I join CTV Atlantic anchor Bruce Frisco to talk about the one-horned horrors of “Death of a Unicorn,” the rompin’, stompin’ deja vu of “A Working Man,” the flightless dramedy of “The Penguin Lessons” and the off-kilter Prime Video film “Holland” with Nicole Kidman.
Watcxh the whole thing HERE!
I sit in with CKTB morning show host Steph Vivier to have a look at movies in theatres including the one-horned horrors of “Death of a Unicorn,” the rompin’, stompin’ deja vu of “A Working Man” and the flightless dramedy of “The Penguin Lessons.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk about the new movies coming to theatres including the one-horned horrors of “Death of a Unicorn,” the rompin’, stompin’ deja vu of “A Working Man,” the flightless dramedy of “The Penguin Lessons,” the character study of “Darkest Miriam” and the off-kilter Prime Video film “Holland” with Nicole Kidman.
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I join the Bell Media Radio Network national night time show “Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift” for “Booze & Reviews!” This week I review “The Penguin Lessons” and suggest a cocktail to give you happy feet!
Click HERE to hear Richard and Shane unpack the unexpected: Joey Ramone’s new project… for kids.
Click HERE for Booze & Reviews. This week a Fuzzy Penguin takes flight!
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 deja vu of “A Working Man,” the horrors of “Death of a Unicorn” and the dramedy of “The Penguin Lessons.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: Based on a true story, “The Penguin Lessons,” a new drama starring Steve Coogan and now playing in theatres, a British teacher has a personal and political awakening after adopting a penguin amid the political unrest of 1976 Argentina.
CAST: Steve Coogan, Björn Gustafsson, David Herrero, Jonathan Pryce, Julián Galli Guillén, Aimar Miranda. Directed by Peter Cattaneo.
REVIEW: Are penguins the most cinematic of all birds? Sure, “Chicken Run” was a giant hit and Alfred Hitchcock made avian menagerie of “The Birds” memorable, but penguins, despite being flightless, really soar at the movies. From documentaries (“March of the Penguins) and musicals (“Happy Feet”) to comedies (Mr. Popper’s Penguins) and adventure movies (“My Penguin Friend”), their paddle-like flippers have touched almost every genre going.
Now add socio political thriller to the list.
Set in 1976, “The Penguins Lessons” sees Steve Coogan play Tom Michell (Steve Coogan), a disillusioned Brit who takes a job as a schoolteacher in Buenos Aires. He’s a misanthrope, with a socially awkward sense of humor—“I’m like Ernest Hemingway, but with no money, and I haven’t written any books.”—looking for a quiet life in a quiet town.
What he discovers is anything but quiet. His students are a spoiled bunch of brats, and the country is in turmoil. President Isabel Perón is on the way out, soon to be replaced by a military dictatorship. “It’s a ghastly business,” says the school’s headmaster (Jonathan Pryce). “We try to keep out of it.”
When the coup is announced Michell hightails it to Uruguay for some R&R. There, on a romantic beach walk with a woman he met in a bar, he finds a penguin, later named Juan Salvador, covered in oil. The woman convinces him to take the penguin back to his hotel, leaving him stuck with a bird he has no idea of how to look after.
Back in Argentina, Michell and Juan form an unlikely bond. “What happened to you?” asks the headmaster, noting a change in Michell’s behavior. “I met a penguin,” says Michell.
A story of compassion and empathy set against the inhumanity of a political coup, “The Penguin Lessons,” although based on a true story, feels like two movies grafted together.
Still, Coogan is in fine haughty form. He delivers what we expect, sarcasm used like a weapon and razor-sharp comedic timing, but, as the story acquires more weight—as people close to Michell get disappeared and his friendship with Juan blossoms—he digs deep. He’s still the reserved, almost rude character he always was, but the rough edges have been slightly sanded down as Juan Salvador, a name that literally means John Saved, helps him regain his humanity.
Seen in the macro, “The Penguin Lessons” doesn’t really work. The political backdrop feels like a plot device rather than an integral part of the story. But when it focusses on the relationship between man and penguin it pulls at the heartstrings.
SYNOPSIS: In “Despicable Me 4,” the latest adventure in theatres from former supervillain Gru and his Minions, Gru’s former adversary Maxime Le Mal has broken out of jail and his hunger for revenge upsets Gru’s family life, which now includes a newborn son, Gru Jr. To keep his family safe, Gru and his Minions join forces with aspiring supervillain Poppy.
CAST: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Joey King, Miranda Cosgrove, Stephen Colbert, Steve Coogan, Sofía Vergara, Renaud, Madison Polan, Dana Gaier, Chloe Fineman and Will Ferrell. Co-directed by Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage.
REVIEW: The first “Despicable Me” instalment in seven years comes to theatres with amped up action but a deaccelerated imagination. Fast paced and silly, in an economical 90 minutes, it rips along like a cheetah chasing after a Lamborghini with plenty of fun Minion mayhem and supervillain slapstick.
That’s the good stuff.
The absurdist Looney Tunesesque comedy and a Minion version of the Fantastic Four entertains the eye, engages the funny bone and earns the price of a ticket. The rest of it—a heist, Gru’s heartwarming family dynamic, and some meddling neighbors—feels formulaic, as if those segments are just the place holders between the Minion scenes.
The character design, particularly the creepy half-man, half cockroach villain voiced by Will Ferrell, is inventive and the voice work by Carell, Wiig, Ferrell and Coogan is committed and enjoyable.
This isn’t the most original story of the franchise, but who goes to these movies for the story? You go to see the fun and frivolous Minions tear it up and “Despicable Me 4” lets them run free to great effect.
“The Lost King” is not the alternate title for Prince Harry’s recent tell-all book or a “Where’s Waldo” style game. It is the mostly true story of amateur historian Philippa Langley and her quest—some would call it an obsession—to find the remains of the last English king to die in battle, Richard “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” the III.
A lowkey dramedy, now playing in theatres, “The Lost King” stars Sally Hawkins as Langley, a divorced sufferer of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, who, becomes inspired to research the much-maligned monarch’s life and death after taking in a stage production of Shakespeare’s royal tragedy.
She reads everything there is on his life, joins a group of eccentric Ricardians, argues with historians and even converses with a vision of the King himself (Harry Lloyd). She feels he was judged unfairly in life, and is determined to find his remains and give him a proper burial.
In the course of tireless study, she determines that the King’s resting place is in a nondescript carpark in Leicester, once the home of a Franciscan Friary. Through sheer force of will (and considerable fund-raising ability) she manages to convince the naysayers, including the Deputy Registrar of the local university, to OK an excavation.
In September 2012 Langley’s theories were proved correct and the remains of the long-lost king were uncovered. “He was right where I said he’d be,” she says with amazement as the university experts scramble to take credit for her work.
“The Lost King” is a lowkey “National Treasure” style movie. Langley’s quest to rehabilitate King Richard’s dastardly reputation isn’t nearly as action packed as the Nic Cage movies, but her deep dive into history brings with it a determination that makes up for the lack of thrills.
Instead, it’s a personal story about an underdog, who, despite her intelligence, is passed over for promotions at work and treated like an outsider by academia. Langley’s journey to expose the truth about a misunderstood monarch is a lightweight human tale of empathy given heft by a compelling performance from Hawkins. Her work is grounded in reality, even during the magic realism scenes when she turns to King Richard for guidance.
“The Lost King” is the kind of Brit pic that is a little too black-and-white in its portrayal of the condescending bullies who tried to derail the plucky Langley, but as a portrait of a person who refused to be trampled on, who finds her voice, it is a warm and often funny feel-good flick.
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.
