I joined CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to have a look at new movies coming to theatres, including the live action déjà vu of “How to Train Your Dragon,” the non rom com “Materialists” and the life-affirming “The Life of Chuck.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with anchor Zuraidah Alamn to talk about new movies in theatres including the live action déjà vu of “How to Train Your Dragon,” the non rom com “Materialists” and the life-affirming “The Life of Chuck.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 12:39)
I join CP24 to talk about the big movies hitting theatres this week including the live action déjà vu of “How to Train Your Dragon,” the non rom com “Materialists” and the life-affirming “The Life of Chuck.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in with host Deb Hutton on NewsTalk 1010 to play the game “Did Richard Crouse Like This?” This week I talk about bootlegged books, Rick Moranis’s return to movies after an almost 30 year break, a new Blues Brothers graphic novel and tell you about “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Materialists.”
Listen to the whole thing 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 live action déjà vu of “How to Train Your Dragon,” the non rom com “Materialists” and the life-affirming “The Life of Chuck.”
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 live action déjà vu of “How to Train Your Dragon,” the non rom com “Materialists” and the life-affirming “The Life of Chuck.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
SYOPSIS: in “How to Train Your Dragon,” a new live-action remake of the 2010 animated film of the same name, a young Viking boy named Hiccup goes against his village’s traditional belief that dragons are “the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself,” when he befriends a Night Fury dragon named Toothless. “Dad, I can’t kill dragons,” Hiccup admits to his father, Stoick the Vast.
CAST: Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Nick Frost, Julian Dennison, Gabriel Howell, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Ruth Codd, Peter Serafinowicz, Murray McArthur, Gerard Butler. Written and directed by Dean DeBlois.
REVIEW: At the movies, it seems that everything old is new again.
Even if it’s not that old.
It was just 15 years ago that the animated “How to Train Your Dragon,” based on the 2003 novel by Cressida Cowell, earned two Oscar nominations and launched a franchise that includes sequels, short films, a television series, a video game and an arena show adaptation featuring 24 animatronic dragons.
This weekend it gets a live-action treatment that includes all the familiar characters, situations plus 27 brand new minutes of story.
It’s new, but it isn’t necessarily improved.
On the plus side Canadian director and writer Dean DeBlois, who has been involved with the franchise as a director since the first film, brings a darker tone to the story. It’s still family friendly (although the finale with the Queen Dragon may haunt younger viewers) but the live action brings with it more exciting aerial action scenes, even if the CGI is sometimes murky in the big sequences.
It also adds complexity to the characters, particularly in the relationship between Hiccup (a terrific Mason Thames) and his father (Gerard Butler, who returns from the animated films).
Also welcome is the return of the emotional core of the original. The animated film’s allegory to 9/11 feels even more poignant today as a message of tolerance. As Hiccup cuts through his father’s Viking jingoism with kindness and compassion, the movie reverberates with the franchise’s humanistic themes.
The heart of the film, the relationship between the boy and his dragon, beats loudly. Thames is up against it, reinterpreting Jay Baruchel’s classic voice work, but he brings an earnestness to the character that works.
Toothless the friendly dragon is lovingly rendered in photorealistic CGI, and even with no dialogue, expresses himself as easily as any of the real-life actors.
On the downside, it feels been-there-done-that. Several scenes are shot-for-shot from the original, which, depending on your level of fandom, will either be an homage or a display of a lack of originality.
“How to Train Your Dragon” will likely entertain original fans, and may win over some new ones, but I missed the snappier pacing of the original. The extra 27 minutes brings with it some impressive look-at-me moments—particularly in the final battle scene—but I found it less charming than it animated counterpart.
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 the romantic entanglements of “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,” the adorable “Paddington in Peru” and the new MCU offering “Captain America: Brave New World.”
Watych the whole thing HERE!
I join the CTV NewsChannel to talk about the new MCU offering “Captain America: Brave New World,” the adorable “Paddington in Peru,” the romantic entanglements of “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” and the sci fi love story “The Gorge.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
