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!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk about the new movies coming to theatres including the new “Scary Movie,” the live-action cartoon “Masters of the Universe” and the tuneful “Power Ballad.”
Listen to 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.
