By John Corrado

New releases for the week of October 28th, 2022.

Theatrical Releases:

The Banshees of Inisherin (Limited Release): The fourth film from writer-director Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin was one of the very best films I saw at TIFF this year. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as Pádraic and Colm, two friends on the Irish island of Inisherin who have a daily ritual of going for a pint together at the pub, until one day when Colm decides he no longer wants to be friends. It’s hilarious until it becomes heartbreaking, offering a nuanced portrait of male friendship and pride. Easily in my top five of the year. (TIFF 2022 Review)

Decision to Leave (TIFF Bell Lightbox): The latest from Korean master Park Chan-wook, Decision to Leave is coming to theatres after drawing raves at Cannes and TIFF. Offering a darkly seductive mix of murder mystery and romantic melodrama, the film follows a detective (Park Hae-il) who starts falling for a widow (Tang Wei). It’s a mature, often beguiling film that is carried by excellent performances and ingeniously constructed by Park Chan-wook, with sublime editing and cinematography. I’m personally looking forward to a second viewing to see how all the pieces fit together. (TIFF 2022 Review)

Aftersun (Limited Release): Paul Mescal stars as a depressed young father on vacation with his daughter Sophie (Frankie Corio) in Charlotte Wells’ emotional semi-autobiographical debut feature Aftersun. I saw this one at TIFF, and while there were a few stylistic touches that didn’t quite work for me on first viewing, Mescal’s performance is heartbreaking and newcomer Corio delivers an excellent debut for a child actor. It’s one of the most critically acclaimed movies of the year, and well worth checking out. (TIFF 2022 Review)

More Releases: Drinkwater (Limited), Call Jane (Limited), Prey for the Devil (Wide)

Streaming Releases:

Wendell & Wild (Netflix): A new stop motion feature from Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline) is always reason to celebrate, even if his latest can’t quite measure up to his previous classics. The horror comedy centres around demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele), and the teen girl Kat (Lyric Ross) who can summon them. The story is kinda messy and overly convoluted, but the animation is a treat. (Full Review)

Barbarian (Disney+): Zach Cregger’s horror film Barbarian became a word of mouth hit in theatres back in September, and now it’s available to stream on Disney+ in Canada (since Hulu is not available here). It’s the epitome of a film that should be seen knowing as little about the story as possible, so all I’ll say is that Georgina Campbell stars as a woman who checks into a rental house in rundown Detroit. Bill Skarsgård and Justin Long also star. I just watched it the other day, and it’s a genuinely twisted little thriller that is quite entertaining in the ways that it keeps reinventing itself, taking us on a wild and unpredictable ride that plays off natural fears of strangers and creepy basements. It’s well worth streaming for Halloween weekend.

More Releases: The Good Nurse (Netflix), All Quiet on the Western Front (Netflix), Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues (Apple TV+), A Chance Encounter (VOD)