By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Bruce Springsteen’s latest album, Western Stars, is an introspective, often bittersweet concept album of sorts that tells the story of a fading Western movie star, and finds the iconic American rocker branching out to country music and performing with a thirty piece orchestra. Not intending to go on… Read More #TIFF19 Review: Western Stars (Gala Presentations)

By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The latest social realist drama from veteran filmmaker Ken Loach, Sorry We Missed You explores many of the same themes of systemic poverty and the struggles faced by those who aren’t at the top of the economic ladder as his Palme d’Or-winning previous film I, Daniel Blake. This… Read More #TIFF19 Review: Sorry We Missed You (Masters)

By John Corrado ★ (out of 4) The feature directorial debut of Noah Hawley, who is best known for his work on the shows Fargo and Legion, Lucy in the Sky is a complete misfire, and watching it feels like being trapped in space. After returning from two weeks in space, astronaut Lucy Cola (Natalie Portman)… Read More #TIFF19 Review: Lucy in the Sky (Special Presentations)

By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Set in the 1950s in New York, Motherless Brooklyn follows Lionel Essrog (Edward Norton), a private detective with Tourette syndrome. He twitches and tics, his mind obsessing over certain phrases and making him repeat them, but he also has an incredible ability to retain information and never forgets… Read More #TIFF19 Review: Motherless Brooklyn (Special Presentations)

By John Corrado ★★★★ (out of 4) Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) is an all-American teenager who has the façade of a perfect life. He’s on his high school’s wrestling team, and has a steady girlfriend, Alexis (Alexa Demie). But his father (Sterling K. Brown) pushes him a little too hard, keeping him on a gruelling… Read More #TIFF19 Review: Waves (Special Presentations)

By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) On the night that he finally comes out to his parents, high schooler Tunde Johnson (Steven Silver) is driving to his boyfriend Soren’s (Spencer Neville) birthday party, when he is shot and killed by police during a traffic stop. Then he wakes up in his own bed, and… Read More #TIFF19 Review: The Obituary of Tunde Johnson (Discovery)

By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Written by Shia LaBeouf while he was in rehab, and inspired by his own troubled upbringing as a child actor being raised by an abusive father, Honey Boy is a unique and emotional film about addiction and processing trauma. The film begins with its main character, Otis Lort,… Read More #TIFF19 Review: Honey Boy (Gala Presentations)

By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Satire is a tricky thing to properly pull off, but New Zealand actor and filmmaker Taika Waititi succeeds in his latest film Jojo Rabbit, an original and daring World War II satire that is equal parts funny and moving. The main character is Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis),… Read More #TIFF19 Review: Jojo Rabbit (Special Presentations)

By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Set in London of 1862, The Aeronauts tells the story of James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne), a pioneering meteorologist who believes he will be able to use changes in sky temperatures to predict the weather, making him the laughing stock of the scientific community at the time. Determined to… Read More #TIFF19 Review: The Aeronauts (Gala Presentations)

By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Françoise Crémont (Isabelle Huppert), affectionately referred to as Frankie, is an aging French actress who invites her family and friends to a sprawling villa in Sintra, Portugal for a vacation together that could end up being their last. There’s her son Paul (Jérémie Renier), current husband Jimmy (Brendan… Read More #TIFF19 Review: Frankie (Special Presentations)

By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Terrence Malick used to take long hiatuses between his films, but the reclusive director has become quite prolific in the years since his 2011 magnum opus The Tree of Life, having released multiple films since then. Now Malick returns once again with A Hidden Life, a World War… Read More #TIFF19 Review: A Hidden Life (Masters)

By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) is a cynical journalist who is assigned to write a short magazine profile of Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks), the star of the TV show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. While Lloyd initially scoffs at having to interview a children’s entertainer, he forms a bond with Mr.… Read More #TIFF19 Review: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Gala Presentations)

By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) The title of The Friend refers to Dane Faucheux (Jason Segel), the longtime best friend of journalist Matthew Teague (Casey Affleck) and his wife Nicole (Dakota Johnson). Dane first met Nicole when they were working together at a small theatre, and despite him initially asking her out, Dane… Read More #TIFF19 Review: The Friend (Special Presentations)

By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is the drummer in a heavy metal band, and he’s in a relationship with the lead singer, Lou (Olivia Cooke). But Ruben’s career in music is threatened when he starts experiencing ringing in his ears and then completely loses his hearing. Worried that he might… Read More #TIFF19 Review: Sound of Metal (Platform)

By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Based on a true story, Hustlers centres around Destiny (Constance Wu), a young stripper who becomes the protege of Ramona (Jennifer Lopez), the de facto queen of the club. When the club starts losing business during the 2008 recession, Ramona hatches a plan to make money by drugging… Read More #TIFF19 Review: Hustlers (Gala Presentations)

By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) Grace (Annette Bening) and Edward (Bill Nighy) are an old married couple who bicker constantly, but have stayed together for over thirty years. Edward is very quiet, and Grace is neurotic by nature, which makes their relationship somewhat volatile. In her attempts to elicit the sort of emotional… Read More #TIFF19 Review: Hope Gap (Special Presentations)