By John Corrado

New releases for the week of October 4th, 2024.

Theatrical Releases:

Joker: Folie à Deux (Wide Release): This is the big budget sequel to 2019’s Joker – a comic book villain origin story which grossed a billion dollars and won two Oscars, including for Joaquin Phoenix – and it’s not really what fans expected, with director Todd Phillips essentially mixing dreamlike musical numbers and courtroom drama. The reactions to have it been very mixed, but I saw it yesterday and am in the camp that liked it. It’s a much slower-moving deconstruction of the first movie that can feel a bit heavy-handed and overlong. It doesn’t always work. But it’s also too much of an interesting swing as a franchise movie, and too visually stunning thanks to Lawrence Sher’s striking cinematography, to dismiss. I did admire the effort overall. (Full Review)

The Outrun (Limited Release): In The Outrun, Saoirse Ronan stars as a young alcoholic returning home to the Orkney Islands. Ronan is incredible in the drama, which uses a fractured narrative to depict the addiction and recovery process as an ongoing journey. It mainly serves as a powerful showcase for Ronan, getting to show her full depth and range in the compelling, challenging role. (Full Review)

Matt and Mara (Limited Release): Kazik Radwanski’s latest mumblecore-inspired Toronto indie finds the director reuniting with co-stars Deragh Campbell and Matt Johnson following Anne at 13,000 Ft. This one captures the rhythms of a unique dynamic between two old friends, and it also feels very Toronto. It’s mostly engaging for the naturalistic dialogue and performances of Campbell and Johnson, and builds to a very nice final scene. (TIFF 2024 Review)

More Releases: Saturday Night (Limited), White Bird (Limited), Blink (Limited), Look Back (Limited), The Forest Hills (Limited)

Streaming Releases:

Hold Your Breath (Disney+), It’s What’s Inside (Netflix), The Platform 2 (Netflix), Heartstopper: Season 3 (Netflix), Salem’s Lot (Crave)