Posts Tagged ‘Rob Brydon’

NEWSTALK 1010: Mark Critch, Paul Perrier and “A TRIP TO GREECE” STAR Rob Brydon!

On the May 24, 2020 episode of The Richard Crouse Show we meet comedian and author Mark Critch, photographer Paul Perrier and “The Trip to Greece” star Rob Brydon. Critch talks about life in isolation in Newfoundland, photobombing Justin Trudeau and offering Pamela Anderson $1 million to quit acting. Photographer Paul Perrier talks about “The Mask Project” on Instagram (search thetorontoportrait) and then British comedian Rob Brydon joins us from England to talk about Al Pacino, whether he’s keen to fly on a plane again, meeting Michael Caine, and, of course, the fourth instalment of “The Trip” series, “The Trip to Greece” available this week on VOD.

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.

Click HERE to catch up on shows you might have missed!

THE TRIP TO GREECE: 4 STARS. “blends travel, food and heaps of personality.”

It would be easy to think that the Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon movies are easy-breezy travelogues with pretty scenery and sumptuous looking food, but they are much more than that. The latest, “The Trip to Greece,” which comes to VOD this week, brings with it all the banter, impressions and eye-catching sights you expect from these movies, but beneath the veneer of laughs lies a story about mortality and legacy.

Ten years after took their first trip together Coogan and Brydon travel from Troy to Ithaca, following in the footsteps of the Odysseus. Under blue skies the pair sparkle, almost as much as the crystal-clear turquoise water that appears in virtually every shot of the movie. From quoting Aristotle’s Poetics and impersonating Dustin Hoffman, to loudly singing 70s Bee Gee tunes and visiting Epidaurus, one of the wonders of the ancient world, they present their patented brand of high-brow and pop cultural references, mixed together in a stew that is as appealing as much of the five star “Top Chef” style food we see them eat on their travels.

“The Trip to Greece” isn’t story-driven as much as it is a snapshot of two people at different places in their lives, brought together by friendship and, amusingly, one-upmanship. The movie works not because we’re waiting breathlessly for a twist or a turn, but because of the chemistry between the two. The stories are fictional—the pair play heightened versions of themselves—but the themes that lie just below their joking—jabs about aging, mortality, neediness and vanity—add depth to what could have been a travel show farce. A subplot about a death in Coogan’s family is unexpectedly touching and never overplayed.

They say “The Trip to Greece” will be the last of these excursions and that’s a shame. Director Michael Winterbottom expertly blends travel, food and heaps of personality into one package that celebrates their friendship while acknowledging that a quick get-a-way can’t solve all your problems at home.

IN ISOLATION WITH…: COMEDIAN AND “THE TRIP TO GREECE” STAR ROB BRYDON!

Check out episode twelve of Richard’s new web series, “In Isolation With…” It’s the talk show where we make a connection without actually making contact! Today, broadcasting directly from Isolation Studios (a.k.a. my home office), we meet British comedian Rob Brydon Zooming in from England to talk about Al Pacino, whether he’s keen to fly on a plane again, meeting Michael Caine, and, of course, the fourth instalment of “The Trip” series, “The Trip to Greece” available this week on VOD. Come visit with us! In isolation we are united!

Watch the whole thing HERE on YouTube and HERE on ctvnews.ca!

NEWSTALK 1010: THE RICHARD CROUSE SHOW W Mark Critch, Paul Perrier and Rob Brydon!

On the May 24, 2020 episode of The Richard Crouse Show we meet comedian and author Mark Critch, photographer Paul Perrier and “The Trip to Greece” star Rob Brydon. Critch talks about life in isolation in Newfoundland, photobombing Justin Trudeau and offering Pamela Anderson $1 million to quit acting. Photographer Paul Perrier talks about “The Mask Project” on Instagram (search thetorontoportrait) and then British comedian Rob Brydon joins us from England to talk about Al Pacino, whether he’s keen to fly on a plane again, meeting Michael Caine, and, of course, the fourth instalment of “The Trip” series, “The Trip to Greece” available this week on VOD.

Listen to the whole thing HERE! (Link coming soon)

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.

Click HERE to catch up on shows you might have missed!

