CTV film critic gives his thoughts on the newest releases hitting the screen

As the weekend comes around, so do new movies to the box office, and this week there are a number of films to keep an eye out for.

CTV film critic Richard Crouse predicts the new “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” will beat out the recent big hit “Fall Guy” in ticket sales this weekend.

“This is a franchise that people know and love, there hasn’t been one since 2017,” he said in an interview with CTV’s Todd Battis on Friday.

“Fall Guy will come in strong I think, it’s a movie that’s just fun. You go to the movies, you can kind of switch your brain off a little bit, as I said in my written review, Fall Guy is easy to like but it’s hard to love. It won’t change your world but it’s a little bit of fun.”

Coming seven years after the last installment, Crouse says the technology has also had a chance to improve. He says visuals are now more immersive, especially when compared to the rubber masks used in the 1968 film.

“Often too much CGI, computer generated imagery, doesn’t really appeal to me that much, but here you have actors acting out the roles of each of these apes, and then they’re covered literally in a layer of digital makeup,” he said.

“So it lends a real emotionality to the characters, you see the humour, you see the sadness, you see all these emotions coming through these characters.”

Crouse also mentions two coming-of-age films which are on his radar.

The first is “Wild Goat Surf” which follows a young girl named Goat who has dreams of becoming a professional surfer and her journey full of life lessons.

The film was also largely shot at a small RV park in British Columbia, where the main character Goat lives.

“This is a movie about adolescence and all its awkward and aspirational glory, and it’s a really sweet natured summary coming of age movie,” said Crouse.

The other film Crouse is keeping an eye on goes by the name “We Grown” which follows two best friends growing up in public housing in Chicago.

“Later when drugs and violence start to move in to the neighbourhood, one of the mothers decides that they have to move away, and it really is about the loss of your first friend. The first time that you really experience that big kind of loss,” said Crouse.

“It’s heartfelt, it’s smart, it’s occasionally funny, it’s very sweet, but bring a Kleenex or two I think because you may need them by the end of this film.”

While Canadian actor Ryan Gosling has been in the spotlight with “Fall Guy,” Crouse says another famous Canadian Ryan will also be in the public eye, with Ryan Reynolds starring in “IF”.

“IF” follows the imaginary friends we all have as kids, and explores the idea of what happens to them once we grow up.

“This looks to be a really big hit coming up, it’s tracking really well, people are interested to see what comes next for Ryan Reynolds,” said Crouse.

As the summer blockbuster season comes closer, Crouse says he’s most excited for the next installment of the Mad Max series called “Furiosa, A Mad Max Saga”.

“This is sort of a prequel to ‘Fury Road’ which for my money is one of the greatest films ever made,” said Crouse.

“This one is about Furiosa, who was played by Charlize Theron in the last film, this is about her life before she teamed up with Mad Max, I cannot wait for this.”

With files from CTV's Todd Battis.