I join CP24 to talk about Sydney Sweeney’s “Christy,” Jennifer Lawrence in “Die My Love,” the Netflix historical drama “Death By Lightning” and the Tracy Morgan comedy “Crutch.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: A thoughtful retelling of Mary Shelley’s gothic science fiction novel, Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” now streaminng on Netflix after its theatrical run, is an ambitious story of what it means to be human.
CAST: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley, Lauren Collins, Charles Dance, and Christoph Waltz. Directed by Guillermo del Toro.
REVIEW: Bold, bombastic and beautiful, Guillermo del Toro‘s “Frankenstein” is an emotionally charged story of father and son, of beauty and beasts and literary romanticism.
Del Toro is faithful to Shelley’s novel. He frames the story as Victor Frankenstein’s (Oscar Isaac) dying confession aboard the ship of an Arctic explorer, keeps Shelley’s empathetic take on The Creature (Jacob Elordi) and allows “the monster” a voice and the language to eloquently describe the heartbreaking tragedy of his life.
(MILD SPOILER ALERT) The most significant change comes at the end as del Toro opts for understanding over nihilism.
The Creature has always been a sympathetic character, but del Toro and Elordi humanize him in a way unlike any other portrayal. The hulking Creature is seemingly indestructible physically, but emotionally he’s a soulful character in search of family and love.
It looks like a Gothic horror movie but can’t rightly be called a traditional horror film. The horror of the story comes not from violence or gore, but from the abuses foisted upon the Creature by Victor his creator, but certainly not his protector. “If you will not reward me with love,” the Creature says to Victor, “I will indulge in rage.”
Victor’s existential quest, fueled by his sense of powerlessness over his mother’s passing, drives him create a life to defy death. In his success, however, comes the ultimate cruelty; the creation of a life, complete with deeply felt human emotions, but one unable to make a human connection.
It’s here, in this philosophical, reflective film, that del Toro amps up the empathy, weaving in notes of hope and questions about existence and one’s purpose in the great big world. The director loves monsters and that affection is infused in every frame of the film.
At 149 minutes del Toro allows himself the time to dig deep. He balances the story’s existential aspects with a touching sequence involving a blind man (David Bradley) who shows the Creature kindness, some adventure, colorful characters and even some superhero style action.
Del Toro’s movie is “Frankenstein” on a grand scale but in its reanimated heart, it is a simple story of father and son, of connections and family ties.
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 Guillermo del Toro’s gothic retelling of “Frankenstein” and suggest a cocktail to enjoy while watching the movie.
Click to HERE to listen to Shane and me talk about the big entertainment stories of the week!
For the Booze & Reviews look at Guillermo del Toro’s ”Frankenstein” and some scary good cocktails to enjoy with the movie 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 gothic horror of “Frankenstein,” the musical drama “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and the supernatural comedy “Good Fortune.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
After sitting through all two-and-a-quarter hours of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” the latest animated adventure of the universe jumping superhero, your spidey senses won’t be the only thing left tingling.
A wild pop culture pastiche of visual styles that jumps off the screen in ways that will give your eyeballs a Charles Atlas style workout, it is a full-body experience on the big screen.
Gwen Stacy (voice of Hailee Steinfeld) and Miles Morales (voice of Shameik Moore) return from 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Both are he off-spring of police officers, and both have secret identities as Spider-Woman and Spider-Man, respectively.
When Gwen becomes estranged from her father, she disappears into the Spider-Verse, a series of connected but independent universes, each with its own brand of Spider-People. As The Spot (voice of Jason Schwartzman), a villain covered in portals that allow him to transport from place to place, threatens to shred the very fabric of the Multi-Verse, Gwen and Miles go interdimensional to fight the new threat.
There they find Spider-HQ, sore of a Quantico for all various and sundry Spider-Folks, like Spider-Woman (voice of Issa Rae), Spider-Punk (voice of Daniel Kaluuya) and alpha arachnid Miguel O’Hara (voice of Oscar Isaac). When Mile inadvertently disrupts the Spider-Verse he learns an important lesson about the sacrifice required to be a Spider-Man.
