I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with host Zuraidah Alman, to talk about the terrifying travelogue “Speak No Evil,” the family drama “His Three Daughters” and the thriller “The Critic.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 14:58)
The legendary “Playbill” chose my review of “The Critic” among their top picks for the week.
Have a look HERE!
I join the CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to talk about the terrifying travelogue “Speak No Evil,” the family drama “His Three Daughters” and the thriller “The Critic.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I joined CP24 Breakfast to have a look at new movies and television shows coming to theatres and streaming services. Today we talk about the terrifying travelogue “Speak No Evil,” the thriller “The Critic” and Disney+’s “Only Murders in the Building” season four.
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in with CKTB morning show host Steph Vivier to have a look at movies in theatres and streaming including the terrifying travelogue “Speak No Evil,” the family drama “His Three Daughters” and the thriller “The Critic.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show to talk the new movies coming to theatres and streaming including the terrifying travelogue “Speak No Evil,” the family drama “His Three Daughters” and the thriller “The Critic.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I join the national night time show “Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift” to suggest the perfect cocktail to enjoy while taking in the new psychological thriller “Speak No Evil” and then have a look at the big entertainment headlines of the night.
Listen to the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 21:07)
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to tie a bowtie! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the terrifying travelogue “Speak No Evil,” the family drama “His Three Daughters” and the thriller “The Critic.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: “The Critic,” a new, melodramatic thriller starring Sir Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton and Mark Strong, and now playing in theatres, sees a powerful London theater critic lure a struggling actress into a blackmail scheme.
CAST: Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong, Lesley Manville, Romola Garai, Ben Barnes, Alfred Enoch. Directed by Anand Tucker.
REVIEW: A tale of blackmail and revenge, set against the (somewhat) polite society of England, circa 1934, “The Critic” is a deceptively dark and grimy drama.
Handsomely mounted, with sumptuous period details, “The Critic” details mostly despicable people who hide their nefarious motivations behind an upper-class veneer.
Topflight performances from McKellen as a powerful theatre critic who’ll do anything to maintain his status, Arterton as a morally compromised actress and Stone as the nepobaby owner of a large newspaper, smooth over some of the rough patches in the movie’s storytelling.
Early on, actress Nina Land (Arterton) confronts the critic, Jimmy Erskine (McKellen), only to have her worst fears about her talent—or lack thereof—confirmed by the sharp-tongued writer. It’s a masterclass from McKellen in controlled cruelty and tells us most everything that we need to know about the unapologetic character. He’s an extravagant wordsmith, one who uses his words not only to entertain his readers, but to also eviscerate his enemies.
It’s a marvelous scene, sleek and caustic, that sets a tone that is, unfortunately, not continued throughout, despite the good performances. McKellen and Company are let down by a script that, time after time, falls for its basest impulses. Every dark turn, and there are many of them, pushes the story deeper into melodrama at the expense of interesting exchanges like the one detailed above.
“The Critic” slides by on the work of McKellen, Arterton, Strong and Lesley Manville, but doesn’t know how to use their performances to the story’s best advantage.
