By John Corrado

New releases for the week of April 28th, 2023.

Theatrical Releases:

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (Wide Releases): Writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig (The Edge of Seventeen) finally brings Judy Blume’s iconic 1970 middle school novel to the screen with this tender and genuinely delightful adaptation, which captures the humour, heartache, and sensitive topics of Blume’s classic book. Abby Ryder Fortson does an excellent job of carrying the film as the 11-year-old protagonist, while Rachel McAdams delivers a wonderful performance as her mother, and Kathy Bates steals scenes as the grandma. I adored this one. (Full Review)

The End of Sex (Limited Release): A married couple (played by Jonas Chernick and Emily Hampshire) try to reignite their sex life in this new Canadian romantic comedy from director Sean Garrity, in his latest collaboration with Chernick. It’s a fairly enjoyable little film, carried by winning performances from the two leads. (TIFF 2022 Review)

Sisu (Limited Release): The latest from Finnish genre filmmaker Jalmari Helander (Rare Exports, Big Game), this Midnight Madness selection from last year’s TIFF is a very entertaining (and also very violent) action movie that follows an old prospector (Jorma Tommila) who takes on the Nazis trying to steal his gold during World War II. It’s a blast. (TIFF 2022 Review)

More Releases: Polite Society (Limited), Big George Foreman (Limited), Ponniyin Selvan – Part 2 (Limited)

Streaming Releases:

Peter Pan & Wendy (Disney+): Shot in Newfoundland, this live action Disney remake is bypassing theatres and dropping exclusively on their streaming service this weekend. Sold as a new reimagining of the classic J.M. Barrie tale, the main reason I’m curious about this one is because it’s directed by David Lowery (The Green Knight), who also delivered one of Disney’s more interesting live action remakes with Pete’s Dragon in 2016. I haven’t had the time to watch it yet, but I’m looking forward to checking it out as soon as I can.

More Releases: The Matchmaker (Netflix), Citadel: Season 1 (Prime Video), Frog and Toad (Apple TV+)