Richard joins CP24 to have a look at new movies coming to VOD, streaming services and theatres including the feel good musical “In the Heights” (theatres and PVOD). the music doc “Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl” (VOD/Digital) and the crime drama “Akilla’s Escape” (VOD).
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Richard and CTV NewsChannel morning show host Marcia MacMillan chat up the weekend’s big releases, the big, splashy musical “In the Heights” (theatres and PVOD). the music doc “Kate Nash: Underestimate the Gir”l (VOD/Digital) and the crime drama “Akilla’s Escape” (VOD).
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Richard joins NewsTalk 1010’s Jim Richards coast-to-coast-to-coast late night “Showgram” to play the game “Did Richard Crouse like these movies?” This week we talk about the joyful musical “In the Heights” (theatres and PVOD). the music doc “Kate Nash: Underestimate the Gir”l (VOD/Digital) and the crime drama “Akilla’s Escape” (VOD).
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Richard sits in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres, VOD and streaming services including the big, splashy musical “In the Heights” (theatres and PVOD). the music doc “Kate Nash: Underestimate the Gir”l (VOD/Digital) and the crime drama “Akilla’s Escape” (VOD).
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
In director Charles Officer’s crime-noir “Akilla’s Escape,” now on digital & VOD, a drug robbery goes sideways, opening the door for the title character’s reckoning of his past, and the future of the young man who held a shotgun to his head.
Drug dealer Akilla (Saul Williams, who also composed the film’s score with Robert 3D Del Naja) wants out. Marijuana is about to become legal in Canada, but his days as a violent, mid-level drug runner are over.
Almost.
His ‘retirement” is postponed when he walks in on the robbery of one of his boss’s operations. As shotgun and machete wielding gang members invade the place, Akilla locks eyes with Sheppard (Thamela Mpumlwana), the youngest of the thieves. As things turns violent, Akilla subdues the teenaged Sheppard, knocking him unconscious.
Instead of seeking revenge in the name of his employer, Akilla forms a bond with the young man, recognizing in Sheppard parallels to his own life and the trauma that put them both on the path to a life of violence.
“Akilla’s Escape” is a stylish crime story laced with social commentary. What it lacks in pulse racing action scenes, it makes up for with tense, tightly wound performances, illustrations of toxic masculinity and a nicely rendered story that jumps back and forth in time.
Taking on a double role, Mpumlwana plays both Sheppard and, in flashbacks, young Akilla. It’s a clever casting trick, but it works to skillfully reveal the similarities in their lives. The two characters may have been led down a similar path, but Mpumlwana’s work ensures the characters are distinct and interesting throughout.
The core of the movie is the rock-solid performance from Williams. World-weary and contemplative, he’s part criminal, part social worker and is the film’s heart and soul.
“Akilla’s Escape” is a study of how generational trauma and poverty shapes lives. It errs on the side of exposition in several scenes, but the power of the story lies in what isn’t said as much as what is. The film is at its best when Williams and Mpumlwana are showing, not telling. In those moments “Akilla’s Escape” is powerful, mature and impactful.
Richard joins CP24 anchor Nick Dixon to have a look at the weekend’s new movies including the romantic nautical disaster flick “Adrift,” Ethan Hawke in “First Reformed” and the thought provoking “Black Cop.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
A weekly feature from from ctvnews.ca! The Crouse Review is a quick, hot take on the weekend’s biggest movies! This week Richard looks at the romantic nautical disaster flick “Adrift,” Ethan Hawke in “First Reformed” and the thought provoking “Black Cop.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Richard sits in with CTV NewsChannel anchor Marcia MacMillan to have a look at the weekend’s big releases, the romantic nautical disaster flick “Adrift,” Ethan Hawke in “First Reformed” and the thought provoking “Black Cop.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Cory Bowles, writer and director of “Black Cop,” is best known for his work as an actor on “Trailer Park Boys.” He is also a choreographer, a musician and theatre director. He mixes and matches all those disciplines, cherry picking the best of his experience for his vision of “Black Cop,” a film about racial profiling that is one part social comment and two parts performance piece.
Ronnie Rowe Jr. is the title character, a police officer whose life changes after he is racially profiled by another cop. Taking justice into his own hands Black Cop becomes involved in a series of escalating situations while on duty. He draws his gun on a man picking up his bike at school. A young couple are left handcuffed by their car after a traffic stop. A doctor out on a jog is brutally beaten. In each case the perpetrators are white and disobey direct orders from Black Cop. It’s a striking reversal of the kind of footage we’ve become accustomed to seeing on the nightly news, and makes a timely and powerful statement on the interaction of law enforcement and members of marginalized communities.
Interspersed between the patrol scenes are monologues on the nature of subjugation and subservience. Layered on top is a propulsive jazz and hip hop soundtrack that underscores and compliments the narrative.
“Black Cop’s” story doesn’t end so much as it stops, suggesting the ills it portrays—racial profiling, police brutality—haven’t ended either. It’s a nervy finish to a movie that entertainingly tackles serious subjects head on. In a terrific performance Rowe, who appears in almost every frame of the film, earns both revulsion and empathy as he explores the emotions of the character.
By the time the end credits roll though it is Bowles who emerges as the star. His bold criss-crossing of disciplines and use of satire makes for a thought provoking examination of a hot button topic.
