Movie goers fresh off of Hot Docs may want to consider moseying over to Toronto’s first annual ReelAbilities Film Festival. The 6ix will be joining the ranks of other worldwide communities like New York, Portland, and Chicago to showcase filmmakers who are adamant in portraying people with different abilities and their inspiring stories.
If The People Garden inspired me in any way, it reminded me that I really should mail filmmakers Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas a thank-you letter for 2013’s The Oxbow Cure. I’m not comparing both Canadian dramas (which also, coincidentally, take place in the woods), but if a filmmaker creates a minimalist movie, they ought to have a resonating voice.
My Scientology Movie (DIR. John Dower) By: Addison Wylie My Scientology Movie had its sights set on portraying controversial religion with the involvement of the Church of Scientology, and without much of a bias. However, refusals to cooperate from the Church forced director John Dower and journalist Louis Theroux to think differently.
Try this premise on for size: a scared young man – Eugene – attempts to put an end to his bottoming-out fate by hitting the road and finding theoretical gold at the end of a literal rainbow. Being enrolled in special classes has given the handicapped student a slanted view of reality – a contradiction since he witnesses his chain-smoking mother giving up daily. While on his trip, Eugene quickly finds out that the world can…
Hotel Coolgardie (DIR. Pete Gleeson) By: Addison Wylie I find myself with Hot Docs déjà vu. I liked a movie – at least, I think I did – but I feel sick to my stomach. A similar love/hate set of emotions I felt towards last year’s The Wolfpack.
No Man Is an Island (DIR. Tim De Keersmaecker) By: Addison Wylie I imagine Tim De Keersmaecker’s outline for No Man Is an Island looked good on paper: make a first-hand view at how African refugees perceive life while living in the unknown territory of Lampedusa. Unfortunately, the documentary is another victim of poor fly-on-the-wall filmmaking.
Cheer Up (DIR. Christy Garland) By: Shannon Page Miia is the coach of the Ice Queens, a teenage cheerleading team from Finland’s Article Circle that regularly places dead-last in national competitions. Determined to win, Miia travels to Texas to learn the art of winning from the world champions, Cheer Athletics, and returns to Finland with the intention of turning her team around. The pressure that she puts on her girls to become the best pushes the…
Precious Cargo, a cheesy caper directed/co-written by Max Adams, is simultaneously occupying theatres and on Demand. It was also released a day after my birthday, which is fitting since it made me feel my age.
There are movies by Garry Marshall that are “very Garry Marshall”, and movies that are “sort of Garry Marshall”. Mother’s Day is – most definitely – “very Garry Marshall”.
