By John Corrado Paramount is releasing Christopher Nolan’s ambitious science fiction epic Interstellar on Blu-ray today, a must have for fans of the film. The story follows Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a former NASA pilot turned farmer, who is on a literal journey through space and time that might just provide the last hope for our… Read More Blu-ray Release: Interstellar
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) One of the nicest surprises from last year’s Hot Docs, and a top ten finalist for the audience award, Marinoni is finally opening at the Bloor Cinema this weekend. Director Tony Girardin and subject Giuseppe Marinoni will be on hand for Q&As after the first two shows, tickets and… Read More Bloor Cinema Release: Marinoni
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Throughout their filmography of over thirty features, DreamWorks Animation has had a somewhat mixed output, evident just last year with three films ranging in quality from the surprisingly good Mr. Peabody & Sherman and the outstanding How To Train Your Dragon 2, to the very disappointing Penguins of Madagascar.… Read More Review: Home
By John Corrado Devoted to showcasing the best in homegrown independent cinema, the ninth annual Canadian Film Fest starts tonight with the Toronto premiere of The Cocksure Lads Movie. Screening sixteen shorts and eight features over the next four days, the festival closes on Saturday night with Pretend We’re Kissing, which is among my personal favourites and… Read More Previewing the 2015 Canadian Film Fest
By John Corrado Today, Disney is releasing director Rob Marshall’s Into the Woods on Blu-ray. The musical follows a childless baker (James Cordon) and his wife (Emily Blunt), who must travel into the woods to reverse a longstanding curse that has been placed upon them by the Witch (Meryl Streep), encountering different fairy tale characters… Read More Blu-ray Release: Into the Woods
By John Corrado Last week, 20th Century Fox released Exodus: Gods and Kings on Blu-ray. Directed by Ridley Scott, this Bible epic recounts the story of Moses (Christian Bale), and how he came to free his people from the Egyptian rule of his adopted brother Ramses (Joel Edgerton). There are some stirring special effects, and… Read More Blu-ray Release: Exodus: Gods and Kings
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) After questioning the meaning behind his own art, Ethan Hawke had a chance encounter with the elderly Seymour Bernstein, an acclaimed classical pianist in New York who gave up performing publicly decades ago to focus on being a teacher and composer. This dinner party meeting came at a… Read More Review: Seymour: An Introduction
By John Corrado Today, Paramount is releasing writer-director Chris Rock’s Top Five on Blu-ray. Andre Allen (Chris Rock) is a celebrated standup comedian, who has become a sellout movie star, and now wants to be taken seriously as an actor. But on the weekend of his new movie release, and widely publicized reality show marriage,… Read More Blu-ray Release: Top Five
By John Corrado Today, Sony Pictures is releasing last year’s Annie remake on Blu-ray. Annie (Quvenzhané Wallis) is a New York foster kid, living with the nasty Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). But when business tycoon and mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) takes her into his home as a campaign move, the little orphan’s life suddenly… Read More Blu-ray Release: Annie
By John Corrado Paramount is releasing Star Trek: The Original Series: Captain Kirk’s Boldest Missions on DVD today, a two disc set including eight episodes of the classic show that prominently feature William Shatner’s leading character. This is essentially the TV equivalent of a greatest hits album, and considering that most fans will want the… Read More DVD Release: Star Trek: The Original Series: Captain Kirk’s Boldest Missions
Cinderella – A Walt Disney Studios Release http://movies.disney.com/cinderella/ Release Date: March 13th, 2015 Rated PG for mild thematic elements Running Time: 105 minutes Kenneth Branagh (director) Chris Weitz (screenplay) Patrick Doyle (music) Lily James as Cinderella Richard Madden as Prince Cate Blanchett as Stepmother Helena Bonham Carter as Fairy Godmother Nonso Anozie as Captain Stellan… Read More Three Views: Cinderella
’71 – An Elevation Pictures Release https://www.facebook.com/71filmuk Release Date: March 13th, 2015 (Limited) Rated 14A for coarse language and graphic violence Running Time: 99 minutes Yann Demange (director) Gregory Burke (screenplay) David Holmes (music) Jack O’Connell as Gary Hook Sam Reid as Lieutenant Armitage Sean Harris as Captain Sandy Browning Barry Keoghan as Sean Bannon… Read More Three Views: ’71
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) After making waves with his work on The Corporation, director Harold Crooks turns his attention to the subject of technically legal offshore tax havens in The Price We Pay. After premiering at TIFF, and being chosen as one of Canada’s Top Ten of 2014, the documentary is opening… Read More Review: The Price We Pay
By John Corrado Today, 20th Century Fox is releasing Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb on Blu-ray. Larry Daly (Ben Stiller) faces a new challenge when the reanimated historical figures at the Museum of Natural History start to lose control. With the tablet that allows them to come alive quickly losing power, the only… Read More Blu-ray Release: Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
By John Corrado The fifth annual Toronto Irish Film Festival is happening at the TIFF Bell Lightbox this weekend, showcasing a solid lineup of four narrative films that all range from good to great. Things kick off this evening with the Toronto premiere of Standby, which will have lead actor Brian Gleeson in attendance for a Q&A.… Read More A Preview of the Toronto Irish Film Festival
By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) Decades before whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks released classified information through secure digital networks, in 1971 a group of eight political activists broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, and stole over a thousand private documents which they mailed out to newspapers. But much like the revelations… Read More Bloor Cinema Release: 1971
By John Corrado ★★ (out of 4) Although first time feature director Kyle Thomas shows promise, The Valley Below is a film that somehow manages to feel both mundane and overreaching at the same time. After premiering at TIFF, the Canadian drama is opening in limited release at the Carlton this weekend. The story is… Read More Review: The Valley Below
Focus – A Warner Bros. Release http://focusmovie.com Release Date: February 27th, 2015 Rated 14A for coarse language and sexual content Running Time: 105 minutes Glenn Ficarra (director) John Requa (director) Glenn Ficarra (writer) John Requa (writer) Nick Urata (music) Will Smith as Nicky Margot Robbie as Jess Adrian Martinez as Farhad Gerald McRaney as Owens… Read More Three Views: Focus
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) What if the plots of old movies ended up being mistaken for real news? That’s the amusing premise behind Big News from Grand Rock, an easily enjoyable Canadian comedy that opens in limited release this weekend, after a successful run on the TIFF Film Circuit. This is a… Read More Review: Big News from Grand Rock
By John Corrado ★★½ (out of 4) A promising young dancer relegated to the lowest level of the company, Justin Peck was given the rare opportunity in 2013 to choreograph the 422nd new piece performed by the New York City Ballet. The process is showcased in the pretty good backstage documentary Ballet 422, which opens at the Bloor Hot… Read More Bloor Cinema Release: Ballet 422
