By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) As far as self-produced vanity projects go, the inspired-by-a-true-story comedy 80 for Brady, which follows four old ladies who go to the Super Bowl to see their hero Tom Brady play, is a pretty enjoyable one. Produced by Brady, who also gives himself a small role playing himself,… Read More Review: 80 for Brady
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) The Canadian co-production Alice, Darling is a drama starring Anna Kendrick in the titular role of Alice, a career-oriented young woman in Toronto living with her emotionally abusive partner, a visual artist named Simon (Charlie Carrick). On the surface, Alice seems to have an enviable relationship, as she… Read More Review: Alice, Darling
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Made on a budget of $15,000 dollars, Canadian director Kyle Edward Ball’s lo-fi horror film Skinamarink has become something of a sensation, having now grossed $1.9 million in theatres. This success is all the more impressive considering the heavily experimental nature of the film itself, which eschews conventional… Read More Review: Skinamarink
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter is a documentary portrait of the brilliant but troubled celebrity chef, whose self-named Chicago restaurant Charlie Trotter’s became known as one of the best restaurants in the world during its heyday. Directed by Rebecca Halpern, Love, Charlie mainly… Read More Review: Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Jonah Hill and Eddie Murphy star as a Jewish man and his future father-in-law in You People, a new Netflix romantic comedy from director Kenya Barris. Co-written by Barris and Hill, the film is first and foremost a cringe comedy about the racial divide in current America that… Read More Review: You People (Netflix)
By John Corrado New releases for the week of January 27th, 2023. Theatrical Releases: Infinity Pool (Wide Release): The latest film from director Brandon Cronenberg (son of David Cronenberg), Infinity Pool is arriving in theatres fresh off of its Sundance premiere. The film stars Alexander Skarsgård and Mia Goth as a couple on a beach… Read More New This Week (01/27/2023): Infinity Pool, When You Finish Saving the World, You People, & More!
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The directorial debut of actor Jesse Eisenberg, When You Finish Saving the World (which had its premiere at Sundance in 2022) is a quirky comedic story about a self-absorbed mother and son who are struggling to reconnect. The son, Ziggy Katz (Finn Wolfhard), is a budding teenage singer-songwriter… Read More Review: When You Finish Saving the World
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Andrea Riseborough’s Best Actress nod for To Leslie was maybe the biggest surprise of this year’s Oscar nominations. Despite no real studio push behind the indie drama, she got in through a last minute campaign from her industry friends (including Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and Susan Sarandon), who… Read More Review: To Leslie
By John Corrado The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards were announced this morning, with A24’s beloved Everything Everywhere All at Once – which maxed out with a total of eleven nominations – leading the charge. The Best Picture lineup is rounded out by All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of Water,… Read More Nominations for the 95th Academy Awards
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Directed by Ukrainian filmmaker Roman Liubiy, Iron Butterflies is a documentary that sets itself up as an investigation into the downing of Malaysian airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, which was accidentally shot down by a Russian anti-aircraft missile in 2014, killing all 298 people on board. But… Read More #Sundance2023 Review: Iron Butterflies
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Slow, a very good drama from Lithuanian writer-director Marija Kavtaradze, begins with what feels like it could be a classic meet-cute. Elena (Greta Grineviciute) is a contemporary dancer hopping between sexual partners, and Dovydas (Kestutis Cicenas) is a sign language interpreter. They meet when she is teaching a… Read More #Sundance2023 Review: Slow
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) The directorial debut of Belgian actress Veerle Baetens (The Broken Circle Breakdown), When It Melts is an adaptation of author Lize Spit’s book Het Smelt that explores childhood trauma through the eyes of a young woman finally confronting her past. Beatens takes an unflinching and provocative approach to… Read More #Sundance2023 Review: When It Melts
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) A madcap reimagining of the Pied Piper story centred around a swindler cat and his band of talking rats, the European animated film The Amazing Maurice – playing in the Kids section at Sundance – serves as a colourful and often amusing adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s award-winning 2001… Read More #Sundance2023 Review: The Amazing Maurice
By John Corrado New releases for the week of January 20th, 2023. Theatrical Releases: Living (Limited Release): A remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 classic Ikiru starring Bill Nighy and written by novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, Living is a really lovely and beautifully crafted old school drama that works to compliment the original. It’s a tender and… Read More New This Week (01/20/2023): Living, The Son, Saint Omer, & More!
By John Corrado ★★ (out of 4) The narrative feature debut of documentary filmmaker Alice Diop, Saint Omer (France’s official Oscar submission for Best International Feature) is an extremely understated and slow-moving legal drama that unfolds almost entirely within a French courtroom. The film centres around Rama (Kayije Kagame), a professor and novelist who travels… Read More Review: Saint Omer
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Bill Nighy’s performance in Living, a remarkably tender remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film Ikiru written by novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, is a thing of quiet beauty. Nighy stars as Mr. Williams, a worker drone in 1950s London whose job as a civil servant at the public works department… Read More Review: Living
By John Corrado It’s been fifteen years since director Matt Reeves and producer J.J. Abrams first unleashed their found footage monster movie Cloverfield in theatres on January 18th, 2008. Paramount is honouring the milestone by re-releasing the film on 4K Ultra HD this week, in a very nice new limited edition SteelBook set. The film… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Cloverfield: 15th Anniversary – Limited Edition SteelBook
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) George Clooney and Julia Roberts reunite onscreen in Ticket to Paradise, a romantic comedy that serves as an exercise in they don’t make ‘em like this anymore cinema. The film is a throwback to 1990s or early-2000s rom-coms that follows the formula to a tee, but gets by… Read More Blu-ray Review: Ticket to Paradise (Collector’s Edition)
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Door Mouse, a Canadian mystery involving missing girls and dirty nightclubs, is a pretty good little homegrown neo-noir exercise done on a budget that serves as the feature directorial debut of Canadian actor Avan Jogia. The film is named for Mouse (Hayley Law), who works by night dancing… Read More Review: Door Mouse
By John Corrado New releases for the week of January 13th, 2023. Theatrical Releases: Adult Adoption (Limited Release): This Toronto-set feature debut from director Karen Knox (CBC Gem’s Homeschooled) focuses on an emotionally immature young woman (played by Ellie Moon, who also wrote the screenplay) going through the process of “adult adoption” after aging out… Read More New This Week (01/13/2023): Adult Adoption, The Quiet Epidemic, The Territory, & More!
