By John Corrado ★★★★ (out of 4) Poor Things is the latest from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos following his break into more “mainstream” filmmaking with his Oscar-winning The Favourite, and it’s a weird and wonderful take on the Frankenstein story. Adapting Scottish writer Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel of the same name for the screen, Lanthimos… Read More Review: Poor Things
By John Corrado It’s that time of year. A time for giving gifts and making wish lists. To help with this, I’ve compiled a number of entertainment-themed gift ideas, ranging from a number of 4K and Blu-ray releases to several books (which I’ve personally selected), that would make perfect gifts for the movie lovers and… Read More The Joy of Movies 2023 Christmas Gift Guide
By John Corrado Please note that this is a review of the 4K Ultra HD release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. For my full thoughts on the film itself, you can read my original review right here. The animated film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was one of the best surprises of… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Steelbook Edition)
By John Corrado New releases for the week of December 8th, 2023. Theatrical Releases: The Boy and the Heron (Wide Release): Following its North American premiere as the opening night film at TIFF, this latest from Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki is now opening in theatres. The plot centres around Mahito, a 12-year-old boy whose mother… Read More New This Week (12/08/2023): The Boy and the Heron, Eileen, & More!
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) The latest from Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki, The Boy and the Heron (which had its North American premiere as the opening night film at TIFF) is an enchanting, gorgeously animated fantasy about life and death. The film is Miyazaki’s first since The Wind Rises a decade ago, which… Read More Review: The Boy and the Heron
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The sophomore feature from director William Oldroyd (Lady MacBeth), Eileen is a solid little psychological thriller that is all about building a sense of atmosphere to slowly suffocate us, before revealing the story’s true intentions. Adapted from Ottessa Moshfegh‘s 2015 novel of the same name, the story is… Read More Review: Eileen
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Following his 2018 directorial debut A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper now turns his attention to the life of New York composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein in the biopic Maestro, casting himself in the leading role. The film spans decades in the life of Bernstein from the 1940s… Read More Review: Maestro
By John Corrado James Cameron’s 1997 romantic epic Titanic is being released for the first time on 4K Ultra HD this week, presenting a sparkling new transfer of the iconic film. Detailing the fated maiden voyage of White Star Line cruise ship the Titanic in 1912, the film follows star-crossed lovers Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Titanic
By John Corrado New releases for the week of December 1st, 2023. Theatrical Releases: Maestro (Limited Release): Bradley Cooper follows up his directorial debut A Star is Born with this biopic of New York composer Leonard Bernstein, starring himself in the role. The story mainly focuses on the closeted Bernstein’s relationship with his wife Felicia… Read More New This Week (12/01/2023): Maestro, Monster, May December, & More!
By John Corrado New releases for the week of November 24th, 2023. Theatrical Releases: Wish (Wide Release): Disney’s 100th anniversary feature is a charming new musical fairy tale that harkens back to Classic Disney as it follows Asha (Ariana DeBose), a wide-eyed teenager in the Kingdom of Rosas, who gets help from a magical wishing… Read More New This Week (11/24/2023): Wish, Saltburn, Fallen Leaves, Dream Scenario, & More!
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn, the writer-director’s follow-up to her Oscar-winning debut Promising Young Woman, is an overly ambitious mixed bag of a film. The film’s two stars, Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi, are good in the leading roles as young men with palpable homoerotic tension between them, and there… Read More Review: Saltburn
By John Corrado Please note that this is a review of the 4K Ultra HD release of Oppenheimer. For my full thoughts on the film itself, you can read my original review right here. Christopher Nolan’s smash hit Oppenheimer is being given a long-awaited physical media release this week, including on 4K Ultra HD. The… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Oppenheimer
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) It’s the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney Animation Studios this year, and what better way to celebrate this milestone than with Wish, a charming new musical fairy tale that harkens back to Classic Disney. The film (which opens with a storybook and those four magical words “once upon… Read More Review: Wish
By John Corrado New releases for the week of November 17th, 2023. Theatrical Releases: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Wide Release): Director Francis Lawrence revives the Hunger Games franchise with this adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s prequel novel, and it’s the best in the series since the first two. The film follows… Read More New This Week (11/17/2023): The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, May December, Next Goal Wins, & More!
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) ‘Tis the season for direct-to-streaming Christmas movies. The latest offering from Disney+ is Dashing Through the Snow, a mildly watchable if overly familiar comedy from director Tim Story (Barbershop, The Blackening) that imagines Santa as a wise-cracking fellow played by comedian Lil Rel Howery. The film stars Chris… Read More Review: Dashing Through the Snow (Disney+)
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The title of director Todd Haynes’s new elevated melodrama May December refers to the extreme age gap between Gracie Atherton (Julianne Moore) and her husband Joe Yoo (Charles Melton). Their relationship began when he was twelve and she was 36, and sent her to jail for years amid a flurry… Read More Review: May December
By John Corrado Director Richard Donner’s Scrooged is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, and Paramount has given the film a 4K Ultra HD upgrade in honour of the occasion. This 1988 adaptation of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is set in New York City, and follows self-centred TV executive Frank Cross (Bill Murray) as… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Scrooged: 35th Anniversary
By John Corrado New releases for the week of November 10th, 2023. Theatrical Releases: The Marvels (Wide Release): This latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe serves as a team up between Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris). I screened it earlier this week, and it’s kind of… Read More New This Week (11/10/2023): The Marvels, It’s a Wonderful Knife, Another Body, & More!
By Jon Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Built around the pun in its title, It’s a Wonderful Knife is an ode to Frank Capra’s perennial classic It’s a Wonderful Life, except done in the style of a Christmas slasher comedy. The film is set in the town of Angel Falls, and follows a teen girl… Read More Review: It’s a Wonderful Knife
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Eight years after the release of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 in 2015, director Francis Lawrence returns to this franchise with The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, an adaptation of author Suzanne Collins’ 2020 prequel novel of the same name. The story is… Read More Review: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
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