By John Corrado

New releases for the week of October 3rd, 2025.

Theatrical Releases:

The Smashing Machine (Wide Release): Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson puts himself into the Oscar conversation with his dramatic role in this biopic of early UFC fighter Mark Kerr. The film is solo directed by Benny Safdie (one half of the sibling duo that made Uncut Gems and Good Time), who brings a documentary-like approach to the story, and it also features standout supporting work from Emily Blunt. I thought it was very good. (Full Review)

Anemone (Limited Release): Daniel Day-Lewis comes out of retirement and makes his return to the big screen in this dark family drama, that also happens to be the feature directorial debut of his son Ronan Day-Lewis. The intensity of Day-Lewis’s performance – as a man who has locked himself away from the world when his brother (Sean Bean) comes to visit him in the woods – is what drives the film, including one absurdly compelling monologue in particular. (Full Review)

The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue (Limited Release): Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich’s latest documentary powerfully tells the story of retired general Noam Tibon’s fearless rescue of his family during the horrific October 7th terrorist attacks. This is the movie that nearly didn’t screen at TIFF, but went on to triumphantly win the People’s Choice Documentary Award. With the second anniversary of October 7th coming up next week (and hostages still being held in Gaza), this is one of the most important films of the year. Cineplex is handling the theatrical release. (TIFF 2025 Review)

Good Boy (Limited Release): This independent horror movie has been gaining buzz due to its central conceit; it is a haunted house movie shown from the perspective of a dog. And it’s pretty good. The gimmick largely works, and canine star Indy is excellent. (Full Review)

Orwell: 2+2=5 (Limited Release): Documentary filmmaker Raoul Peck looks at the legacy of British author George Orwell in his latest film, which is less biography and more bloated, heavily slanted essay on “our times.” I admire Orwell, but wasn’t a fan of this film, and the use of AI is a bit of a dealbreaker. Opens at TIFF Lightbox. (TIFF 2025 Review)

Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl (Wide Release): Taylor Swift celebrates the launch of her (fantastic) new album The Life of a Showgirl with this theatrical release party including the premiere of her music video for lead single “The Fate of Ophelia,” lyric videos, and exclusive behind the scenes footage. As a Swifitie, I’m excited to see what she has in store. I already listened to the album twice when it dropped last night. It’s that good. Playing this weekend only. (Full Review)

More Releases: Bone Lake (Limited), Avatar: The Way of Water (Re-Release)

Streaming Releases:

The Lost Bus (Apple TV+), Steve (Netflix), Play Dirty (Prime Video), Monster: The Ed Gein Story (Netflix), The Balloonist (Disney+), Chad Powers (Disney+)