I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Scott Hirsch to recap the final days of TIFF and talk about the harrowing “The Long Walk,” the soapy “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” and the rockin’ “Spinal Tap: The End Continues.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with guest anchor Zuraidah Alman to talk about new movies in theatres including the harrowing “The Long Walk,” the soapy “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” and the rockin’ “Spinal Tap: The End Continues.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 13:09)
I join CP24 to talk about the harrowing “The Long Walk,” the soapy “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” and the rockin’ “Spinal Tap: The End Continues.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I joined CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to have a look at new movies coming to theatres including the harrowing “The Long Walk,” the soapy “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” and the rockin’ “Spinal Tap: The End Continues.”
Watch 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 harrowing “The Long Walk,” the soapy “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” and the rockin’ “Spinal Tap: The End Continues.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make the bed! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the harrowing “The Long Walk,” the soapy “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” and the rockin’ “Spinal Tap: The End Continues.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: Based on a Stephen King novel (written under the alias Richard Bachman) of the same name, “The Long Walk” is set in a world so hopeless that, ironically, a march to the death is the only option to obtain a better life. “One winner,” says the Major (Mark Hamill), “no finish line.”
CAST: Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis, Jordan Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton, Judy Greer, and Mark Hamill. Directed by JT Mollner.
REVIEW: “The Long Walk” covers a lot of ground. The story of march to the death is a harrowing look at authoritarianism and the extremes that despairing people will go in search of hope.
Set in a dystopian United States after a war has left the country struggling financially under a totalitarian government, the film centers around a televised endurance contest meant to inspire work ethic in the downtrodden public. Like “The Hunger Games,” but without the costumes or folk songs, the titular walk sees fifty young men volunteer to, as the Major (Mark Hamill) says, “walk until there’s only one of you left.”
“Anyone can win if you don’t give up!”
Fall behind or failed to keep pace you get a ticket, as in, get your ticket punched.
As the title suggests, “The Long Walk” is just that, a long walk punctuated by character insights, explosive diarrhea and the odd gunshot. It’s a horrifying situation, but despite King’s name attached to the project, this isn’t a horror film. There are no jump scares, nothing supernatural—unless you regard the walker’s ability to stay awake for five days on their 300-mile marathon as mystical—and the only monster comes in the form of a very human, totalitarian ruler known as The Major.
With a minimum of fuss director Francis Lawrence, who directed three of the “Hunger Games” movies, presents the story for what it is, a talky literary adaptation. The characters put one foot in front of the other and speak reams of dialogue, but Lawrence trusts the material to organically provide intensity as the audience gets to know and become involved in the lives and deaths of the characters.
It’s an ensemble piece, with a large cast of Hollywood up-and-comers like Tut Nyuot and Charlie Plummer, but it’s Cooper Hoffman as the resilient Raymond Garraty and David Jonsson as the loyal Peter McVries that stand out. They become the de facto leaders of the Walkers, and the guides who remind us that there are humans at the heart of the movie’s dehumanizing ordeal. Although they come to the Walk with differing motives, as friendship blossoms between Ray and Peter it suggests other King relationships born out of adversity, like John Coffey and Paul Edgecomb in “The Green Mile” or “The Shawshank Redemption’s” Andy Dufresne and Ellis “Red” Redding. Their connection and empathy stand in stark contrast to the bleak backdrop of the Walk.
“The Long Walk” may be overlong and Hamill is one note in his portrayal of evil, but in the telling of the tale is a relentless intensity that builds until the film’s final, explosive moments.
