By John Corrado Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Jim Henson’s classic 1986 fantasy Labyrinth follows a teen girl (Jennifer Connelly) who is annoyed with having to babysit her little brother, and wishes for him to get taken away. When her wish is granted by the Goblin King (David Bowie), she gets sucked into a fairy tale… Read More DVD Review: Labyrinth: 30th Anniversary Edition
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) When Nancy (Blake Lively) goes surfing on a secluded beach in Mexico, she finds herself circled by a great white shark, after cutting her leg and spilling blood into the water. Stranded on a large rock a couple hundred metres from the shore, and trying to nurse her… Read More DVD Review: The Shallows
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Based on true events, Free State of Jones recounts the story of Newton Knight (Matthew McConaughey), a disillusioned medic in the Confederate army who deserts the Civil War and returns to Mississippi, leading a rebel militia of poor farmers and runaway slaves in an armed uprising against the corrupt government. Their rebellion led Jones County… Read More Blu-ray Review: Free State of Jones
By John Corrado Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Disney’s beloved animated classic Beauty and the Beast arrives in a brand new Blu-ray edition, as part of the Walt Disney Signature Collection. Notably the first animated film to ever receive a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars, and in my humble opinion it should have… Read More Blu-ray Review: Beauty and the Beast: 25th Anniversary Edition
By John Corrado After a series of incidents lead to internal conflict between the Avengers, Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) find themselves pitted against each other in how to best address a threat, with the other members of the team all taking sides. Although I personally find these superhero teamups have started feeling derivative… Read More Blu-ray Review: Captain America: Civil War
By John Corrado Released in 1969, A Boy Named Charlie Brown marked the big screen debut of Charles Schulz’s beloved comic strip characters. After being humiliated for having his kites get destroyed by the “kite-eating tree,” and experiencing a brutal loss for his team on the baseball diamond, Charlie Brown finds himself competing in a school… Read More Blu-ray Review: A Boy Named Charlie Brown and Snoopy, Come Home
By John Corrado After the death of her husband, Marnie (Susan Sarandon) moves to Los Angeles to be closer to her daughter Lori (Rose Byrne), a screenwriter who is trying to live her own life. When Lori gets overwhelmed by her mother’s constant attention, Marnie takes to helping others, and falls in love with a… Read More DVD Review: The Meddler
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Lee Gates (George Clooney) is the host of a tacky financial advice show, but when the stock tanks on a company that he encouraged his viewers to invest in, he is taken hostage live on air by Kyle Budwell (Jack O’Connell), a young man who has been hurt by the… Read More DVD Review: Money Monster
By John Corrado One of the best cases yet for Disney’s choice to give live action upgrades to their library of animated classics, The Jungle Book uses breathtaking visual effects to retell Rudyard Kipling’s story of man cub Mowgli (Neel Sethi), who is raised by animals in the jungle. This is not only a stunning technical achievement,… Read More Blu-ray Review: The Jungle Book
By John Corrado Maggie (Greta Gerwig) is single but wants to have a baby, and is all set to go through with artificial insemination, when she meets the attractive professor John Harding (Ethan Hawke). Although John is married to the icy Georgette (Julianne Moore), Maggie becomes captivated by him, and the two embark on an affair.… Read More DVD Review: Maggie’s Plan
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Despite horse racing mainly being known as a rich elitist sport, the people in a small, working class mining town in Wales had the dream of raising their own racehorse. So they pooled their resources together and bred themselves a colt, who came to be known as Dream of… Read More DVD Review: Dark Horse
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Adapting the popular game to the screen, The Angry Birds Movie centres on Red (Jason Sudeikas), an ornery avian who lives on an island where everyone is supposed to be happy, and is sentenced to anger management classes after having a tantrum. There, Red meets the hyperactive Chuck (Josh Gad) and the explosive… Read More Blu-ray Review: The Angry Birds Movie
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Gennadiy Mokhneneko is a pastor who roams the poverty-stricken streets of Ukraine at night, rescuing children from drug addictions and abuse, using whatever force necessary to bring them to his shelter, and not above vigilante justice to rip them from the grips of crime. Directed by Steve Hoover, who also gave… Read More DVD Review: Almost Holy
By John Corrado Running for five seasons on Comedy Central from 2012 to 2015, Key and Peele showcases the combined efforts of comedic duo Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, with each episode mixing footage from their standup routine in front of a live audience and filmed sketches that star them in a variety of different… Read More DVD Review: Key and Peele: The Complete Series
By John Corrado ★½ (out of 4) After winning a bronze medal in gymnastics at the 2004 Olympics, and being forced to retire due to an injury shortly after, Hope Ann Greggory (Melissa Rauch) is washed up and mooching off her doting father (Gary Cole) in Ohio, while still taking full advantage of her “hometown hero” status.… Read More DVD Review: The Bronze
By John Corrado ★ (out of 4) The final film from late director Garry Marshall, Mother’s Day follows in the footsteps of his earlier movies Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve to offer another anthology comedy, this time centred around the second Sunday in May. Like the first two films, Mother’s Day follows many different archetypes leading… Read More DVD Review: Mother’s Day
By John Corrado One of my favourite movies of the year so far, Sing Street takes place in the 1984 and follows Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), a lovestruck teenager in Dublin who starts a band to try and win over aspiring model Raphina (Lucy Boynton). When I first saw Sing Street earlier in the year, I instantly fell… Read More DVD Review: Sing Street
By John Corrado A critical darling from the 2015 festival circuit, and one of the best movies of last year, Sleeping Giant follows restless teens Nate (Nick Serino), Riley (Reece Moffett) and Adam (Jackson Martin), who are spending the summer hanging out in a small Northern Ontario community. But the weight of jealousy and various family problems lead to tested… Read More DVD Review: Sleeping Giant
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Strapped for cash and forced to perform at a rural white supremacist bar in the backwoods of Orgeon, punk rockers Pat (Anton Yelchin) and Sam (Alia Shawkat) and the rest of their band become witnesses to a murder, and end up held captive by a group of skinheads trying to hide the evidence, under… Read More Blu-ray Review: Green Room
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) A longtime passion project for Don Cheadle, who directs and stars in the film as Miles Davis, Miles Ahead offers a look at the legendary musician and jazz trumpeter at two different stages in his complicated life, both at the height of his career and in the midst… Read More DVD Review: Miles Ahead
The Joy of Movies 