RICHARD’S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY AUGUST 16, 2019.

Richard joins CP24 to have a look at the weekend’s new movies including the “kids say the darndest things” flick “Good Boys,” the mystery-comedy “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” and the crowd-pleasing ode to Bruce Springsteen “Blinded by the Light.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S CTV NEWSCHANNEL WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FOR AUGUST 16.

Richard sits in on the CTV NewsChannel with news anchor Marcia MacMillan to have a look at the weekend’s big releases including the raunchy coming-of-age flick “Good Boys,” the mystery-comedy “Where’d You Go, Bernadette,” the crowd-pleasing ode to Bruce Springsteen “Blinded by the Light” and the claustrophobic mining disaster movie “Mine 9.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

CTVNEWS.CA: THE CROUSE REVIEW ON “GOOD BOYS” & “BLINDED BY THE LIGHT”!

A weekly feature from ctvnews.ca! The Crouse Review is a quick, hot take on the weekend’s biggest and most interesting movies! This week Richard looks at the “kids say the darndest things” flick “Good Boys,” the mystery-comedy “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” and the crowd-pleasing ode to Bruce Springsteen “Blinded by the Light.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

CFRA IN OTTAWA: THE BILL CARROLL MORNING SHOW MOVIE REVIEWS!

Richard has a look at the new movies coming to theatres, including the raunchy coming-of-age flick “Good Boys,” the mystery-comedy “Where’d You Go, Bernadette,” the crowd-pleasing ode to Bruce Springsteen “Blinded by the Light” and the claustrophobic mining disaster movie “Mine 9” with CFRA morning show guest host Matt Harris.

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT: 4 STARS. “a crowd-pleasing confection.”

The latest movie to mine the legacy of classic rock comes as a tribute to Bruce Springsteen.   Based on a memoir by Sarfraz Manzoor, “Blinded by the Light,” joins “Rocketman,” “Yesterday” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” in dramatizing the power of music to change lives.

Viveik Kalra plays the British Pakistani Javed a.k.a. Jay, a 16-year-old aspiring writer with dreams of getting away from Luton, a town he describes as “a four letter word,” where he is an outsider, tormented by skinheads, and his strict father Malik (Kulvinder Ghir). “You can choose to be a doctor or a lawyer or an estate agent,” his father says, “so don’t say I don’t give you any freedom.”

Things improve when he heads out to a local sixth form college. There he meets a teacher (Hayley Atwell) who tells him, “Stop doubting, keep writing,” the politically aware anarchist Eliza (Nell Williams) and best friend Roops (Aaron Phagura). When Roops hands over cassettes of “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and Born in the USA” with the words, “Bruce is the direct line to all that is true in this s****y world,” it’s as if Jay has been struck by lightning. “It’s like Bruce knows everything I’ve ever felt, everything I’ve ever wanted,” he says.

As his obsession grows he begins dressing like his hero, speaking in Bruce quotes and papering his walls with Springsteen posters. His family thinks he’s gone bonkers. “Do you think this man sings for people like us,” asks his father, but the connection between Springsteen’s lyrics of working-class life and Jay’s existence are too powerful to ignore.

Directed by “Bend It Like Beckham’s” Gurinder Chadha “Blinded by the Light” is a coming of age story fueled by the invigorating power of music to change lives. Springsteen’s songs are specific in their American roots but universal in meaning. When Jay, sitting on the other side of the Atlantic, frustrated and unhappy, hears Bruce sing, “Man I’m just tired and bored with myself,” it hits home. It’s the epiphany moment when he realizes others feel the way he does. Call it “The Tao of Bruce” if you like, but the lyrics, set against the bleak backdrop of Thatcher’s England and the rise of the racist National Front, take on a meaning that resonates with Jay. It borders on corny and is earnest in the extreme but the earnestness is the movie’s strength, celebrating the virtues of the best of human values. “Bruce sings about not letting the hardness of the world stop you from letting the best of you slip away,” says Jays, with an acolyte’s devotion.

“Blinded by the Light” is a crowd-pleasing confection, sentimental and predictable, but bound together with the giddy feeling of first hearing music that speaks to you.