthony “Fridge” Johnson (Ser’Darius Blain) and Martha Kaply (Morgan Turner) were assigned to detention. Stuck in a storage room, they found a dusty old Jumanji gaming console. They turn it and the game sputters to life. “A game for those who seek to find,” it says, “a way to leave their lives behind.” Each clicked on an avatar and were suddenly swept away into the world of the game, plopped down in the Jumanji jungle and in the middle of an escapade. They also looked different. Their teenage selves are gone, replaced by heroic videogame characters. Spencer is now Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), a buff hero, fearless with no vulnerabilities. Martha is warrior Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan) while Fridge is zoologist Moose Finbar (Kevin Hart). The biggest change was reserved for Bethany who became cryptographer Professor Sheldon Oberon (Jack Black).
The old gang is back, and when Spencer disappears inside the game they follow along, with some new faces in the form of Spencer’s cranky granddad Eddie (Danny DeVito), the old man’s former business partner Milo (Danny Glover) and a new avatar played by Awkafina.
Once back in the videogame world of Jumanji they must find Spencer and protect a scared gem, keeping it out of the hands of a merciless warlord played by “Game of Thrones’” Rory McCann. Cue a cacophony of close calls, mismatched body swapping, CGI and silly jokes that feel left over from the 2017 movie.
Like most real-life video games “Jumanji: The Next Level” is most fun when they’re actually playing the game and not standing around talking about playing the game.
After a deadly first half-hour that reunites the original cast the film briefly picks up speed when the characters land in Jumanji only to discover they aren’t who they used to be. Moose now looks like Kevin Hart but has Danny Glover’s grandfatherly personality. Eddie wound up as the muscle-bound Dr. Smolder Bravestone and Professor Sheldon Oberon has adopted Bethany’s former avatar, Professor Shelly Oberon. The switcheroos provide some laughs, particularly Hart’s take on Glover’s deliberate (i.e. glacial) dialogue delivery. He nails it, slowing down his usual mile-a-minute style to milk laughs from lines like, “Jurgen the Brutal. Is that Barbara’s boy?”
Johnson has a harder time replicating DeVito’s New Jersey twang, especially in the film’s rare dramatic moments.
The rest of the film is action, herds of ostriches and mandrills attack and there are improbable fight scenes but all are so CGI heavy that they don’t connect. Instead they offer up roughly the same level of thrills as a theme park ride, which, no doubt this will one day be if it isn’t already.
“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” appealed to audiences with a mix of charismatic actors having a good time in a silly story and inventive action. For the most part “The Next Level” goes the way of so many other sequels, replacing the original charm with a story that is larger and louder but not as engaging. “I can’t believe you came back here on purpose,” says Martha. You may wonder that yourself as the end credits roll.
