By John Corrado

New releases for the week of December 20th, 2024.

Theatrical Releases:

Mufasa: The Lion King (Wide Release): This good enough prequel to Disney’s 2019 “live action” remake of their animated classic The Lion King comes to us from director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk). The story centres around Simba and Nala’s daughter Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter) learning how her grandfather Mufasa became king of the Pride Lands. The framing device and humour are uneven, but Jenkins does manage to find some dramatic weight in the sibling origin story of young Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) and his adopted brother Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) falling out. The visuals can be dazzling (I saw it in IMAX), and the Lin-Manuel Miranda songs are fairly catchy. It’s diverting and entertaining enough overall. (Full Review)

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Wide Release): This action-packed third instalment in the series of video game adaptations feels very consistent with the first two. Keanu Reeves is a good addition to the cast as Shadow the Hedgehog, a new rival for Sonic (Ben Schwartz), and Jim Carrey gets to do his thing again, this time devouring a dual role playing Dr. Robotnik’s grandfather as well. It’s as good as anything we have gotten in terms of a modern showcase for Carrey’s antics that made him one of the biggest comedy stars of the 1990s and 2000s. It’s fun, and fans will love it, at least judging by the cheering at the promo screening. (Full Review)

More Releases: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (TIFF Lightbox), The Count of Monte-Cristo (TIFF Lightbox), Homestead (Limited)

Streaming Releases:

A Carpool Karaoke Christmas (Apple TV+), The Simpsons: O C’mon All Ye Faithful (Disney+), Ilana Glazer: Human Magic (Disney+),  Dexter: Original Sin (Paramount+)