On the March 15, 2025 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we meet Atom Egoyan and Amanda Seyfried of the new film “Seven Veils.” In this a new psychological thriller, now playing in theatres, Seyfried is Jeanine, a director dealing with repressed trauma as she mounts a production of her mentor’s most famous work, the opera “Salome.” Rich with metaphor and suspense “Seven Veils” is an intellectual thriller about art imitating life.
We also meet Sonequa Martin-Green. You know her from “Star Trek: Discovery,” “New Girl” and “The Good Wife.” She also played Sasha Williams, a main character and a survivor of the outbreak in “The Walking Dead.”
Today we’ll talk about her new film, the dark comedy “My Dead Friend Zoe,” now playing in theatres. In it she plays an Afghanistan veteran haunted by her late best friend Zoe. Now in civilian life, she searches for a way forward as she suffers from PTSD and tends to her retired Lieutenant-Colonel grandfather played by Ed Harris.
Then we meet Keira Jang, star of Can I Get A Witness?” a new Canadian eco-sci fi/coming-of-age film now playing in theaters. It’s set in a future where climate change and world poverty have been eradicated. To mitigate these modern-day issues, travel and technology are banned and every citizen must end life at 50. Documenting the process are artists as witnesses, like the character Kiera plays, a teenager on her first day on the job.
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 Chris Pratt, Elvis Costello, Baz Luhrmann, Martin Freeman, David Cronenberg, Mayim Bialik, The Kids in the Hall and many more!
All iHeartRadio Canada stations are available across Canada via live stream on iHeartRadio.caand the iHeartRadio Canada app. iHeartRadio Canada stations are also connected through Alexa, Siri, and Google Home smart speakers.
I join CP24 to talk about the big movies hitting theatres and streaming this week, including the dark comedy “My Friend Zoe,” the survival drama “Last Breath” and make some Oscar predictions.
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 dark comedy “My Friend Zoe,” the survival drama “Last Breath” and the feel good “Superboys of Malegaon.”
SYNOPSIS: In the dark comedy “My Dead Friend Zoe,” now playing in theatres, Afghanistan veteran Merit is haunted by her late best friend Zoe. Now in civilian life, Merit searches for a way forward as she suffers from PTSD and tends to her retired Lieutenant-Colonel grandfather.
CAST: Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Gloria Reuben, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris. Directed by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes
REVIEW: A study of the effects of PTSD, “My Dead Friend Zoe” is part dark comedy, part ghost story and part family drama but in its totality is greater than the sum of its parts. Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, who co-wrote the film with AJ Bermudez, based the heart and soul of the film, the despair of a veteran who left friends behind, on personal experience and the weight of that permeates the film’s every frame.
As such, “My Dead Friend Zoe” raises awareness about the importance of mental health assistance for veterans and does so in a heartfelt but entertaining way.
A trio of performances from Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales and Ed Harris bring the story to heartfelt life.
As Afghanistan veteran Merit, Martin-Green blurs the line between anguish and the practiced stoicism of a person trying desperately to hold it together. It’s powerful work that could easily become maudlin, but Martin-Green infuses every line with emotion while keeping Merit’s two feet firmly on the ground.
Morales, as the recently departed title character, is a live wire, ironically filled with life as she pops in and out of the picture, a reminder of the hurt Merit carries.
As Merit’s retired Lieutenant-Colonel grandfather, Ed Harris is a force of nature who commands his limited time on screen. He’s a hard man, one toughened by the Vietnam War and the negative reception he received upon his return and is an interesting counterpoint to Merit and her experience.
These fine performances smooth over Merit’s epiphany, an ending that feels rushed in an effort to wrap things up conveniently and expediently. But despite “My Dead Friend Zoe’s” soft finale, it does an otherwise remarkable job of balancing heart and humour with the real-life issues faced by soldiers returning from conflict.
What’s up, Doc? A sequel to a twenty-five-year-old movie, that is what’s up.
“Space Jam: A New Legacy,” now in theatres, freshens up the 1996 Michael Jordan live-action/animated sports hybrid film with a new star and a lot of familiar (animated) faces.
The story begins in Akron, Ohio, 1988. Teenaged LeBron James is a gifted basketball player, but is distracted by his Game Pocket Computer and cartoons. A reprimand from his coach—“You’re a once-in-a-lifetime-talent!”—convinces him to focus on basketball and forget about childish things.
It’s a lesson he takes to heart.
By the time he’s grown, and a superstar, he’s all business and doesn’t understand why his son Dom (Cedric Joe) is more interested in coding than crossover dribbles. The younger James is busy too creating a basketball video game to become a team player.
Meanwhile inside the Warner Bros Serververse, Al-G Rhythm, a computer program stuck inside the Serververse, and who looks just like Don Cheadle, has his eye set on LeBron as his way out into the world. “Once I combine King James with my incredible tech,” she says, “I will finally get the recognition I deserve.”
Trouble is, LeBron is not impressed by the studio’s offer to scan him into movies, making him a virtual movie star. “Say yes,” the studio reps say, “and we’ll make mind blowing entertainment forever.”
But it’s a no. “It’s among the worst ideas ever,” says LeBron. “Athletes acting. That never goes well.”
Dom likes the idea, and his curiosity about the process leads him to the Warner Bros tech department, where he and LeBron get sucked into the movie studio’s server and come face-to-face with “nefarious nimrod” Al-G Rhythm.
Trapped in the digital space, the only way out is a high-stakes basketball game. LeBron must recruit the Looney Tunes gang to play against AI’s over-the-top Goon Squad, made up of virtual avatars with super powers and names like Wet-Fire, White Mamba and Chronos.
From the Nike logo LeBron leaves pressed into the ground when he falls into the Looney Tunes-verse, to the “Mad Max,” “Casablanca,” “Austin Powers” and “Matrix” takeoffs, to the endless mentions of Warner Bros in the script, it’s hard not to feel like intellectual property and product placement are driving the story. It’s a wild ‘n wooly world, imaginative and unpredictable but it often feels like marketing rather than a story.
Not that kids will care. And that is who this movie is for.
Director Malcolm D. Lee keeps younger minds entertained with video game and cartoon inspired action, while adults will get the clever Michael Jordan joke and bask in the nostalgia of sees old characters like Bugs Bunny and Marvin the Martian in new situations. There’s also a pretty fun game in spotting the mix-and-march of characters who make up the audience for the big game. I spotted the Gremlins, the flying monkeys from “Wizard of Oz,” Pennywise the Clown and a dozen or so others.
“Space Jam: A New Legacy” smooths away some of the adult edges from the first movie—there’s no Quentin Tarantino references this time around and Lola Bunny, now voiced by Zendaya, no longer wears a crop top—resulting in a family friendly film with good messages about being your authentic self and not what others want you to be and the importance of playing by the rules.
On the March 15, 2025 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we meet Atom Egoyan and Amanda Seyfried of the new film “Seven Veils.” In this a new psychological thriller, now playing in theatres, Seyfried is Jeanine, a director dealing with repressed trauma as she mounts a production of her mentor’s most famous work, the opera “Salome.” Rich with metaphor and suspense “Seven Veils” is an intellectual thriller about art imitating life.
