By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) At the beginning of The Skeleton Twins, we watch as failed actor Milo (Bill Hader) drops a picture of his boyfriend into his fish tank, turns up the volume on his stereo and lies down in the bathtub. The water slowly turns red with the blood of his… Read More Review: The Skeleton Twins
Today, Paramount is releasing a Diamond Anniversary Edition of the beloved 1954 holiday classic White Christmas on Blu-ray. After the war, song and dance men Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) team up with the popular sister act of Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy Haynes (Vera Ellen), to perform together and help… Read More Blu-ray Release: White Christmas
Today, Paramount is releasing a new edition of the 1996 comedy Kingpin, for the first time on Blu-ray. After losing his hand and promising career, washed up bowler Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) starts training Amish prodigy Ismael (Randy Quaid) to compete at a national competition, and hopefully defeat his sleazily successful rival, Ernie McCracken (Bill… Read More Blu-ray Release: Kingpin
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) “A saint is a human being we celebrate for the sacrifices that they make, for their commitment to making the world a better place,” Father Geraghty (Chris O’Dowd) tells his Catholic school class in the wonderful dramedy St. Vincent. And this definition of a saint not only provides… Read More Review: St. Vincent
The Judge – A Warner Bros. Release http://thejudgemovie.com Release Date: October 10th, 2014 Rated 14A for coarse language Running Time: 141 minutes David Dobkin (director) Nick Schenk (screenplay) Bill Dubuque (screenplay) Thomas Newman (music) Robert Downey Jr. as Hank Palmer Robert Duvall as Joseph Palmer Vera Farmiga as Samantha Powell Billy Bob Thornton as Dwight… Read More Three Views: The Judge
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Because of the title, it would be very easy to take a cheap shot at Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and just use those words to describe the film. But I’m not going to do that, because this new Disney movie is actually… Read More Review: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
By John Corrado ★★★★ (out of 4) “We still love each other, right?” Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon) asks his mother Diane (Anne Dorval) during a pivotal dramatic moment in Mommy. “That’s what we’re best at, buddy,” she tells him, and these words become the heart of the story. The fifth film from Quebec director Xavier Dolan, who at… Read More Review: Mommy
Today, Disney is releasing their highly recommended sports movie Million Dollar Arm on Blu-ray. With excellent performances from Jon Hamm and the entire cast, this is an incredibly entertaining and inspirational crowdpleaser that has something for everyone. We reviewed the film in theatres back on May 16th, and our overall consensus was: “Directed by Craig Gillespie… Read More Blu-ray Release: Million Dollar Arm
Today, Disney is releasing their 1959 animated classic Sleeping Beauty on Blu-ray, as part of their Diamond Edition series. When Princess Aurora (Mary Costa) is cursed by the jealous Maleficent (Eleanor Audley), she is sent to live in the forest with three kind fairies, until her sixteenth birthday when it’s up to Prince Phillip (Bill… Read More Blu-ray Release: Sleeping Beauty
Last week, Paramount released this summer’s blockbuster Transformers: Age of Extinction on Blu-ray. When struggling inventor Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) and his teen daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz) purchase a broken down truck that turns out to be Autobot leader Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), the ongoing war with the Decepticons is reignited, and they find themselves… Read More Blu-ray Release: Transformers: Age of Extinction
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) On the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) comes home to find a coffee table mysteriously broken and his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) missing. The police are notified, a missing person case is opened, and soon the whole town is out looking for her.… Read More Review: Gone Girl
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Although being advertised almost like a cross between The Blind Side and Million Dollar Arm, a pair of films that I genuinely liked, The Good Lie in fact couldn’t be more different from those stories about wealthy Americans helping immigrants new to the country. This is a quieter… Read More Review: The Good Lie
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Directed by Israel Horovitz from his own stage play, My Old Lady works mainly as a three person drama, with the majority of the story taking place at the same location, and the biggest revelations happening during conversations. After premiering at TIFF, the drama opens today in limited… Read More Review: My Old Lady
By John Corrado Two of the year’s best documentaries are opening this weekend with Art and Craft and Harmontown both starting limited runs at the Bloor Cinema, a pair of standouts from Hot Docs that come highly recommended. The former will be playing until October 16th, with the latter wrapping up a week earlier on… Read More Bloor Cinema Release: Art and Craft and Harmontown
By John Corrado ★★★★ (out of 4) “I think if I disappeared tomorrow, the universe wouldn’t really notice,” Tim (Ansel Elgort) tells his high school guidance counsellor during one of many painfully real and deeply moving scenes in director Jason Reitman’s Men, Women & Children. A star player who dropped off the football team, Tim… Read More Review: Men, Women & Children
Today, VVS Films is releasing Jon Favreau’s wonderful Chef on Blu-ray. With an excellent ensemble cast and a sharp script, this is a delightful and heartfelt comedy that is just as satisfying as a great meal, and one of the best movies of the year so far. We reviewed Chef in theatres back on June 6th, and our overall… Read More Blu-ray Release: Chef
D Films is releasing the pretty good Words and Pictures on Blu-ray today. Although the screenplay is overly clichéd, Clive Owen and Juliette Binoch deliver a pair of good performances, and there are some nicely written scenes celebrating the importance of both forms of artistic expression. We reviewed the film back on July 4th, and our overall… Read More Blu-ray Release: Words and Pictures
After premiering at TIFF last year, VVS Films is releasing McCanick on Blu-ray today. Eugene McCanick (David Morse) is a tough cop just trying to get through his birthday, when he gets the news that Simon Weeks (Cory Monteith) has been released from prison, a street kid who he put away for murder seven years before. The story starts… Read More Blu-ray Release: McCanick
The Boxtrolls – An eOne Films Release http://www.theboxtrolls.com Release Date: September 26th, 2014 Rated PG for some scary scenes Running Time: 97 minutes Graham Annable (director) Anthony Stacchi (director) Irena Brignull (screenplay) Adam Pava (screenplay) Based on the novel Here Be Monsters! by Alan Snow Dario Marianelli (music) Ben Kingsley as Archibald Snatcher (voice) Jared… Read More Five Views: The Boxtrolls
By John Corrado ★★★★ (out of 4) There is perhaps no greater compliment than to say that I left the screening of Pride with the same feelings I had after seeing The King’s Speech for the first time four years ago. And just like that other retelling of a somewhat lesser known but very important true story, Pride is a gloriously… Read More Review: Pride
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