I appear on “CTV News at 11:30” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend, including the stop-motion animated “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” the rerelease of “Se7en” and the spy thriller “Harbin.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join CTV Atlantic anchor Todd Battis to talk about the stop-motion animated “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” the sports drama “The Fire Inside” and the rerelease of “Seven.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in with hosts Jim Richards and Deb Hutton on NewsTalk 1010 to play the game “Did Richard Crouse Like This?” This week we talk about the Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” the stop-motion animated “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” and the spy thriller “Harbin.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I join the CTV NewsChannel to talk about the animated “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” the spy thriller “Harbin” and the rerelease of “Seven.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
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 animated “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” the spy thriller “Harbin” and the rerelease of “Seven.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: Lovable underdogs Wallace and Gromit return with “Vengeance Most Fowl,” a new feature length stop-motion animated film about a vengeful penguin and technology run wild, now streaming on Netflix.
CAST: Ben Whitehead, Peter Kay, Lauren Patel, Reece Shearsmith, Diane Morgan, Adjoa Andoh, Wuzz Khan, Lenny Henry. Directed by Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham.
REVIEW: The almost twenty-year gap between the Oscar winning “Wallace & Gromit: Curse Of The Were-Rabbit” and the new Netflix offering “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” has not diminished the charm and humour of the titular duo.
The stop-motion animated film sees cheese loving inventor Wallace (voice of Ben Whitehead) and his loyal beagle and best friend Gromit welcome a new invention, a time saving “smart” household Gnome named Norbot (Reece Shearsmith).
When that device is hacked by penguin criminal mastermind Feathers McGraw, Wallace’s invention develops a mind of its own and runs amok. “I just don’t get it,” Wallace says in his unmistakeable Yorkshire accent. “Why would me own gnome turn evil?”
Antics ensue.
There’s an innocence and childlike quality to Wallace and Gromit that makes them a classic comedy duo in the Yogi Bear and Boo Boo vein. Come for their amiable, quintessentially British optimism, stay for 79 minutes of sight gags, a dead-eyed but hilarious villain and the manic machinations of Norbot the gnome.
It takes a few minutes off the top to get things rolling, but once the story is established co-directors Park and Crossingham unleash a cavalcade of silly sight gags and gentle slapstick all rendered in beautiful stop-motion animation. The odd fingerprint visible on the clay figures lends an artisanal vibe that feels alive, organic and painstakingly handmade.
Themes of our dependence on technology are woven into “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” but the movie isn’t really about that. It’s really about the joy generated by these two iconic characters.
“In the Earth,” the latest film from Ben Wheatley, now on VOD, once again returns to the psychological horror that fueled his other movies like “Kill List” and “A Field in England” with a hint of the social commentary of his J. G. Ballard adaptation “High-Rise.” Add to that a dash of folk-horror and you have a truly timely and mind-bending film that is best avoided by the squeamish.
Most people see a walk in the woods as a quiet respite from the world. But when researcher Martin (Joel Fry) and ranger Alma (Ellora Torchia) head out to meet scientist Dr. Olivia Wendle (Hayley Squires) and perform some tests in the forest during a pandemic, they are sent off with some ominous advice. “People get a bit funny in the woods sometimes,” says Martin’s doctor Frank (Mark Monero). “It’s a hostile environment.”
Sure enough, things go wrong early on. They come across eerie, abandoned campsites, equipment breaks down, Martin becomes ill and they are even attacked in their tent on a tense, sleepless night. The next day help comes in the form of Zach (Reece Shearsmith), an eccentric loner who lives deep in the woods. He offers some painful but much-needed help—this is roughly where the squeamish may want to go make a sandwich and read a book—but soon begins acting erratically with a mix of metaphysical ramblings and homicidal tendencies.
By the time they contact Dr. Wendle, it is unclear who they can trust as their journey into the heart of darkness takes on an increasingly mysterious, psychedelic tone.
“In the Earth” is a trippy movie that nonetheless feels earthbound. No matter how weird the going gets, and it does get strange, masks, isolation, HAZMAT-suits and talk of quarantine and being outside for the first time in forever, ground the story in all too familiar terms. The postapocalyptic vibe is all too real, but the Pagan alchemist rituals, evil spirits and a dollop of paranoia provide the journey into the heart of darkness and the absurdist comedy integral to Wheatley’s style.
Some will call “In the Earth” a horror film, but it isn’t really. The repeated home surgery scenes are woozy-making, and the strobe effects are unsettling, but your pulse will never quicken. Then there’s the under developed characters. You may feel sorry for them when weird things happen, but it’s hard to be invested in them.
What that leaves you with is a movie that offers up a handful of ambitious notions about science vs. religion and some extra-ghastly visuals but, at best, it’s about intellectual dread; all ideas and no emotion.
