By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) A house fire and bag of stolen money forces the stories of a grieving young bartender (Anton Yelchin) who returns to his hometown following the death of his parents, a haunted fire survivor (Zooey Deschanel) whom he falls in love with, and a dangerous thief (John Hawkes) out for vengeance, to… Read More DVD Review: The Driftless Area

By John Corrado Telling the “mostly true” story of Miss Shephard (Maggie Smith), an eccentric senior who lives in the back of a beat up old van that ends up parked in the driveway of struggling writer Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings), The Lady in the Van is a small gem that is absolutely worth seeing on Blu-ray. Managing… Read More Blu-ray Release: The Lady in the Van

By John Corrado ★★ (out of 4) Neil Clarke (Simon Pegg) is an average guy in England, who works as a teacher and dreams of finishing his novel, while also pining for the affection of his downstairs neighbour Catherine (Kate Beckinsale). But things change when a group of five aliens (voiced by the remaining members… Read More DVD Review: Absolutely Anything

By John Corrado Arriving after years of feverish anticipation, and becoming the highest grossing film of last year, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is finally coming to Blu-ray this week, and the set comes highly recommended for fans.  The film itself is a lot of fun, minor narrative faults aside, and does a solid job of continuing… Read More Blu-ray Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) After going on a alcohol-fuelled joyride in a stolen car, troubled and rebellious teenager Billy Wyatt (Emory Cohen) is put in the Bernville Camp for Boys, a youth detention centre where intense pecking orders develop between the kids, and the guards (John Leguizamo and Paul Sparks) abuse their power.… Read More DVD Review: Stealing Cars

By John Corrado A masterpiece of the Italian neorealist movement, Vittorio De Sica’s 1948 classic Bicycle Thieves is being released on the Criterion Collection this week, in a beautifully restored Blu-ray edition. When the bicycle he needs for work is stolen on the first day of his coveted new job, Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) sets out with his… Read More Criterion Review: Bicycle Thieves

By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Based on a true story, Concussion follows the research of Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith), a Nigerian immigrant and celebrated pathologist in Pittsburgh, who found evidence of severe head trauma in the brains of football players who died prematurely from suicide.  But the doctor faced severe pushback from the NFL when he tried… Read More Blu-ray Review: Concussion

By John Corrado ★★ (out of 4) Today, Paramount is releasing the family comedy Daddy’s Home on Blu-ray.  Brad Whitaker (Will Ferrell) is happily married to Sara (Linda Cardellini), and is a doting stepdad to her two little kids (Owen Vaccaro and Scarlett Estevez).  But when their biological dad Dusty Mayron (Mark Wahlberg) shows up, their household… Read More Blu-ray Review: Daddy’s Home

By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Last week, 20th Century Fox released the kids film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip on Blu-ray, the fourth entry in the franchise.  When Dave (Jason Lee) starts dating a doctor (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), who brings with her a moody teenaged son Miles (Josh Green), the chipmunks become terrified that… Read More Blu-ray Review: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip

By John Corrado Director John Frankenheimer’s groundbreaking political thriller The Manchurian Candidate is being released on Blu-ray this week, as part of the Criterion Collection. This 1962 classic follows a celebrated Korean War veteran (Laurence Harvey), who has been brainwashed to become an assassin who coldly kills in a trance-like state, and his controlling mother (Angela Lansbury), who is married… Read More Criterion Review: The Manchurian Candidate

By John Corrado Today, Paramount is releasing The Big Short on Blu-ray, one of the best movies of last year.  The film recounts the true story of financial outsiders Dr. Michael Burry (Christian Bale), Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) and Mark Baum (Steve Carell), who predicted the Wall Street crash and hatched a scheme to get rich in… Read More Blu-ray Release: The Big Short

By John Corrado A hit on the festival circuit, the single take thriller Victoria is now available on digital platforms, including iTunes.  Director Sebastian Schipper never stopped the camera once throughout the overnight shoot, opening in a throbbing nightclub where Victoria (Laia Costa) meets the charismatic Sonne (Frederick Lau) and his gang, and becomes involved in their… Read More Digital Release: Victoria

By John Corrado Today, Elevation Pictures is releasing Room on Blu-ray, one of the best movies of last year.  Jack (Jacob Tremblay) has just turned five, but has lived his entire life locked in a small square room with his beloved mother (Brie Larson).  She is fiercely committed to protecting her little boy, and will do… Read More Blu-ray Release: Room

By John Corrado Today, Elevation Pictures is releasing the gangster drama Legend on Blu-ray.  Starring Tom Hardy in a dual role, this glossy biopic recounts the true story of notorious twin gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray, who together ruled the crime-riddled streets of London in the 1960s. Although I still think it’s got a lot of problems, Legend is one… Read More Blu-ray Release: Legend

By John Corrado Sony is releasing director Jonathan Levine’s holiday buddy comedy The Night Before on Blu-ray today, which leaves plenty of time to pick up a copy before next Christmas.  With their annual tradition of spending December 24th together reaching its end, Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) set out in search of… Read More Blu-ray Release: The Night Before

By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) This week, MGM is releasing Spectre on Blu-ray, the 24th James Bond movie.  With a new head of security (Andrew Scott) threatening to enact overreaching government surveillance measures that would reduce the need for field agents, James Bond (Daniel Craig) goes rogue to track down a mysterious supervillian (Christoph… Read More Blu-ray Review: Spectre