By John Corrado

New releases for the week of March 21st, 2025.

Theatrical Releases:

Disney’s Snow White (Wide Release): Disney’s latest live-action remake is an updated version of their first animated feature from 1937. Rachel Zegler stars as Princess Snow White, and Gal Gadot is the Evil Queen jealous of her looks. Like a lot of these remakes, it’s not entirely unwatchable. As I said in my review, it’s bright and colourful enough for its target audience, and has a few decent moments. But the story updates feel genuinely pointless, the new songs are a mixed bag, and those CGI “dwarfs” fall deep into the uncanny valley. It pales in comparison to the original animated version. (Full Review)

Magazine Dreams (Limited Release): Jonathan Majors stars as a male bodybuilder in this visceral, disturbing character study. It’s finally being releasing following a premiere at Sundance in 2023, where Searchlight picked it up and subsequently dropped it due to Majors’ legal troubles. It’s not an easy watch (especially now, in light of everything involving Majors), but an intense and powerful one, and Majors delivers a transformative, undeniably brilliant performance. Highly recommended if you can handle it. (Full Review)

Lucy: The Stolen Lives of Elephants (Limited Release): This informative documentary looks at the plight of elephants in zoos, and the animal rights activists fighting to get them moved to sanctuaries. This includes the titular Lucy, an aging elephant at the Edmonton Valley Zoo, and the campaign to get her moved to a sanctuary in California. The film exposes the exploitation and abuse of elephants in captivity at several different facilities, including disturbing footage of the animals being prodded with bull hooks (now illegal in California) by trainers, and forced to do repetitive tricks. Director Fern Levitt also gives platform to a whistleblower from Ontario’s African Lion Safari (who have threatened to sue the filmmakers, according to the end credits). The film ends with title cards urging us to learn more about these organizations, and it’s a good introduction to the cause. Opens at Carlton Cinema.

More Releases: The Alto Knights (Wide), Bob Trevino Likes It (TIFF Lightbox)

Streaming Releases:

Anora (Prime Video), Wicked (Prime Video), O’Dessa (Disney+), McVeigh (VOD/Digital)