Posts Tagged ‘Robert McCall’

CTV NEWS AT SIX: NEW MOVIES AND TV SHOWS TO CHECK OUT THIS WEEKEND!

I appear on “CTV News at 6” to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend. This week I have a look at the return of the handy vigilante in “The Equalizer 3,” the high school comedy “Bottoms” and the Netflix coming-of-age story “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” and the Apple TV+ series “Swagger.”

Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 38:10)

YOU TUBE: THREE MOVIES/THIRTY SECONDS! FAST REVIEWS FOR BUSY PEOPLE!

Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to shut the door! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the return of the handy vigilante in “The Equalizer 3,” the high school comedy “Bottoms” and the coming-of-age story “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

NEWSTALK TONIGHT WITH JIM RICHARDS: DOES RICHARD CROUSE LIKE THESE MOVIES?

I sit in with NewsTalk 1010 host Jim Richards on the coast-to-coast-to-coast late night “NewsTalk Tonight” to play the game “Did Richard Crouse Like This?” This week we talk about the handy vigilante in “The Equalizer 3,” the high school comedy “Bottoms” and the coming-of-age story “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2023.

I joined CP24 to have a look at new movies coming to VOD, streaming services and theatres.  Today we talk about the handy vigilante in “The Equalizer 3,” the high school comedy “Bottoms,” the coming-of-age story “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” and the YA horror movie “Zombie Town.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S CTV NEWSCHANNEL WEEKEND REVIEWS FOR FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2023!

I  join CTV NewsChannel anchor Renee Rogers to talk about the handy vigilante in “The Equalizer 3,” the high school comedy “Bottoms” and the coming-of-age story “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S CP24 WEEKEND REVIEWS & VIEWING TIPS! FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2023.

I  joined CP24 to have a look at new movies coming to VOD, streaming services and theatres.  Today we talk about the handy vigilante in “The Equalizer 3,” the high school comedy “Bottoms” and the Apple TV+ true crime documentary “Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

CKTB NIAGARA REGION: THE TIM DENIS SHOW WITH RICHARD CROUSE ON MOVIES!

I sit in with CKTB morning show host Tim Denis to have a look at the handy vigilante in “The Equalizer 3,” the high school comedy “Bottoms,” the coming-of-age story “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” and the YA horror movie “Zombie Town.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

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

I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres including the handy vigilante in “The Equalizer 3,” the high school comedy “Bottoms,” the coming-of-age story “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” and the YA horror movie “Zombie Town.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

THE EQUALIZER 3: 3 ½ STARS. “let’s face it, this is ‘Death Wish’ with nicer scenery.”

For an avenging angel, a righter-of-wrongs, it seems the work is never done. Take the world-weary Robert McCall, (Denzel Washington) former government assassin turned protector of the exploited and oppressed in “Equalizer 3,” for instance. After taking a bullet on the job, he takes time out to recuperate in a Southern Italian village. As he ponders his own salvation over a cup of tea in a local cafe, he tells people he’s retired from “government work,” and settles in to enjoy a quiet life in his new home.

Trouble is, violence seems to follow this guy around like a trained puppy.

The trouble comes in the form of Vincent (Andrea Scarduzio), a mafia kingpin looking to take over the town and establish a base for his operations.

“What happens here,” says McCall’s new friend Enzo (Remo Girone), “happens in many towns. The mafia. They’re a cancer. No cure.”

Not one to accept threats and extortion as a way of life, McCall sends a warning.

“Whatever it is you and your friends do,” he says, “do it somewhere else.”

“You warning me?” says Vincent’s brother, mafia tough guy Marco Quaranta (Andrea Dodero).

“I’m preparing you.”

Meanwhile CIA agent Emma Collins (Dakota Fanning) is hot on McCall’s trail, trying to figure out the question at the heart of the movie: Is Robert McCall a good guy or a bad guy?

“The Equalizer 3” is a revenge story, plain and simple, tarted up with some talk of salvation, but let’s face it, this is “Death Wish” with nicer scenery. McCall slices and dices his way through the mafia crime family, a vigilante on a mission.

When director Antoine Fuqua, working with a script by Richard Wenk, isn’t staging homages to “Spartacus” and “Godfather 3,” he’s setting the stage with stock characters. The Italian villagers are good, honest salt-of-the-earth types. The baddies aren’t memorable, just extra evil, with no redeeming features. You don’t need white hats and black hats to tell who is who in this movie.

Into this mix comes McCall, an unwieldy mix of ruthlessness and benevolence. He’s there to give the bad guys what they’ve got coming, and it is the promise of his handiwork—decapitations, impalement, broken bones etc—that gives the movie its forward momentum.

But it’s Washington who delivers the satisfaction in the film’s scenes of gory revenge. There’s lots of revenge movies out there, but they usually don’t have the special set of skills that Washington brings to the brutal character. From his soft-spoken threats and wisecracks to his carefully timed fights and search for solace, Washington and his trademarked movie star magnetism make the character far more complex than he actually is. McCall is essentially a serial killer, a violent fantasy of justice at any cost, but Washington’s charisma makes it feel cathartic rather than exploitive.

At a sleek 1 hour and 43 minutes, “The Equalizer 3” is an entertainingly efficient finale to the franchise that goes out with a bang. Literally.