By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) I saw a lot of good films at Hot Docs, but few have stuck with me the same way as All the Time in the World, the engaging and unexpectedly touching story of a family making a difference by choosing to live more simply. The film opens at the… Read More Bloor Cinema Release: All the Time in the World
Ant-Man – A Walt Disney Studios Release http://marvel.com/antman Release Date: July 17th, 2015 Rated PG for language and some scary scenes Running Time: 117 minutes Peyton Reed (director) Edgar Wright (screenplay) Joe Cornish (screenplay) Adam McKay (screenplay) Paul Rudd (screenplay) Christophe Beck (music) Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym Evangeline… Read More Three Views: Ant-Man
By John Corrado Today, The Black Stallion is being released on Blu-ray, through Criterion. After surviving a shipwreck that claims the life of his father (Hoyt Axton) in 1946, Alec (Kelly Reno) is left stranded on an island, developing a close bond with the wild stallion that survived alongside him. When they are rescued, the boy… Read More Criterion Release: The Black Stallion
By John Corrado This week, Mongrel Media is releasing the recent surprise horror hit It Follows on all home entertainment platforms, including iTunes. After having sex with her boyfriend (Jake Weary), 19-year-old Jay (Maika Monroe) becomes infected by a mysterious supernatural entity, leaving her plagued with disturbing visions of people chasing her, that can only be stopped by having sex… Read More Digital Release: It Follows
By John Corrado Today, Mongrel Media is releasing the critically acclaimed science fiction thriller Ex Machina on all home entertainment platforms, including iTunes. Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is a bright computer programmer who is invited to the private estate of reclusive coding genius Nathan (Oscar Isaac), to complete the Turing Test for his latest invention, a… Read More Digital Release: Ex Machina
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Who knew that one of the best “protecting the American president” films would come from Finland? But Big Game is a lot of fun, and more than able to hold its own alongside many of the summer blockbusters being released. After premiering during Midnight Madness at TIFF last… Read More Review: Big Game
By John Corrado Today, Sony Pictures Classics is releasing the excellent documentary Merchants of Doubt on Blu-ray. The film fascinatingly explores how fake scientists and sleazy public relations firms are hired by companies and political parties to cover up potentially harmful truths, from the tobacco industry’s unscrupulous approach to keeping toxic cigarettes on the market,… Read More Blu-ray Release: Merchants of Doubt
By John Corrado Today, Elevation Pictures is releasing the excellent and highly recommended thriller ’71 on Blu-ray. The year is 1971, and after his troop is deployed to a small town in Belfast right on the border of the Protestant and Catholic conflicts, a young soldier (Jack O’Connell) gets lost in the increasingly violent riots and… Read More Blu-ray Release: ’71
By John Corrado Today, Elevation Pictures is releasing Danny Collins on DVD, a nice surprise from earlier in the year. Danny Collins (Al Pacino) is an aging pop star who has grown dissatisfied of his affluent life of drugs and sex, when his manager (Christopher Plummer) gives him an undelivered letter that John Lennon wrote forty years earlier,… Read More DVD Release: Danny Collins
By John Corrado ★★★★ (out of 4) Among the best films from last year’s festival circuit was Infinitely Polar Bear, an excellent independent dramedy that did the rounds of Sundance and TIFF, but is only being released now. This is one of the most honest and bighearted portraits of an unique family that I have ever seen,… Read More Review: Infinitely Polar Bear
By John Corrado This week, the 1970 classic Five Easy Pieces is being released on Blu-ray, through the Criterion Collection. Bobby Dupea (Jack Nicholson) is a failed concert pianist, who is drifting through life working on an oil rig, and clinging to a stalled out relationship with waitress Rayette (Karen Black), when he goes to visit… Read More Criterion Release: Five Easy Pieces
By John Corrado Today, Elevation Pictures is releasing the excellent While We’re Young on Blu-ray. Josh (Ben Stiller) is a struggling documentarian in his forties who has settled into a quiet life with his wife (Naomi Watts). When they meet aspiring filmmaker Jamie (Adam Driver) and his free spirited wife (Amanda Seyfried), a hipster couple freewheeling… Read More Blu-ray Release: While We’re Young
By John Corrado ★★ (out of 4) Probably the best scene in Ted 2 comes right near the beginning of this raunchy comedy sequel. The plushy title star (Seth MacFarlane) has just gotten married to his girlfriend Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth), giving way to a perfectly choreographed musical number that is equal parts Busby Berkeley and Easter… Read More Review: Ted 2
By John Corrado Last week, the excellent music documentary The Wrecking Crew was released on Blu-ray. Told through interviews and archival footage, the film recounts the story of The Wrecking Crew, a group of California studio musicians who anonymously played on some of the most famous albums of all time, helping develop the West Coast Sound and also ushering in producer… Read More Blu-ray Release: The Wrecking Crew
Last week, Disney released Spirited Away and The Cat Returns on Blu-ray, a pair of Studio Ghibli films that come highly recommended for fans of the legendary Japanese animation house. Enjoy! Spirited Away: Released in 2002, Spirited Away is the story of Chihiro (Daveigh Chase), a young girl who is moving to the Japanese countryside, when… Read More Blu-ray Release: Spirited Away and The Cat Returns
By John Corrado The Birder is one of those films that I feel like I have a long relationship with. I’ve been championing the independent comedy for a while now, having first made note of it at the 2014 Canadian Film Fest, before offering a full review when the film opened in theatres this time… Read More Interview: Theodore Bezaire on The Birder
Inside Out – A Walt Disney Studios Release http://movies.disney.com/inside-out/ Release Date: June 19th, 2015 Rated PG for mild thematic elements and some action Running Time: 103 minutes Pete Docter (director) Ronnie Del Carmen (co-director) Meg LeFauve (screenplay) Josh Cooley (screenplay) Pete Docter (screenplay) Michael Giacchino (music) Amy Poehler as Joy (voice) Phyllis Smith as Sadness… Read More Three Views: Inside Out
Released June 1st, 2015 Page count: 365 pages Size: 6” x 9” Film + Video Budgets, 6th Ed. by Maureen A. Ryan Published By Michael Wiese Productions To find out more about Film + Video Budgets or other titles, visit MWP’s website here. – – – – – – – – – – –… Read More Book Review: Film + Video Budgets, 6th Ed.
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) The original Jurassic Park is one of those films that rewired me as a kid. I must have been about eight years old when I first saw Steven Spielberg’s 1993 classic, and even just watching it on a small television screen in the middle of a summer afternoon,… Read More Review: Jurassic World
By John Corrado Today, Sony Pictures is releasing the recent science fiction film Chappie on Blu-ray. Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) is a computer engineer in South Africa, who helped launch the world’s first robotic police force. But when he steals a broken droid and creates a sentient machine, the invention named Chappie (Sharlto Copley) gets hijacked by a violent… Read More Blu-ray Release: Chappie
