By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) The Matrix Resurrections is the fourth film in the franchise that began over twenty years ago when filmmakers Lana and Lily Wachowski unleashed their groundbreaking 1999 film The Matrix upon the world, setting the bar very high for future blockbusters with its mix of heady philosophy, martial arts… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: The Matrix Resurrections
By John Corrado ★★ (out of 4) Coming 2 America is a legacy sequel that sees the return of Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) and his royal assistant Semmi (Arsenio Hall), over three decades after they first travelled to Queens, New York from their fictional African nation of Zamunda and tried to make it in the… Read More Blu-ray Review: Coming 2 America
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) We can all surely remember what it was like to experience growing pains and pubescent mood swings brought on by deep hormonal changes. But what if those mood swings caused you to physically transform into, say, a giant red panda? That’s the predicament that Meilin Lee (Rosalie Chiang),… Read More Disney+ Review: Turning Red
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The setup for director Mimi Cave’s Fresh is a classic “meet cute” between two people, of the sort that any good romantic comedy should have. Her name is Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones). She is a young woman who’s tired of the dating game, from swiping right on apps to… Read More Disney+ Review: Fresh
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Early on in director Stephen Fingleton’s Nightride, a new single take thriller shot in Belfast, two characters discuss Michael Mann movies. One character says Miami Vice is his favourite. The other scoffs slightly. Is he more of a Heat man? No, Mann’s debut Thief is his personal favourite.… Read More VOD Review: Nightride
By John Corrado Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast is one of the main players this awards season, and Universal is releasing the TIFF People’s Choice Award winner (a laurel that is proudly displayed on the front cover) on Blu-ray this week. Nominated for seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture), Branagh’s film is based on his own childhood… Read More Blu-ray Review: Belfast
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Shot in the Kingston-Galloway area of the East Toronto suburb that it is named for, Scarborough is an intimate yet expansive character drama that showcases the lives of several struggling families in a part of the city that is too often ignored. Based on the 2017 novel of… Read More Review: Scarborough
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Taylor Adams, No Exit is a surprisingly effective little thriller that contains itself almost entirely to a single location, building a chilling mystery around a young addict, a kidnapped girl, and a group of potential suspects, all trapped… Read More Disney+ Review: No Exit
By John Corrado John Carpenter’s 1996 sequel Escape from L.A., a follow up to his 1981 cult classic Escape from New York, is being released for the first time on 4K Ultra HD this week. The film sees the return of Kurt Russell’s eye-patched outlaw antihero Snake Plissken, who is brought back for another mission… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: John Carpenter’s Escape from L.A.
By John Corrado ★★ (out of 4) Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci, the second of two movies that the veteran filmmaker put out last year (the other being The Last Duel), is a sprawling film that has ambitions of being a family crime saga à la The Godfather, with grandiose themes of betrayal, greed and… Read More Blu-ray Review: House of Gucci
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) In her absorbing, aptly titled documentary President, director Camilla Nielsson intimately follows Nelson Chamisa, a young populist candidate running in Zimbabwe’s 2018 presidential election. Chamisa is a 40-year-old lawyer running for opposition party MDC Alliance, who stepped into the race when leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who was widely favoured… Read More VOD Review: President
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Throughout his career as an actor, Channing Tatum has played the role of Hollywood heartthrob (Dear John, The Vow), dancer and sex symbol (Step Up, Magic Mike), action hero (the G.I. Joe movies), comedy star (21 and 22 Jump Street), and serious actor (Foxcatcher), approaching these different roles… Read More Review: Dog
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Julie (Renate Reinsve), the protagonist in Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World, is not actually as bad as the knowingly hyperbolic title suggests. Well, not really, anyway. Sure, she makes some bad decisions and struggles with selfish choices, but the same is true of… Read More Review: The Worst Person in the World
By John Corrado ★★ (out of 4) Blacklight is the latest entry into the canon of Liam Neeson action movies, a subgenre of films featuring the Irish actor as a gruff, troubled man called into action to protect himself or his family, and it’s honestly one of his weaker efforts. This is not to say… Read More Review: Blacklight
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Are champions born or raised? That’s the question at the heart of King Richard, a pretty solid inspirational sports movie that dramatizes the story of how Richard Williams (Will Smith) helped turn his daughters Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton) into two of the biggest tennis stars… Read More Blu-ray Review: King Richard
By John Corrado This is the day we’ve all been waiting for. The 94th Oscar nominations have just been announced, and for the first time since 2011 we have gotten a full slate of ten Best Picture nominees, with a lineup that includes Belfast, CODA, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice… Read More Nominations for the 94th Academy Awards
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) First time director Max Lowe explores his family history in the National Geographic documentary Torn, offering a complex and moving portrait of paternal figures and how families heal in the aftermath of tragedy. Lowe’s father was famed mountain climber Alex Lowe, who died in an avalanche on Shishapangma… Read More Disney+ Review: Torn
By John Corrado Released in theatres on February 14th, 1992, the classic comedy Wayne’s World is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and Paramount is honouring the occasion with an “excellent” new limited edition Blu-ray SteelBook. Produced by Lorne Michaels, the film was a big screen spinoff of the popular Saturday Night Live sketch, starring… Read More Blu-ray Review: Wayne’s World: 30th Anniversary (SteelBook Edition)
By John Corrado The long-awaited legacy sequel Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which serves as a direct continuation of the two classic 1980s films (and fully retcons that misguided 2016 reboot), is being released on Blu-ray this week. Directed by Jason Reitman, taking over the mantle from his father Ivan Reitman, Afterlife introduces us to a new generation… Read More Blu-ray Review: Ghostbusters: Afterlife
By John Corrado Clifford the Big Red Dog, which is being released on Blu-ray today from Paramount, is a surprisingly decent live action family film that brings Norman Bridwell’s classic series of children’s books about the adventures of a young girl and her big red dog to life. The film stars Darby Camp as Emily… Read More Blu-ray Review: Clifford the Big Red Dog
The Joy of Movies 