By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Directed by Michael Bay, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi recounts the events that unfolded on September 11th, 2012 when a United States compound in Libya came under fire by heavily armed militants, leaving a security team of six fearless men (John Krasinski, James Badge Dale, Pablo Schreiber, David Denman, Dominic Fumusa and… Read More Blu-ray Review: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Adapting Jean Hegland’s novel for the screen, director Patricia Rozema brings Into the Forest to screen with intimate and quietly intense style. The Canadian filmmaker displays a sensitive and compassionate touch in her handling of even the film’s most graphic elements, crafting a stark apocalyptic drama that functions as a resonant… Read More Review: Into the Forest
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Playing almost like an American blues version of Buena Vista Social Club, I Am The Blues allows us to hang out in the classic juke joints, church halls and front porches in Mississippi that are home to aging musicians including Bobby Rush, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and Barbara Lynn. They are part of the last… Read More Bloor Cinema Release: I Am The Blues
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) An immigrant from pre-war Yugoslavia, Jasmin (Jasmin Geljo) is a struggling actor in Toronto, who finds himself typecast to read for criminals in his auditions, and works as a construction worker to support his wife (Ma-Anne Dionisio) and son (Filip Geljo). There are a lot of static shots and long… Read More Review: The Waiting Room
By John Corrado ★ (out of 4) Although Lolo, the worst movie I saw at TIFF last year, sets itself up as a romantic comedy, this disappointing latest from writer-director-star Julie Delpy is too broad in its comedy, and further letdown by a misjudged undercurrent of creepiness. When divorced single mother and socialite Violette (Julie Delpy) has a… Read More Review: Lolo
By John Corrado ★★ (out of 4) After a violent bank robbery, a group of corrupt cops turned criminals led by ex-special forces operative Michael Atwood (Chiwetel Ejiofor) are blackmailed by Russian mob leader Irina Vlaslov (Kate Winslet) to pull off a 999, police code for officer down, to distract from an even bigger job. Disgruntled cop Marcus Belmont… Read More DVD Review: Triple 9
Alice Through the Looking Glass Review By John Corrado ★½ (out of 4) Here’s a conundrum for you. Alice Through the Looking Glass is a film that expects us to care about things, without giving us any real reasons to actually care about them. This is a film that is often so bafflingly undercooked in terms of… Read More Three Views: Alice Through the Looking Glass
By John Corrado ★½ (out of 4) After losing his wife (Christine Taylor) in a freak building collapse, and having his son (Cyrus Arnold) taken away by child services, the infamously dumb Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) decides to quit modelling and live as a “hermit crab.” But when pop stars like Justin Bieber start getting killed, and… Read More Blu-ray Release: Zoolander No. 2
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) When Jesus (Cliff Curtis) is crucified, and his body goes missing from the sealed tomb, Pilate (Peter Firth) hires a doubting Roman military tribune named Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) to investigate and find a body. Pilate is worried by the implication of claims that the Messiah has risen from the dead, but Clavius has his faith… Read More DVD Review: Risen
By John Corrado When a terrifying blizzard struck off the snowy coast of Cape Cod in 1952, an oil tanker was ripped in half by the high winds and raging waters, leaving young engineer Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck) and his crew struggling to keep the boat afloat. When the Coast Guard picked up their signal, Bernie… Read More Blu-ray Release: The Finest Hours
By John Corrado ★★★★ (out of 4) It’s only fitting that Shane Black, who breathed new life into the buddy cop genre with his screenplay for Lethal Weapon in 1987, a film that mixed action and dark humour to launch a successful franchise, is now reviving this same genre with The Nice Guys. Following his underrated directorial… Read More Review: The Nice Guys
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) After graduating from film school in 1985, Will Allen joined the Bhuddafield cult, an experience that took up over two decades of his life, as he made short films for the cult and became their documentarian. Starting in California, Bhuddafield was a secret community of young spiritualists who were all looking for answers… Read More Bloor Cinema Release: Holy Hell
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Following a group of aging burlesque performers, who still retain their sex-positive attitudes even as seniors, League of Exotique Dancers, the recent opening night film at Hot Docs, provides a fun alternative history of the women’s rights movement. Although using their bodies and mostly performing for men, these dancers all… Read More Bloor Cinema Release: League of Exotique Dancers
By John Corrado ★½ (out of 4) When a mysterious ship starts hovering above the earth, and the first four waves of an alien invasion unfold, the humans are either wiped out by viruses and dwindling resources, or forced to join the army. When high schooler Cassie (Chloë Grace Moretz) gets separated from her father (Ron Livingston), she… Read More Blu-ray Review: The 5th Wave
By John Corrado One of the most critically acclaimed horror films in recent memory, The Witch takes place in 1630, when a deeply religious family relocates to a rural farm property in New England. But when crops start to fail, and their newborn child mysteriously disappears, the father (Ralph Ineson) comes to believe they have been… Read More Blu-ray Release: The Witch
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) When Cassie Cranston (Jewel Staite) returns to the prudish small town of Beaver’s Ridge for her mother’s funeral, years after an embarrassing incident as a teenager had her labelled the “town slut” and led to a career as a sex columnist, the eccentric locals convince her to plan an orgy.… Read More Review: How to Plan An Orgy in a Small Town
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Still reeling from his sister’s suicide, Shane (Andrew Martin) dreams of finally getting away from his small Native community in Northern Ontario, and going to university in Toronto with his secret boyfriend David (Harley Legarde-Beacham). But his depressed mother (Jennifer Podemski), dwindling money and being forced to hide his… Read More Review: Fire Song
By John Corrado There are many things about Easy Rider, which received a new Criterion Collection release on Blu-ray last week, that remain iconic. The sweeping images of motorcycles riding along wide open landscapes, a soundtrack featuring some of the best rock songs of the era, and Jack Nicholson’s first of many unforgettable Oscar-nominated roles. But it’s the… Read More Criterion Review: Easy Rider
By John Corrado Hot Docs has come to a close, but before we officially wrap things up until next year, below are my thoughts on the final few films that I had the chance to see. I have also included links to my previous sets of reviews at the bottom of this post, so that you can look… Read More #HotDocs16: Final Batch of Reviews
By John Corrado We have now reached the final weekend of Hot Docs, and below are my thoughts on some more films that I had the chance to see over the last few days. Please come back on Monday for my final batch of reviews, and you can find more info on any remaining showtimes through the links… Read More #HotDocs16: Fourth Batch of Reviews
The Joy of Movies 