Blu-ray Reviews: My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo

By John Corrado On October 17th, Shout! Factory released special edition Blu-ray and DVD combo packs of the six Studio Ghibli films My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo, which are all directed by the legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki. These updates from the Disney releases not only… Read More Blu-ray Reviews: My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo

October 31, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Review: Libera Nos

By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) While countless horror movies about demonic possession, including The Exorcist and The Omen, have become staples to watch around this time of year, the documentary Libera Nos provides a chilling companion piece to these Halloween classics. This is an “inspired by true events” horror movie in the most literal… Read More Review: Libera Nos

October 27, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Review: Faces Places

By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Agnes Varda is one of the most influential filmmakers from the French New Wave, and JR is a young street photographer. He is young, and she is old, but they are able to see eye to eye on many things and they share a similar artistic spirit. Together,… Read More Review: Faces Places

October 27, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Review: Wonderstruck

By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Based on the book of the same name by Brian Selznick, the same author who provided the novel behind Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, Wonderstruck is an example of film that is decent enough, but also doesn’t entirely live up to its source material or potential. The film tells two stories.… Read More Review: Wonderstruck

October 27, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Review: Suburbicon

By John Corrado ★½ (out of 4) Based on a decades old screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen that they never produced, which has since been touched up by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, Suburbicon is the sort of uneven work that feels like it has had too many hands on it over the years. After being… Read More Review: Suburbicon

October 27, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Blu-ray Review: Annabelle: Creation

By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) A prequel to the 2015 film Annabelle, which was itself both a spinoff and prequel to The Conjuring, Annabelle: Creation offers a well made tale of demonic possession, involving the creepy doll that acts as a conduit for evil spirits. The prologue introduces us to Samuel (Anthony LaPaglia)… Read More Blu-ray Review: Annabelle: Creation

October 24, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.ca1 Comment

Review: Breathe

By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Dramatizing the life of disability rights advocate Robin Cavendish (Andrew Garfield), Breathe is a pretty good biopic that is notable for being the directorial debut of Andy Serkis, a celebrated actor who has delivered memorable motion-capture performances in both the Lord of the Rings and Planet of the Apes series. At the… Read More Review: Breathe

October 20, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Blu-ray Review: Planes, Trains and Automobiles: 30th Anniversary Edition

By John Corrado Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the seminal John Hughes holiday classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles has been reissued once again on Blu-ray. The film of course follows uptight businessman Neal Page (Steve Martin), who is trying desperately to get home to his family for Thanksgiving, but is faced with a cancelled… Read More Blu-ray Review: Planes, Trains and Automobiles: 30th Anniversary Edition

October 18, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Blu-ray Review: Dreamgirls: Director’s Extended Edition

By John Corrado Over a decade after first releasing the film in theatres, director Bill Condon has gone back to his 2006 musical Dreamgirls to finally release the more complete cut of the film that he worked on, before the studio put out the slightly condensed theatrical version. Adding back in some extra scenes and… Read More Blu-ray Review: Dreamgirls: Director’s Extended Edition

October 18, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

DVD Review: SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Ninth Season

By John Corrado It’s hard to believe that SpongeBob SquarePants has been on the air for nearly two decades after premiering in 1999, but the ninth season of the long running animated series wrapped up earlier this year, and is now available on DVD. This set features all 26 episodes from the season which mostly… Read More DVD Review: SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Ninth Season

October 17, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

DVD Review: Beatriz at Dinner

By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Beatriz (Salma Hayek) is a Mexican immigrant working as a healer in Los Angeles, whose car breaks down at the home of her wealthy client Cathy (Connie Britton). Cathy’s husband (David Warshofsky) is having business associates over for dinner, and she invites Beatriz to stay for the evening.… Read More DVD Review: Beatriz at Dinner

October 17, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Review: 78/52

By John Corrado ★★★★ (out of 4) The first feature film ever made about a single scene, the stunning documentary 78/52 offers a deep dive into the shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, a sequence so iconic that it has almost gone beyond the film itself to take on a life of its own. As a lifelong Hitchcock… Read More Review: 78/52

October 13, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.ca1 Comment

Review: The Florida Project

By John Corrado ★★★★ (out of 4) Directed by Sean Baker, who broke onto the scene in a really memorable way with the iPhone-shot Tangerine, The Florida Project is a highly empathetic and often breathtaking cinematic work, that might just go down as the best movie of the year. The film follows Moonee (Brooklynn Prince), a six-year-old girl… Read More Review: The Florida Project

October 13, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.ca1 Comment

Review: Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) After the Wonder Woman movie broke box office records earlier this year, we now get to explore the surprisingly kinky origins of the female superhero in the frothily entertaining and well acted biopic Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. The film dramatizes the story of Dr. William Moulton… Read More Review: Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

October 13, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Blu-ray Review: The House

By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) When their daughter Alex (Ryan Simpkins) is accepted into Bucknell University, but loses the town scholarship that she was promised when the city councillor (Nick Kroll) decides to cut the funding, Scott (Will Ferrell) and Kate Johansen (Amy Poehler) are left with little resources to pay for their only child’s… Read More Blu-ray Review: The House

October 10, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Review: Personal Shopper

By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Maureen (Kristen Stewart) is an American working as a personal shopper in Paris, choosing and buying clothes for her rich clients to wear. She wants to stay in Paris until she is contacted by her twin brother, who died in the city a year earlier, and promised to… Read More Review: Personal Shopper

October 9, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.ca1 Comment

Review: A Ghost Story

By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) The image of a person dressed as a ghost wearing a white bed sheet with cutout holes for eyes could easily be fodder for laughs or cheap scares, recalling a child’s simple Halloween costume. But this image is used in ways much more sombre and sorrowful than that… Read More Review: A Ghost Story

October 9, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Review: Loving Vincent

By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) At the start of Loving Vincent, a title card tells us that we are about to see the first ever fully hand painted feature film, crafted by a team of a hundred dedicated artists, many of whom spent years working on the film. The result is an astonishing… Read More Review: Loving Vincent

October 7, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Review: School Life

By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) John and Amanda Leyden are an older married couple who have spent over forty years working together and teaching students at the Headfort School, the last remaining preparatory boarding school in Ireland for elementary school kids aged 7 to 13. John and Amanda are the subjects of School… Read More Review: School Life

October 6, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Review: Unarmed Verses

By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Francine is a young black girl living in North York’s Villaways neighbourhood. But the affordable housing units where she lives with her father, grandmother and two autistic brothers are facing a forced revitalization project set forth by the city, meaning that the residents will have to leave their homes… Read More Review: Unarmed Verses

October 6, 2017October 1, 2021 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment