By John Corrado The 2024 Canadian Film Fest runs from March 18th to 23rd, with films screening in-person at Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto. Named after the beloved Trinidadian street food, the Canadian drama Doubles follows Dhani (Sanjiv Boodhu), a humble street vendor living with his mother (Leela Sitahal) in Trinidad, who is growing tired of… Read More Canadian Film Fest Review: Doubles (Opening Night Film)
By John Corrado Irish Wish, the new Lindsay Lohan romantic comedy that is being released on Netflix for St. Patrick’s Day, is an example of a film that offers exactly what you want; the chance to watch Lohan in a predictable but cute rom-com set against the beautiful backdrop of Ireland. Lohan stars as Maddie… Read More Movie Review: Irish Wish (Netflix)
By John Corrado New releases for the week of March 15th, 2024. Theatrical Releases: Love Lies Bleeding (Wide Release): Rose Glass follows up her simmering 2021 body horror debut Saint Maud with this pulpy thriller following gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart) who falls for female bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O’Brien), and gets pulled into a criminal… Read More New This Week (03/15/2024): Love Lies Bleeding, Hey, Viktor!, They Shot the Piano Player, & More!
By John Corrado The latest animated work from co-directors Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, the filmmakers behind the Oscar-nominated Chico and Rita, They Shot the Piano Player is an ambitious if uneven mix of animation and docudrama. The film opens at the Strand Book Store in New York City, where fictitious music journalist Jeff Harris… Read More Movie Review: They Shot the Piano Player
By John Corrado Director Chris Eyre’s 1998 coming-of-age film Smoke Signals was a landmark for both American indie cinema and Indigenous self-representation, with its Native American cast and crew telling a story featuring authentic characters. Among the film’s cast was Cody Lightning, the child actor who played the younger version of Adam Beach’s lead character… Read More Movie Review: Hey, Viktor!
By John Corrado The name of Peter Farrelly, and his brother Bobby, used to be synonymous with a certain brand of raunchy comedies like Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something About Mary and Shallow Hal. When Peter went solo in 2018, it led to him making the awards bait crowdpleaser Green Book, which inexplicably won the… Read More Movie Review: Ricky Stanicky (Prime Video)
By John Corrado Please note that this is a review of the Blu-ray release of The Color Purple. For my full thoughts on the film itself, you can read my original review right here. Director Blitz Bazawule’s glitzy The Color Purple serves as both a big screen version of the Broadway musical, and a reimagining… Read More Blu-ray Review: The Color Purple
By John Corrado The 96th Academy Awards were tonight. The big winner was unsurprisingly Christopher Nolan’s box office hit Oppenheimer, which took home a total of seven awards including Best Picture, Best Director (Nolan), Best Actor (Cillian Murphy) and Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.). In second place was Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things with four… Read More Winners of the 96th Academy Awards
By John Corrado Oscar weekend is here again, which means that it’s time to carry on my annual tradition of trying to predict the winners. This seems like a pretty easy year to predict with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer set to sweep the major categories including Best Picture (I personally have it winning eight of its… Read More My 2024 Oscar Predictions
By John Corrado Jack Black returns as the voice of Po in this fourth instalment of DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda series, which began sixteen years ago now in 2008. It’s easy to say that, by this belated fourth go around, the series is starting to show some wear, and Kung Fu Panda 4 does… Read More Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 4
By John Corrado New releases for the week of March 8th, 2024. Theatrical Releases: Kung Fu Panda 4 (Wide Release): Jack Black returns as the voice of Po in this fourth instalment of DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda series. Po is now faced with selecting a successor to replace him as Dragon Warrior, while fighting… Read More New This Week (03/08/2024): Kung Fu Panda 4, Ricky Stanicky, & More!
By John Corrado Napoleon is Nominated for Best Production Design, Best Costume Design and Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards Throughout his long career as a director, Ridley Scott has been no stranger to big budget filmmaking and risk-taking, and his latest film Napoleon – the result of a complicated, months-long production –… Read More Movie Review: Napoleon (Apple TV+)
By John Corrado Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, the follow-up to 2021’s Dune, is massive filmmaking in every sense. Villeneuve builds upon the first film, completing his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi novel. The film picks up directly after the events of the first. Following the death of his family on Arrakis at the… Read More Movie Review: Dune: Part Two
By John Corrado New releases for the week of March 1st, 2024. Theatrical Releases: Dune: Part Two (Wide Release): This follow-up to 2021’s Dune is massive filmmaking in every sense, as Denis Villeneuve builds upon the first film. Timothée Chalamet continues to prove himself as one of our best young actors as Paul Atreides comes… Read More New This Week (03/01/2024): Dune: Part Two, About Dry Grasses, & More!
By John Corrado The latest work from Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan, whose Winter Sleep won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2014, About Dry Grasses is an involving character drama that uses its lengthy running time to absorb us in the lives its of its subjects. The film follows Samet (Deniz Celiloğlu), a middle-aged… Read More Movie Review: About Dry Grasses
By John Corrado The latest film directed by Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone (Gomorrah), the Oscar-nominated International Feature Io Capitano largely serves as a dramatization of the challenges faced by African refugees who make the long, perilous trek to reach the shores of Europe. The film tells the fictional story of Seydou (Seydou Sarr) and Moussa… Read More Movie Review: Io Capitano
By John Corrado Please note that this is a review of the 4K Ultra HD release of Wonka. For my full thoughts on the film itself, you can read my original review right here. Fashioned as a prequel to the 1971 Gene Wilder film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Paddington director Paul King’s Wonka… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Wonka
By John Corrado The latest animated feature from Illumination (the studio behind the Despicable Me movies), Migration is the story of a family of ducks living on a peaceful lake who venture out into the world. And it’s honestly pretty cute. Mack (Kumail Nanjiani) and Pam (Elizabeth Banks) are parents to ducklings Dax (Caspar Jennings)… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Migration (Collector’s Edition)
By John Corrado Today, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (of which I am a member) has announced the winners of their 15th annual Dorian Film Awards, voted on by the critics group’s over five hundred members. Andrew Haigh’s excellent queer drama All of Us Strangers took home the top awards for Film of… Read More Winners for the 15th Dorian Film Awards from GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics
By John Corrado New releases for the week of February 23rd, 2024. Theatrical Releases: Seagrass (Limited Release): Canadian filmmaker Meredith Hama-Brown’s feature directorial debut Seagrass is a patient, well-acted character drama that captures the slow deterioration of a biracial family unit. Set during a family retreat on the Pacific coast, the film features fine performances… Read More New This Week (02/23/2024): Seagrass, Io Capitano, Drive-Away Dolls, & More!
The Joy of Movies 