By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) DC League of Super-Pets is an animated comic book movie about Superman’s best friend; a super-powered dog named Krypto (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) who came to earth with him as a baby from the planet Krypton and continues to be his closest companion. Krypto has settled into a… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: DC League of Super-Pets
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) The Munsters is a mix of passion project and glorified fan film from horror filmmaker Rob Zombie, that serves as an uneven but at times mildly amusing reboot of the 1960s sitcom about a monster family living in suburbia. Zombie’s film is a prequel of sorts to the… Read More Blu-ray Review: The Munsters (Collector’s Edition)
By John Corrado New releases for the week of September 30th, 2022. Theatrical Releases: Bros (Wide Release): Following its world premiere at TIFF three weeks ago, Bros is now playing in theatres, and I don’t have enough good things to say about this incredibly entertaining and also quite sweet romantic comedy starring Billy Eichner, who… Read More New This Week (09/30/2022): Bros, The Greatest Beer Run Ever, Hocus Pocus 2, & More!
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Dead for a Dollar is a pretty good new Western written and directed by Walter Hill, the veteran filmmaker who has played around in the genre before, while perhaps being best known for action comedies like the 48 Hrs. films and the cult classic rock musical Streets of… Read More VOD Review: Dead for a Dollar
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The witches are back in the new Disney+ legacy sequel Hocus Pocus 2, which sees those eccentric Sanderson Sisters – Winnie (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimy) and Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) – returning to modern day Salem. Set 29 years after the events (and release) of Disney’s 1993… Read More Disney+ Review: Hocus Pocus 2
By John Corrado Paramount is releasing the 1953 adaptation of The War of the Worlds for the first time on 4K Ultra HD this week, in a set that also includes the 1951 film When Worlds Collide on Blu-ray. The two sci-fi films were both produced by George Pal, and present a compelling double feature.… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: The War of the Worlds (1953) and When Worlds Collide (1951)
By John Corrado Paramount is releasing a new edition of the 2004 teen comedy Mean Girls on Blu-ray today. Dubbed the “So Fetch! Limited Edition,” this new release features SteelBook packaging tied to the film. With a screenplay by Tina Fey, the film itself is a wicked sharp satire of high school politics that unfolds around… Read More Blu-ray Review: Mean Girls (SteelBook Edition)
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) A housecleaner dreams of owning a Christian Dior gown in the delightful Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, which has to be one of the nicest cinematic surprises of the year. Ada Harris (Lesley Manville) is a war widow who is just making ends meet as a cleaner and… Read More Blu-ray Review: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (Collector’s Edition)
By John Corrado ★★ (out of 4) Neither good nor bad enough to fully justify its widely publicized behind the scenes drama, Olivia Wilde’s overly ambitious second feature Don’t Worry Darling is instead a thoroughly mediocre and undercooked effort that tries to be a lot of things, but doesn’t really do any of them particularly… Read More Review: Don’t Worry Darling
By John Corrado New releases for the week of September 23rd, 2022. Theatrical Releases: Avatar (Theatrical Re-Release): Disney is re-releasing James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster Avatar back into theatres today, in 3D and IMAX, leading up to the release of the long-awaited sequel Avatar: The Way of Water in December. Don’t Worry Darling (Wide Release): After… Read More New This Week (09/23/2022): Don’t Worry Darling, Eternal Spring, Blonde, & More!
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The Black Phone is a Blumhouse-produced thriller that finds director Scott Derrickson reuniting with Ethan Hawke, the star of his 2012 film Sinister (which is still one of the most genuinely disturbing modern horror movies). This time around, Hawke takes on the villainous role of The Grabber, a… Read More Blu-ray Review: The Black Phone (Collector’s Edition)
By John Corrado Please note that this is a review of the 4K Ultra HD release of Elvis. For my full thoughts on the film itself, you can read my original theatrical review right here. Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis became one of the biggest box office success stories of the summer when it was released earlier… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Elvis
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 8th to 18th. In Moonage Daydream, documentary filmmaker Brett Morgan weaves an exciting and highly cinematic portrait of late music and queer icon David Bowie. The film blends concert footage with old interviews to offer a compelling window into… Read More #TIFF22 Review: Moonage Daydream (Special Presentations)
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 8th to 18th. The directorial debut of Korean actor Lee Jung-jae (the Emmy-winning star of Squid Game), Hunt is a political thriller set at the height of tensions between North and South Korea in the 1980s. Lee stars in… Read More #TIFF22 Review: Hunt (Gala Presentations)
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 8th to 18th. British writer-director Joanna Hogg follows up her one-two punch of The Souvenir and The Souvenir Part II with The Eternal Daughter, a simmering, haunting mother-daughter story that is infused with elements of Gothic Horror. The film… Read More #TIFF22 Review: The Eternal Daughter (Special Presentations)
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 8th to 18th. Pakistani filmmaker Saim Sadiq makes his feature debut with Joyland, firmly establishing himself as a very exciting new voice in international cinema. Adapted from his 2019 short film Darling, Sadiq’s film, which was awarded the Un… Read More #TIFF22 Review: Joyland (Special Presentations)
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 8th to 18th. The latest film from the currently imprisoned Iranian director Jafar Panahi, No Bears is a work of meta filmmaking that weaves together two narratives. Panahi casts himself as a filmmaker who is directing his latest work… Read More #TIFF22 Reviews: No Bears (Special Presentations)
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 8th to 18th. Nan Goldin is an artist and photographer who has set her sights on holding Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family to account for creating and pushing the drug OxyContin, and fuelling the opioid crisis ravaging America.… Read More #TIFF22 Review: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (TIFF Docs)
By John Corrado ★★★★ (out of 4) The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8th to 18th. The Banshees of Inisherin, the latest brilliantly written character study from writer-director Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), tells the story of two friends; farmer Pádraic (Colin Farrell) and fiddler Colm… Read More #TIFF22 Review: The Banshees of Inisherin (Special Presentations)
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8th to 18th. Director Peter Farrelly made the switch to making “serious” films in 2018 with Green Book, a career pivot that (controversially) won him the People’s Choice Award at TIFF and subsequently the Oscar for Best Picture. Farrelly… Read More #TIFF22 Review: The Greatest Beer Run Ever (Gala Presentations)
The Joy of Movies 