By John Corrado Last week, Paramount released The Gambler on Blu-ray. A remake of the 1974 James Caan classic, the film follows Jim Bennet (Mark Wahlberg), a depressed university professor who moonlights as a high stakes gambler and owes money, forcing him to connect with a loan shark (John Goodman), and complicating his relationship to… Read More Blu-ray Release: The Gambler
By John Corrado The 22nd edition of Hot Docs has now officially come to a close, which means that it’s time to share my eighth and final batch of capsule reviews, bringing my total count up to 46. I finished the festival with The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young last night, which provided… Read More #HotDocs15: Final Batch of Reviews
By John Corrado The final weekend of Hot Docs is now upon us. I’ve got several more films on the docket for today and tomorrow, all of which I have high hopes for. Below are my thoughts on five good ones that I have seen over the past couple of days, including Fractured Land, Radical Grace… Read More #HotDocs15: Seventh Batch of Reviews
Avengers: Age of Ultron – A Walt Disney Studios Release http://marvel.com/avengers Release Date: May 1st, 2015 Rated PG for violence and language Running Time: 141 minutes Joss Whedon (director) Joss Whedon (writer) Danny Elfman (music) Brian Tyler (music) Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man Chris Hemsworth as Thor Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk Chris… Read More Three Views: Avengers: Age of Ultron
By John Corrado Now that we are exactly a week into Hot Docs, I’m just trying to rearrange my schedule to pack as much as I can into the last four days of the festival, and I’ve got some very promising films coming up. Below are my thoughts on the five that I’ve seen over the past… Read More #HotDocs15: Sixth Batch of Reviews
By John Corrado We are now past the halfway point of this year’s Hot Docs, which means that I’ve been incredibly busy over the last few days. This also means that it’s time for my fifth and latest round of capsule reviews. This includes five that are premiering tonight, and the much buzzed about Sugar Coated, which has… Read More #HotDocs15: Fifth Batch of Reviews
By John Corrado Today, Sony Pictures is releasing The Wedding Ringer on Blu-ray. Desperate to find a best man for his wedding to the uptight Gretchen Palmer (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting), the socially awkward Doug Harris (Josh Gad) hires the smooth Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart), the head of a company that rents out wedding parties to guys in need.… Read More Blu-ray Release: The Wedding Ringer
By John Corrado Now that the first weekend of Hot Docs is behind us, it’s interesting to see which films have gotten the best buzz from audiences. This also means that I’ve got a growing list of ones I regret missing, but I’m happy with most of what I’ve seen so far, and there is… Read More #HotDocs15: Fourth Batch of Reviews
By John Corrado We are now deep in the middle of the first weekend of Hot Docs, and I’ve been busy the last few days, having already seen six films at the festival. My thoughts on all of them are below, and I’ve also seen and met some truly great people. I had a nice… Read More #HotDocs15: Third Batch of Reviews
By John Corrado After officially starting last night with the premiere of Tig, we are now entering the first weekend of Hot Docs. I’ve got a busy week coming up, with two screenings on the docket for today, and plans to do another four tomorrow. For those following along, below are my thoughts on another… Read More #HotDocs15: Second Batch of Reviews
By John Corrado The 22nd edition of Hot Docs is now upon us. Things kick off tonight with the international premiere of Tig, and the festival will be going strong until May 3rd, screening an impressive total of 210 documentaries from countries around the world. I’ve already seen over twenty of these films, and can safely say… Read More #HotDocs15: First Batch of Reviews
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) The latest Earth Day release from Disneynature, Monkey Kingdom is arguably the best film yet in the studio’s ongoing series of impressively photographed wildlife documentaries, striking the perfect balance between adorable animals, and emotionally affective drama of the natural world. Taking place in Sri Lanka, the film follows a troop of macaques… Read More Review: Monkey Kingdom
By John Corrado Today, the 1941 classic Sullivan’s Travels is being released on Blu-ray, through the Criterion Collection. John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) is a popular director of escapist studio fare, who finds himself at an existential crossroads, and wants to make a serious film that will accurately depict the harsh realities of life. Posing… Read More Criterion Release: Sullivan’s Travels
By John Corrado Last week, Paramount released the complete collections of Frasier, MacGyver and The Brady Bunch on DVD, a trio of impressively sized boxed sets that offer an innumerable amount of discs between them, and come highly recommended for both television enthusiasts and fans of the individual series. Frasier: The Complete Series: Running from 1993 to 2004, Frasier follows… Read More DVD Release: Complete Series of Frasier, MacGyver and The Brady Bunch
Danny Collins – An Elevation Pictures Release http://www.bleeckerstreetmedia.com/#!danny-collins/cfvg Release Date: April 10th, 2015 Rated 14A for coarse language and substance abuse Running Time: 107 minutes Dan Fogelman (director) Dan Fogelman (screenplay) Ryan Adams (music) Theodore Shapiro (music) Al Pacino as Danny Collins Bobby Cannavale as Tom Donnelly Jennifer Garner as Samantha Leigh Donnelly Giselle Eisenberg… Read More Three Views: Danny Collins
By John Corrado Last week, the classic 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams was released for the first time on Blu-ray, through the Criterion Collection. The film follows William Gates and Arthur Agee throughout their high school careers, two inner-city kids in Chicago who dream of playing professional basketball, with the chance of elusive sports scholarships being the only hope their… Read More Criterion Release: Hoop Dreams
By John Corrado Elevation Pictures is releasing The Rewrite on DVD. Keith Michaels (Hugh Grant) is an award-winning screenwriter who is past his prime in Hollywood, and begrudgingly takes a teaching job at a small town university. But despite his initial inappropriate behaviour and attempts to avoid actual work, the class, including mature student Holly Carpenter… Read More DVD Release: The Rewrite
By John Corrado Elevation Pictures is releasing A Most Violent Year on Blu-ray today. Named for the high crime rate in New York in 1981, the story centres around Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac), a hardworking immigrant struggling to keep his heating and oil business afloat amidst allegations of fraud and threats of violence, and his… Read More Blu-ray Release: A Most Violent Year
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) The first thing we see in While We’re Young are excerpts from Henrik Ibsen’s The Master Builder. “I’ve become so disturbed by younger people, they upset me so much that I’ve closed my doors,” a man says, and the response to his fear of youth comes just as… Read More Review: While We’re Young
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) After closing the Canadian Film Fest, and winning their award for “Most Awkward Sex Scene,” the charming romance Pretend We’re Kissing is opening at the Carlton today, and will also be playing at Landmark Cinemas across the country. This is the sort of homegrown film that has the… Read More Review: Pretend We’re Kissing
The Joy of Movies 