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is a spider web of Marvel mythology, relationship drama, action and some very funny moments, combined with extraordinary, state-of-the-art visuals. In the action scenes, co-directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson pull out all the stops to create a singular experience that has more to do with the anarchic spirit of the original comic books than the recent spate of superhero movies. Stylish and frenetic, the action scenes are so colourful they often look like an artist’s paint-palette exploded on the screen.
When the film isn’t in motion, it takes the time to explore the relationships between parents and kids, with the added twist of superheroes trying to figure out their place in the world (or should that be worlds?), while trying to navigate their teens. It adds themes of loneliness, responsibility vs. obligation and having autonomy over one’s own life. Through Gwen and Miles, and a heaping helping of action, the importance of writing one’s own life story is the focus of the story.
Ultimately, the success of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” isn’t simply about the eye-popping nature of the visuals or the humour or the emotional aspect of the story. All are great, but what makes it special is that it feels fresh. It’s a superhero movie, with all the world saving tropes you expect, but it feels more like a comic book come to life than most, if any, other superhero flick.
“Big Gold Brick,” a new absurdist comedy starring Andy Garcia and Oscar Isaac, is the kind of movie you don’t see much anymore, a Midnight Madness flick.
“I don’t remember much about the night I met Floyd,” Samuel Liston (Emory Cohen) wrote about the night that changed his life. On the night in question, in a meet-not-so-cute, the broke despondent Samuel, drunkenly wanders into the path of Floyd’s car and is struck and almost killed.
As he recovers, Floyd, an eccentric father of two, waits bedside at the hospital. Samuel is in bad shape but lucid. “He will recover,” his doctor says, “but I should tell you there will be some hurdles in the near term. Mood swings. Agitation. Confusion. Truth be told, he may never be that Samuel again.”
Samuel is still bedridden when Floyd makes a request. “Would you consider writing my biography?” The young writer declines. He prefers to write short stories, poems, the occasional essay but Floyd is persuasive. I challenge you to at least try, for once, something different. When opportunity knocks on your door, you should answer. Even if she is wearing a goofy hat.”
He offers a place to stay with his family, a salary with no time limit or restrictions. “All you have to do is heal up and write, at your own pace.”
Samuel, having no other options, agrees to the deal. “I have this funny feeling,” says Floyd, “this was meant to be.”
He meets the family, troubled daughter Lily (Lucy Hale), creepy kid son Edward (Leonidas Castrounis) and Floyd’s much younger wife, Jacqueline (Megan Fox). Thus begins a long, strange journey, colored by his subject’s extravagant life and his own hallucinations. “We all live multi-colored lives,” says Floyd, “and have a range of experiences.”
“Big Gold Brick” is an off-kilter movie, like real life but twisted by 180 degrees.
“Big Gold Brick” is an odd movie, like real life but twisted by 180 degrees to form a ready-made cult style movie. Told in flashbacks from Samuel’s point of view, the story feels episodic in the retelling of the writer’s life with Floyd.
There is a lot in play, from Floyd’s implausible backstory, to a haunted house angle and even the possibility that Samuel has some sort of magical powers. The pieces aren’t a snug fit and often feel unintelligibly strange for the sake of being strange but there is something refreshing in seeing new filmmaker Brian Petsos swing for the fences, even if he falls short.
Richard joins Ryan Doyle and Jay Michaels of the NewsTalk 1010 afternoon show The Rush for Booze and Reviews! Today he talks about how Mick Jagger singlehandedly made the Tequila Sunrise a staple on drink menus everywhere. Then they talk about “Dune” and “The Harder They Fall,” now playing in theatres.
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
“Dune,” the latest cinematic take on the Frank Herbert 1965 classic, now playing in theatres, is part one of the planned two-part series. So be forewarned, the two-and-a-half-hour movie doesn’t wrap things up with a tidy bow. For some, the film’s last line, “This is only the beginning,” will be a promise of more interesting movies ahead, for others, who prefer tighter storytelling and a clear-cut finale, it may come off as a threat.
Director and co-writer Denis Villeneuve benefits from the parceled-out storytelling. Where David Lynch’s ill-fated 1984 version attempted to cover the complexity of the entire book, Villeneuve is given the time for world building, to explain the various and complex spiritual sci-fi elements that make up the story.
Here are the Cole’s Notes.
