By John Corrado

New releases for the week of May 12th, 2023.

Jay Baruchel in BlackBerry

Theatrical Releases:

BlackBerry (Wide Release): The latest from Canadian indie director Matt Johnson (The Dirties, Operation Avalanche), the tragicomic BlackBerry is a fast-paced and energetic look at the rise and fall of Waterloo, Ontario tech company Research in Motion and their once-mighty BlackBerry, carried by the compelling pairing of Jay Baruchel and a brilliantly ruthless Glenn Howerton. (Full Review)

Twice Colonized (Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema): The opening night film from the recently wrapped Hot Docs is coming back to the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema this week. The film is a candid portrait of Inuit lawyer Aaju Peter, who was born in Greenland but moved to the Canadian Arctic, as she tries to establish a permanent forum for Indigenous Peoples at the European Union. (Full Review)

More Releases: Book Club: The Next Chapter (Wide Release), Fool’s Paradise (Limited), Knights of the Zodiac (Limited), The Longest Goodbye (Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema)

Streaming Releases:

STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+): Fresh off its screening at Hot Docs, director David Guggenheim’s documentary STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie is being released on streaming this week. The film provides an entertaining biography of the actor, that cleverly uses clips from his films and TV shows to help tell story of his rise to fame and Parkinson’s diagnosis. It’s a moving, inspiring look at his choice to keep going and raise awareness of the disease. (Hot Docs 2023 Review)

Crater (Disney+): This Disney space adventure follows a group of kids living in a mining colony on the moon in the year 2257, who steal a rover to explore a far off crater. The film offers a mix of kids coming-of-age adventure movie and minor scale sci-fi drama, that explores some surprisingly darker themes. It’s a pretty good streaming choice, that delivers something enjoyable and with a decent-sized emotional impact. (Full Review)

Air (Prime Video): Ben Affleck’s latest directorial effort Air, which tells the story of the Nike executive (Matt Damon) who courted basketball player Michael Jordan to make the iconic shoe, is being released on Prime Video this week following a decent theatrical run. I missed this one in theatres so I just watched it on the streaming service, and really enjoyed it. It’s a solid, stylishly made crowdpleaser that features snappy dialogue and strong performances, with the standouts being Damon and Viola Davis as Jordan’s mother.

More Releases: The Mother (Netflix), The Muppets Mayhem (Disney+), Class of ’09 (Disney+)