Posts Tagged ‘Zachary Levi’

CTV News Toronto at Five with Zuraidah Alman: Richard on What to Watch!

I join “CTV News Toronto at Five with Zuraidah Alman” to talk about the end-of-the-worlder “Leave the World Behind,” the pretty cluckin’ good “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” and the psychological thriller “Eileen.”

Watch the whole thing by downloading the CTV News app.

CTV NEWS ATLANTIC AT SIX: RICHARD ON WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND!

I join “CTV News Atlantic at Six” anchor Todd Battis to talk about the end-of-the-worlder “Leave the World Behind,” the stop-motion animated “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” the psychological thriller “Eileen” and Barbenheimer on streaming!

Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 27:30)

 

RICHARD’S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY DECEMBER 08, 2023.

I joined CP24 to have a look at new movies coming to VOD, streaming services and theatres.  Today we talk about the end-of-the-worlder “Leave the World Behind,” the pretty cluckin’ good “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” the Japanese animated fantasy film “The Boy and the Heron” and the psychological thriller “Eileen.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

 

RICHARD’S CTV NEWSCHANNEL WEEKEND REVIEWS FOR FRIDAY DECEMBER 8, 2023!

I  join CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to talk about the end-of-the-worlder “Leave the World Behind,” the pretty cluckin’ good “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” the Japanese animated fantasy film “The Boy and the Heron” and the psychological thriller “Eileen.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

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

I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres including the end-of-the-worlder “Leave the World Behind,” the pretty cluckin’ good “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” the Japanese animated fantasy film “The Boy and the Heron” and the psychological thriller “Eileen.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET: 3 ½ STARS. “mix of charm and craft.”

“Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” a new stop motion animated film from Aardman Animations and playing in theatres this week before moving to Netflix next week, comes with great eggs-pectations. The original film, 2000s “Chicken Run,” is a beloved classic of British humour, heartwarming and heavy on the charm.

But can a sequel, twenty-three years in the making, be all it’s cracked up to be or will it lay an egg?

The new film picks up years after revolutionary chicken Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) and American circus rooster Rocky (Zachary Levi) escape the prisoner-of-war style Tweedy’s Industrial Farm. The happy couple now celebrate their freedom, living on an island bird sanctuary, far from the dangers of humanity, with friends Babs (Jane Horrocks), elderly rooster Fowler (David Bradley), Bunty (Imelda Staunton) their rat BFFs Nick and Fetcher (Romesh Ranganathan and Daniel Mays) and daughter Molly (Bella Ramsey).

“Life doesn’t get better than this,” Ginger says. “We’ve put the past behind us. We have Molly to think about now.”

It’s a wonderful life, but Molly, who has her mother’s rebellious spirit, feels fenced in. “You can’t make me stay here,” she tells Ginger.

Molly flies the coop, eager to check out Fun-Land Farms, a new operation on the mainland. With her feather-brained friend Frizzle (Josie Sedgwick-Davies) they soon discover the new farm is a processing plant for, you guessed it, chicken nuggets.

“Behold the dawn of the nugget,” says evil plant owner Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson).

It’s up to Ginger, Rocky and Company to come to the rescue. “Last time we broke out of a chicken farm,” says Ginger. “This time we’re breaking in.”

Like so many sequels, the story has bloated from the simplicity story of the 2000 film. But despite the food-for-thought subtext involving fast food and heavier plotting, “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” is still nimble and action packed.

The original “Chicken Run” was a riff on World War II great escape style films. “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” pays homage to the first movie, but leans into the James Bond and “Mission Impossible” franchises as inspirations for the wild poultry action.

Most of all, there is something welcoming about the Aardman stop motion animation. The house style is bold and beautiful, vivid and uncluttered, but it is the eccentric characters that really appeal. With their large eyes and exaggerated mouths and eyebrows, the Plasticine characters brim with personality and unmistakably come from the same creators that gave us the cheese-loving inventor Wallace and his mute and long-suffering canine side-kick Gromit.  Shot one frame-at-a-time, the animation feels handcrafted and organic, and has a warmth most CGI kids flicks don’t have.

“Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” is pretty cluckin’ good. It’s an entertaining, family-friendly mix of charm and craft.

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

I appear on “CTV News at 6” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend. This week I have a look at “Shazam!: Fury of the Gods” and the family dramas “Brother” and “Riceboy Sleeps.”

Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 37:09)

RICHARD’S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY MARCH 17, 2023.

I joined CP24 to have a look at new movies coming to VOD, streaming services and theatres.  Today we talk about the superhero flick “Shazam!: Fury of the Gods,” the crime story “Boston Strangler” and the family dramas “Brother” and “Riceboy Sleeps.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

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

I join 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 superhero flick “Shazam!: Fury of the Gods,” the crime story “Boston Strangler” and the family drama “Brother.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!