By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) With memorable performances from Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams, who won a Golden Globe for her role, Big Eyes is Tim Burton’s best live action film in years, a richly designed and appropriately offbeat period piece with themes that still feel just as important. The film recounts the… Read More Review: Big Eyes
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Marion Cotillard received a surprise Oscar nomination for her role in Two Days, One Night, and she deserves the Best Actress recognition, delivering an absolutely incredible performance in this excellent latest from master filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. Sandra (Marion Cotillard) is a young working class mother in… Read More Review: Two Days, One Night
American Sniper – A Warner Bros. Release http://www.americansnipermovie.com Release Date: January 16th, 2015 Rated 14A for coarse language, disturbing content and graphic violence Running Time: 132 minutes Clint Eastwood (director) Jason Hall (writer) Based on the book by Chris Kyle, with Jim DeFelice and Scott McEwen Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle Sienna Miller as Taya… Read More Three Views: American Sniper
By John Corrado Fresh off receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature, the excellent Last Days in Vietnam is opening at the Bloor Cinema this evening, and will be playing there until January 29th. Tickets and showtimes are right here. After the resignation of President Nixon, the North Vietnamese Army was gaining ground in Saigon, as… Read More Bloor Cinema Release: Last Days in Vietnam
By John Corrado With Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel leading the charge and amassing nine each, the 87th Oscar nominations were unveiled this morning. As usual, the list was rounded out by a mix of deserving frontrunners, along with some good surprises and a few unfortunate snubs, evoking passionate responses across Twitter. The eight… Read More Thoughts on the 87th Oscar Nominations
Sony Pictures Classics is releasing Love is Strange on Blu-ray today, a small gem that deserves more attention. When Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) finally get married after nearly four decades together, George is fired from his teaching job, forcing them to sell their Manhattan apartment and stay separately with their respective family and… Read More Blu-ray Release: Love is Strange
Today, Paramount is releasing Men, Women & Children on Blu-ray, one of the best films from last year’s TIFF. Directed by Jason Reitman, the haunting drama seamlessly weaves together the relationships of numerous teenagers and their parents, including the moving friendship that develops between high school outsiders Tim (Ansel Elgort) and Brandy (Kaitlyn Dever), whose… Read More Blu-ray Release: Men, Women & Children
Last week, D Films released The Guest on Blu-ray. When David (Dan Stevens) arrives on the doorstep of the grieving Peterson family, claiming to have fought with their son who was killed overseas, he is immediately welcomed into their home. But when people start mysteriously showing up dead, their crafty young adult daughter Anna (Maika… Read More Blu-ray Release: The Guest
By Erin Corrado Alexandre Desplat’s music for The Imitation Game is a hauntingly beautiful piece of work that helps to elevate the film to one of the best of the year. Perfectly encapsulating the story and Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance as Alan Turing, Desplat’s quiet score features simple melodies expanded throughout on a variety of string… Read More Soundtrack Review: The Imitation Game
By John Corrado Hosted by the dynamic and always funny duo of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for the third and final time, the 72nd Golden Globes unfolded tonight in mostly enjoyable and appropriately laid back fashion, with a lot of deserving winners and a few surprises that I’m genuinely happy about. The first award of… Read More Thoughts on the 72nd Golden Globes
Selma – A Paramount Pictures Release http://www.selmamovie.com Release Date: January 9th, 2015 Rated PG for mature themes, violence and language Running Time: 127 minutes Ava DuVernay (director) Paul Webb (writer) David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr. Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King Oprah Winfrey as Annie Lee Cooper Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B.… Read More Three Views: Selma
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) When I reviewed and recommended the dysfunctional family dramedy This is Where I Love You, I noted that I often end up enjoying the work of director Shawn Levy. And his latest, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, is no exception. It’s also one of his… Read More Review: Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
Today, Paramount is releasing SpongeBob SquarePants: The Pilot, A Mini-Movie and The SquareShorts on DVD, including a barrage of goodies for fans of the character. The main draw here is easily the mini-movie of the title, which is actually the 2009 extended episode Truth or Square, a thoroughly delightful and surprisingly clever affair that functions… Read More DVD Release: SpongeBob SquarePants: The Pilot, A Mini-Movie and The SquareShorts
By John Corrado ★★★★ (out of 4) There’s a valid reason why the Swedish export Force Majeure, a festival sensation and sure to be frontrunner for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, remains among the most discussed and widely praised movies of 2014. This is simply one of the best films of the recently wrapped year, a… Read More Review: Force Majeure
Unbroken – A Universal Pictures Release http://www.unbrokenfilm.com Release Date: December 25th, 2014 Rated 14A for disturbing content and graphic violence Running Time: 137 minutes Angelina Jolie (director) Joel Coen (screenplay) Ethan Coen (screenplay) Richard LaGravenese (screenplay) William Nicholson (screenplay) Based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand Alexandre Desplat (music) Jack O’Connell as Louis Zamperini Domhnall… Read More Three Views: Unbroken
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Recounting the true story of brothers and Olympic wrestlers Mark (Channing Tatum) and Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo), and their uneasy partnership with eccentric millionaire John du Pont (Steve Carell), Foxcatcher offers a compelling look at the dark side of the American Dream, built around three superb performances. When… Read More Review: Foxcatcher
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The final chapter in Peter Jackson’s solidly entertaining trilogy of Middle Earth prequels, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies starts where last year’s The Desolation of Smaug left off, with the deadly dragon (Benedict Cumberbatch) ravaging the fishing village of Laketown, trying to protect his gold.… Read More Review: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Inherent Vice – A Warner Bros. Release http://inherentvicemovie.com Release Date: December 25th, 2014 (Limited) Rated 14A for drug use, sexual content, graphic nudity and some violence Running Time: 148 minutes Paul Thomas Anderson (director) Paul Thomas Anderson (screenplay) Based on the novel by Thomas Pynchon Jonny Greenwood (music) Joaquin Phoenix as Larry “Doc” Sportello Josh… Read More Three Views: Inherent Vice
By John Corrado I have been watching a lot of Christmas films over the past few weeks, and noticed a recurring theme. A selection of them are reaching important milestones this year, anniversaries that are worth recognizing and celebrating. Merry Christmas, everyone! Prep & Landing (December 8th, 2009) Has it really been five years since… Read More Christmas Films Celebrating Anniversaries
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) With a cast as impressive as the one that director Rob Marshall has assembled for his soaring cinematic adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s classic Broadway musical Into the Woods, it’s no surprise that pretty much every actor emerges onscreen with some of the best entrances of any movie this… Read More Review: Into the Woods
The Joy of Movies 