By John Corrado New releases for the week of May 19th, 2023. Theatrical Releases: Fast X (Wide Release): The family is back in this tenth film in the Fast and the Furious saga, which is the biggest of this week’s new releases. I’ve never really gotten into these films (and have only even seen maybe… Read More New This Week (05/19/2023): Fast X, Master Gardener, White Men Can’t Jump, & More!
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Writer-director Laurel Parmet explores the push and pull between religion and sexuality in her confident debut film The Starling Girl, which centres around an inappropriate relationship between a teen girl and her youth pastor, and the circumstances that allow it to develop. Jem Starling (Eliza Scanlen) is a… Read More Review: The Starling Girl
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The opening scene of Paul Schrader’s Master Gardener will be very familiar to those who watched the writer-director’s previous two movies The Card Counter and First Reformed. A man sits hunched over at a desk in a dimly lit room writing in a journal, as voiceover narration reveals… Read More Review: Master Gardener
By John Corrado ★★ (out of 4) A remake of Ron Shelton’s 1992 comedy of the same name that starred Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, White Men Can’t Jump is an updated version of the story that strips away a lot of the original’s grit and personality. Like the original, the film is set in… Read More Review: White Men Can’t Jump (Disney+)
By John Corrado The iconic 1983 dance movie Flashdance is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and Paramount is releasing the film for the first time in 4K Ultra HD this month. Directed by Adrian Lyne (a commercial director making his feature debut), and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the film centres around Alex (Jennifer Beals),… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Flashdance: 40th Anniversary
By John Corrado In honour of its 25th anniversary this year, Paramount has released the 1998 summer blockbuster Deep Impact for the first time on 4K Ultra HD. Directed by Mimi Leder, and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the film unfolds in the twelve months leading up to when a massive comet is expected to… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Deep Impact: 25th Anniversary
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) With a manned mission to Mars now basically a matter of when and not if, one of the biggest questions that remains is how human astronauts will deal with the isolation on the three year mission that it takes to get to the Red Planet. This question is… Read More Review: The Longest Goodbye
By John Corrado New releases for the week of May 12th, 2023. Theatrical Releases: BlackBerry (Wide Release): The latest from Canadian indie director Matt Johnson (The Dirties, Operation Avalanche), the tragicomic BlackBerry is a fast-paced and energetic look at the rise and fall of Waterloo, Ontario tech company Research in Motion and their once-mighty BlackBerry,… Read More New This Week (05/12/2023): BlackBerry, STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie, Crater, & More!
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Aaju Peter, the subject of filmmaker Lin Allluna’s documentary Twice Colonized (which recently had its world premiere as the opening night film of Hot Docs), is an Inuit lawyer who was born in Greenland, but moved to the Canadian Arctic. Living in Iqaluit, Aaju is perhaps most notable… Read More Review: Twice Colonized
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The year is 2257, and a group of kids are living in a mining colony on the moon. For most of them, life on the third rock from the sun is all they have ever known. This is the premise behind Crater, a new sci-fi movie being released… Read More Review: Crater (Disney+)
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) The rise and fall of Waterloo, Ontario tech company Research in Motion, and their once-mighty BlackBerry, is charted in Canadian director Matt Johnson’s energetic and fast-paced film BlackBerry. This latest feature from Johnson, who previously showed what he is capable of with his DIY indies Operation Avalanche and… Read More Review: BlackBerry
By John Corrado Please note that this is a review of the Blu-ray release of Knock at the Cabin. For my full thoughts on the film itself, you can read my original review right here. M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film, Knock at the Cabin, is being released on Blu-ray this week. Based on the novel… Read More Blu-ray Review: Knock at the Cabin (Collector’s Edition)
By John Corrado Please note that this is a review of the Blu-ray release of 80 for Brady. For my full thoughts on the film itself, you can read my original review right here. After a run in theatres this February, where it drew in crowds of seniors, the feel-good football comedy 80 for Brady… Read More Blu-ray Review: 80 for Brady
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) The 2023 Hot Docs Film Festival ran from April 27th to May 7th in Toronto, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here. In her fast-paced and engaging documentary Hong Kong Mixtape, director San San F Young offers a vibrant look at the young artists in… Read More #HotDocs23 Review: Hong Kong Mixtape
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The 2023 Hot Docs Film Festival ran from April 27th to May 7th in Toronto, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here. The documentary Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law? offers a solid introduction to pro-democracy activist Nathan Law, as it provides an engaging overview of… Read More #HotDocs23 Review: Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law?
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The 2023 Hot Docs Film Festival ran from April 27th to May 7th in Toronto, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here. In their documentary When Spring Came to Bucha, directors Mila Teshaieva and Marcus Lenz take us into the Ukrainian town of Bucha in the… Read More #HotDocs23 Review: When Spring Came to Bucha
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) The 2023 Hot Docs Film Festival ran from April 27th to May 7th in Toronto, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here. Directed by Mystlav Chernov, one of three Associated Press journalists who went to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol as soon as Russian… Read More #HotDocs23 Review: 20 Days in Mariupol
By John Corrado This year’s 30th anniversary edition of Hot Docs has officially come to a close, with the festival’s Top 20 Audience Award finalists announced today. The first place winner of the Hot Docs Audience Award is Quebec filmmaker Philippe Falardeau’s Lac-Mégantic – This Is Not an Accident. The top ranking mid-length film was… Read More #HotDocs23 Audience Award Winners
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The 2023 Hot Docs Film Festival runs from April 27th to May 7th in Toronto, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here. The Lebanese Burger Mafia is an enjoyable look at the history of Burger Baron, an Alberta fast food franchise that is not really… Read More #HotDocs23 Review: The Lebanese Burger Mafia
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The 2023 Hot Docs Film Festival runs from April 27th to May 7th in Toronto, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here. In director Juha Suonpää’s documentary Lynx Man, we are introduced to a unique subject; Hannu, an older Finnish man who has appointed himself… Read More #HotDocs23 Review: Lynx Man
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