By John Corrado *** (out of 4) With slightly grainy handheld cinematography, mostly captured at director Joe Swanberg’s own Chicago home, Happy Christmas couldn’t be farther from the summer blockbusters that are currently dominating the box office. But that’s precisely the charm of this low key and very entertaining little film. After premiering at Sundance… Read More Review: Happy Christmas
By John Corrado *** (out of 4) It’s an unwritten rule of comedy that sequels are rarely as funny as their predecessors, with the majority of followups to comedic classics being easily forgotten over the years. But rules were made to be broken, and that’s something directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller obviously know very… Read More Review: 22 Jump Street
By John Corrado ***1/2 (out of 4) The Double is a film that quietly grows on you and is impossible to shake afterwards, a fascinating tragicomedy filled with perfectly mannered character quirks and dark subtext about the often futile struggle for individuality. This is what the work of Wes Anderson might look like if he… Read More Review: The Double
By John Corrado ***1/2 (out of 4) Even amongst the massive landscape of books that fall into the increasingly lucrative Young Adult bracket, few novels have had the lasting impact and unlikely popularity of author John Green’s 2012 bestseller The Fault in Our Stars. This love story between two teens who fall in love through… Read More Review: The Fault in Our Stars
By John Corrado ***1/2 (out of 4) Audiences will have no problem virtually reliving the same day over again in Edge of Tomorrow, which has a plot that ingeniously repeats itself, while still feeling fresh every step of the way. Warner Bros. is releasing Edge of Tomorrow today, and the studio should score big. This is… Read More Review: Edge of Tomorrow
By John Corrado *** (out of 4) At the start of Maleficent, we are told by narrator Janet McTeer that things are going to be different from the story we already know. And right from the opening scenes, we realize that this isn’t quite the same version of Sleeping Beauty that was first told by… Read More Review: Maleficent
By John Corrado *** (out of 4) X-Men: Days of Future Past is predominantly a sequel to the 2011 prequel First Class, that also serves as a continuation of where the original trilogy left off in 2006 with The Last Stand, and could very well lead into a reboot of the entire series. The fact… Read More Review: X-Men: Days of Future Past
By John Corrado *** (out of 4) Can people who have kids ever return to their days of staying up late and partying, or will they always become the overtired neighbours begging the college kids to “keep it down?” This is the central question asked in Neighbors, a raunchy comedy that opened in a surprise… Read More Review: Neighbors
By John Corrado *** (out of 4) It’s never an easy task to adapt a beloved story, let alone one of the most famous tales of all time, one that has been told for centuries all over the world and has become a cornerstone of multiple religions including Judaism and Christianity. But director Darren Aronofsky… Read More Review: Noah
By John Corrado “Saturday, March 24th, 1984.” These are the first words we hear in The Breakfast Club, the day exactly thirty years ago when “a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal” were forced together during weekend detention, realizing that they were more than just these stereotypes. This is an… Read More March 24th, 1984: “The Breakfast Club” Took Place Thirty Years Ago
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) The first thing audiences will see when attending Muppets Most Wanted is Party Central, the latest short from Pixar. Expanding on the wonderful characters of Oozma Kappa that were first introduced in last year’s Monsters University, this is a hilarious party film that makes great use of the… Read More Review: Muppets Most Wanted
By John Corrado **** (out of 4) The distinctive style that Wes Anderson has developed throughout his seven previous features is fully on display in The Grand Budapest Hotel, as the iconic Texas director adds another thematically rich and beautifully produced picture to his perfect filmography. This is the work of a genuine auteur at… Read More Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel
By John Corrado ** (out of 4) The car chases in Need for Speed are often cool, and pretty much anyone who ever had fun spinning Hot Wheels cars around a plastic racetrack as a kid is sure to get some enjoyment out of watching these extended sequences. Now if only even half as much… Read More Review: Need for Speed
By John Corrado So there you have it. Two of the best movies of 2013 were honoured last night, with Gravity winning a total of seven Oscars including Best Director for Alfonso Cuarón and 12 Years a Slave taking Best Picture, a pair of powerful films that have stuck with me since first seeing them… Read More “12 Years a Slave” Takes Top Honours and “Gravity” Wins Big at the 86th Oscars
By John Corrado No matter how things play out at the 86th Oscars, I have made no secret of my love for all nine films in the running for Best Picture this year. That’s not to say there weren’t other ones I would have loved to see included, but 2013 was such a strong year… Read More Reviewing the Best Picture Nominees
By John Corrado I think the entire entertainment industry will breathe a sigh of relief come next Sunday night after the Oscars are finally announced, the last footnote for the banner year of movies that was 2013. But I’m not complaining, because this has been one of the most exciting awards seasons in recent memory,… Read More Some Final Thoughts Before the 86th Oscars
By John Corrado *** (out of 4) A few days before The Wind Rises premiered at TIFF, legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki announced that the film would be his last achievement as a director before retiring, which is unfortunate for a variety of reasons. This is a good film from a great filmmaker, an animated biopic with… Read More Review: The Wind Rises
By John Corrado For my Monday column this week, I’ve decided to share two videos that speak for themselves. Although the subjects couldn’t be more different, the first an older sportscaster from Texas and the second a young Canadian actress, they offer powerful messages of equality that quickly went viral and are both absolutely worth… Read More Celebrating Dale Hansen and Ellen Page
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Among my highlights of last year’s TIFF was attending a screening of Labor Day on the final Saturday of the festival. Director Jason Reitman made a surprise appearance for the final showing of his latest at the Ryerson Theatre, dedicating the screening to late film critic Roger Ebert… Read More Review: Labor Day
By John Corrado Philip Seymour Hoffman was an actor who embodied countless unforgettable characters in a variety of different films over the years. Everything about him was iconic, from his name to his naturalistic screen presence, which included a genuine gift for portraying ordinary guys who were often plagued by anxiety, a role that he… Read More Remembering the Great Performances of Philip Seymour Hoffman
The Joy of Movies 