By: Addison Wylie Some would say talk-show host Morton Downey Jr. was a smart man. Others would comment but they may be too busy plugging their ears from his ranting and raving. Movie goers can see that filmmakers Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller, and Jeremy Newberger easily fall into the former category. With their new doc Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie, the trio starts from Morton’s early years – where he was known as…
By: Addison Wylie Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s universe they’ve created for their comic book Kick-Ass is severely twisted. Filmmaker Matthew Vaughn took that warped sense of humour and gritty violence to the big screen in 2010 where it was received with mixed reactions, but has earned cult status. Three years later, another filmmaker has decided to capture Millar and Romita Jr.’s insanity for a balls-to-the-wall sequel. For writer/director Jeff Wadlow, the hardest part…
By: Addison Wylie When a film has a trailer that’s as routine as Admission’s, it’s hard to excitedly anticipate it. The movie appeared to be feather light fare, coming through on all those chick flick clichés that feel all too familiar. And, how many movies and television episodes can Tina Fey star in where motherhood is a prominent theme!? Surprisingly enough, I found myself enjoying Admission and laughing quite often. I would even go as…
By: Addison Wylie Taking a break from his independent fare, filmmaker David Gordon Green got familiar with the Apatow brat pack – launching him to direct the uneven but oddly memorable Pineapple Express. His directorial hand was embraced and pushed him down a path helming louder movies like Your Highness and The Sitter, two off-putting crudities that aren’t worthy of Green’s time and talent. With Prince Avalanche, it feels as if Green is making the…
By: Addison Wylie You’re Next presents a fairly standard murder mystery. An estranged, slightly disgruntled family meets at a lovely house to celebrate a wedding anniversary and before they know it, the first guest is assassinated during dinner. What starts as a film that seems to be wanting to follow similar horror footsteps, stops winking towards the camera once the kills commence. It plays each trope with a straight face and sticks to a formula,…
By: Addison Wylie The Oxbow Cure had me shivering for all sorts of reasons. Directors Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas are able to flawlessly create moods and feelings using minimalist tactics. With its few instances of dialogue aside, this low budget Kickstarter passion project is practically a silent film as we watch a distressed but tranquil woman named Lena (played carefully by playwright Claudia Dey) escape to a snowy cabin in the woods to carry…
By: Addison Wylie The last thing I expect to feel during “riotous and outrageous sexual exploration” is snooze-inducing boredom. That was the case with My Awkward Sexual Adventure, an unadulterated Canadian sex comedy that sets up an array of absurd situations only to do nothing but fumble around. I hate pointing all the blame towards one individual, but with My Awkward Sexual Adventure, it’s tough not to do that when Jonas Chernick is the source…
By: Addison Wylie With intensity comes pressure, and with pressure comes fear. Tobias Lindholm’s A Hijacking has all of the above. Lindholm’s excellent film is shot and edited as a docudrama and often reminded me of Paul Greengrass’ United 93 regarding how it treats its audience as flies on the wall. But where United 93 was based on a real life tragic event, A Hijacking’s story isn’t directly based on a true story but still…
By: Addison Wylie The image of the feeble pirogue (the film’s featured boat) floating in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean is a perfect metaphor to describe my abandoned interest towards Moussa Touré’s drama La Pirogue. I wanted to like Touré’s film. A title card leading to the end credits dedicating the film to those who have made the trek – and may have died – from Africa to Europe to seek a better life…
Movie theatres can make all the difference when it comes to the movie. Some people have sadly given up on the actual moviegoing experience and hopped on over to home streaming VOD devices. It’s a bittersweet feeling realizing that you can’t blame these people for doing so. Home theatre equipment is much more accessible nowadays; and, plenty of movies are available during – or before – their theatrical release. At home, you don’t have annoying…