By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) “This is like one of those ’80s movies,” Sarah (Aubrey Plaza) says partway through About Alex, a modern attempt to copy the magic of Lawrence Kasdan’s definitive classic The Big Chill. The movie opens today in limited release and video on demand, courtesy of levelFILM. But despite some… Read More Review: About Alex
By John Corrado Premiering at Hot Docs and emerging as one of the best films at the festival, An Honest Liar is opening at the Bloor Cinema today. James Randi will be around for a Q&A after tonight’s screening, and the film will be playing numerous times until August 21st, tickets and showtimes are right… Read More Bloor Cinema Release: An Honest Liar
Today, Sony is releasing Community: The Complete Fifth Season on DVD. This season has failed lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) returning to Greendale College and becoming a teacher, reuniting his close study group of outsiders Britta (Gillian Jacobs), Abed (Danny Pudi), Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), Annie (Alison Brie) and Troy (Donald Glover). Although this was… Read More DVD Release: Community: The Complete Fifth Season
Today, Touchstone Pictures is releasing Need for Speed on Blu-ray. After a street race between Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) and his wealthy rival Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper) ends in tragedy, Tobey is framed and left to take the fall. Released from prison with revenge on his mind, Tobey is determined to compete against Dino at… Read More Blu-ray Release: Need for Speed
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) I wasn’t expecting Guardians of the Galaxy to open that way that it does. We focus on a young Peter Quill (Wyatt Oleff) listening to his beloved Awesome Mix cassette tape while visiting his dying mother (Laura Haddock) in the hospital, before running out of the building in… Read More Review: Guardians of the Galaxy
Originally released April 1st, 2009 Page count: 158 pages Size: 8.7” x 6” GreenScreen Made Easy: Keying and Compositing Techniques for Indie Filmmakers by Jeremy Hanke and Michele Yamazaki Published By Michael Wiese Productions http://www.mwp.com/ _______________________________________________________ GreenScreen Made Easy: Keying and Compositing for Indie Filmmakers Book Review By Erin V. The green screen or chromakeying… Read More Book Review: GreenScreen Made Easy – Keying and Compositing Techniques for Indie Filmmakers
Originally released July 1st, 1999 Page count: 158 pages Size: 8.2” x 6” Directing Actors by Judith Weston Published By Michael Wiese Productions http://www.mwp.com/ ____________________________________________________ Directing Actors Book Review By Erin V. Summer is the perfect time to catch up on reading and learn a thing or two in the process. So this week I… Read More Book Review: Directing Actors
After premiering at TIFF last year and just finishing a successful run in theatres, Mongrel Media is releasing Under the Skin on all home entertainment platforms today, including iTunes. Directed by Jonathan Glazer, the film follows an alien seductress (Scarlett Johansson) who stalks men on the streets of Scotland, picking them up in her white… Read More Digital Release: Under the Skin
Today, Paramount is releasing Darren Aronofsky’s Noah on Blu-ray. Adapted from the Book of Genesis, this version has Noah (Russell Crowe) foretold the world will be destroyed through dreams of death and rising water. Noah is chosen by the Creator to build an ark that will house two of each animal and protect his wife… Read More Blu-ray Release: Noah
Last week, 20th Century Fox released Dom Hemingway on Blu-ray, a film that premiered at TIFF last year. Dom Hemingway (Jude Law) is a safecracker who has just gotten out after twelve years in jail, looking for payback from his old crime boss (Demian Bichir), while struggling to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Emilia Clarke).… Read More Blu-ray Release: Dom Hemingway
Two weeks ago, the 1959 film Pickpocket was released on Blu-ray through the Criterion Collection. Directed by Robert Bresson, this is a quiet character study of Michel (Martin LaSalle), a lonely writer who spends his days compulsively snatching wallets throughout Paris, leading to chance encounters with Jeanne (Marika Green), a beautiful young woman who might… Read More Criterion Release: Pickpocket
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Among my biggest regrets of last year’s TIFF was missing the appealingly titled Can a Song Save Your Life?, which Harvey Weinstein quickly acquired for a hefty price tag. Now that same film has arrived in theatres under the new name Begin Again, and I’m happy announce that… Read More Review: Begin Again
After picking up the Audience Award for Best Documentary at this year’s Sundance, Alive Inside is opening at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto this weekend, and will be playing multiple times until July 31st. Showtimes and tickets are right here. Directed by Michael Rossato-Bennett, the film follows Dan Cohen, the founder of the… Read More Bloor Cinema Release: Alive Inside
Heaven is for Real – A Sony Pictures Release http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/heavenisforreal/ Blu-ray Release Date: July 22nd, 2014 Rated PG for thematic material Running Time: 99 minutes Randall Wallace (director) Randall Wallace (screenplay) Christopher Parker (screenplay) Based on the book by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent Nick Glennie-Smith (music) Greg Kinnear as Todd Burpo Connor Corum as Colton… Read More Blu-ray Review: Heaven is for Real
After premiering at TIFF last year, Phase 4 Films is releasing Made in America on all home entertainment platforms today, including video on demand. Directed by Ron Howard, the documentary follows the staging of the Made in America music festival in Philadelphia, a massive outdoor concert masterminded by iconic rapper Jay Z. The idea is… Read More Digital Release: Made in America
By John Corrado ★★★★ (out of 4) When talking about the the sheer spectacle and mayhem on display in Snowpiercer, someone describes it as “a blockbuster production with a devilishly unpredictable plot,” and late in the game this becomes the perfect description of South Korean director Bong Joon Ho’s latest epic. After months of anticipation,… Read More Review: Snowpiercer
Planes: Fire & Rescue – A Walt Disney Pictures Release http://movies.disney.com/planes-fire-and-rescue Release Date: July 18th, 2014 Rated G for action and some peril Running time: 84 minutes Roberts Gannaway (dir.) Jeffrey M. Howard (characters) Mark Mancina (music) Dane Cook as Dusty Crophopper (voice) Ed Harris as Blade Ranger (voice) Julie Bowen as Lil’ Dipper (voice)… Read More Five Views: Planes: Fire & Rescue
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) A few years back in the summer of 2011, Rise of the Planet of the Apes practically came out of nowhere to become one of the best moviegoing surprises in recent memory, a briskly paced franchise reboot that was as exciting as it was smart. Now comes Dawn… Read More Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Today, 20th Century Fox is releasing Rio 2 on Blu-ray & DVD. Continuing the charming adventures of Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway), this is a harmless and entertaining enough animated sequel that kids are going to love. We reviewed Rio 2 when the film was in theatres back in April, and our overall… Read More Blu-ray Release: Rio 2
By John Corrado ★★★★ (out of 4) Mason (Ellar Coltrane) is lying in the grass and staring up at the blue sky, the distinctive sound of Coldplay’s “Yellow” playing on the soundtrack, as his single mother (Patricia Arquette) arrives and picks him up from school. This is the already iconic opening scene of Boyhood, a… Read More Review: Boyhood
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