Set 8,000 years in the future, the story focusses on Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), son of an aristocratic family and possibly, just maybe, a prophet. His father, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), has been bestowed stewardship of Arrakis, the desert planet also known as Dune. His mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), is part of the Bene Gesserit, a social, religious, and political alliance who can magically control enemies by modulating their vocal tones.
Their new domain, Arrakis, is a desolate, almost inhabitable place that is home to the Fremen, a group of people who have lived on the planet for thousands of years. It is also the universe’s only source of mélange, also known as “spice.” It’s a drug with the power to extend human life, facilitate superhuman planes of thought and can even make faster-than-light travel possible. It is the most valuable commodity in the universe and those who control it, control everything.
When Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård doing his best impression of Marlon Brando in “Apocalypse Now”), the former steward of Arrakis, double crosses the Atreides clan, Paul and his mother are left in the desert to die. If they are to survive it will be with the help of the Fremen—including Chani (Zendaya) and Stilgar (Javier Bardem)—who call Paul “The Chosen One” and believe he has the power to bring peace to their world.
There’s more. Lots more, but that’s the non-spoilerific version.
Villeneuve lays out the information methodically, allowing the various story points and character motivations to seep into the fabric of the film and make an impact before moving on. There’s a lot to get through, but it doesn’t feel onerous like so many origin stories do.
Also effective are the large scale, and I mean large as in you need three or four eyes to take it all in, action scenes. The entire movie is big. So big it makes even the giant humans Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista, who play swordmaster Duncan Idaho and warrior Glossu Rabban respectively, look puny by comparison. As for the action, Villeneuve pulls out all the stops, staging world ending battles with elegance. Often major battle sequences can be muddled, a blur of colours and glints of metal, but Villeneuve delivers clear cut, tense sequences with a clarity that is unusual for modern action.
“Dune” is big and beautiful, with plentiful action and a really charismatic performance from Momoa. It is unquestionably well made, with thought provoking themes of exploitation of Indigenous peoples, environmentalism and colonialism.
So why didn’t I like it more than I did?
Partially because it’s an epic with no payoff. The cliffhanger nature of the story is frustrating after a two-and-a-half-hour wait. As good audience members we allow ourselves to be caught up in the world, humourless and bleak as it often is, to get to know the characters and then what? Wait for two years for the next movie? Apparently so, and the ending feels abrupt.
Nonetheless, “Dune” is formidable. It’s a grim, immersive movie that doesn’t shy away from the darkness that propels the story or the high-mindedness of the ideas contained within. Eventually, when we have a part two, it will feel like one piece, much like “The Lord of the Rings” franchise, but right now, despite its scope, it feels incomplete.
This week on the Richard Crouse Show Podcast we get to know Rob Lindsay, director of “No Responders Left Behind,” a documentary about the fight waged by former “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, social activist John Feal and FDNY hero Ray Pfeifer to get health benefits and compensation for 9/11 first responders. The film is now streaming on Discovery Plus in Canada.
Then, Rebecca Ferguson, star of the much anticipated sci fi movie “Dune” stops by to talk about her character Lady Jessica, and why she described reading the book to be like doing a crossword puzzle.
Then, Elaine Taylor Plummer stops by. She is a former actress. You’ve seen her in comedies like “Diamond for Breakfast” and “Half a Sixpence,” and she was even a Bond girl in 1967’s “Casino Royale.” She dropped by the show today to talk about her husband of more than 50 years, the late, great Christopher Plummer and a new commemorative stamp issued by Canada Post in his honour. The couple met while filming Lock Up Your Daughters in 1969, and were together until the actor’s death in 2021 at age 91.
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Here’s some info on The Richard Crouse Show!
Each week on the nationally syndicated Richard Crouse Show, Canada’s most recognized movie critic brings together some of the most interesting and opinionated people from the movies, television and music to put a fresh spin on news from the world of lifestyle and pop-culture. Tune into this show to hear in-depth interviews with actors and directors, to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favourite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Recent guests include Ethan Hawke, director Brad Bird, comedian Gilbert Gottfried, Eric Roberts, Brian Henson, Jonathan Goldsmith a.k.a. “The most interesting man in the world,” and best selling author Linwood Barclay.
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