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2017

Festival Coverage

Blood in the Snow 2017: ‘Art of Obsession’

November 25, 2017Wylie Writes Staff0 Comments

By: Trevor Chartrand As a film that explores the creative process, Ryan M. Andrews’ Art of Obsession fails to bring much originality to the table.  This slow-paced, predictable little story takes itself too seriously, grasping aimlessly at faux-philosophical musings all along the way.  The film is an unfortunate mix of unconvincing plot, passionless performances, and a non-existent visual style.  It’s the kind of film I can still enjoy, however with a more ironic appreciation than…

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Festival Coverage

Blood in the Snow 2017: ‘Fake Blood’

November 24, 2017Addison Wylie1 Comment

Collaborating filmmakers Rob Grant and Mike Kovac receive a tape from an alleged fan mimicking a disturbing scene from their crime comedy Mon Ami.  Rob and Grant, immediately feeling guilty about inspiring a movie goer in the wrong way, reflect on cinematic violence and compare it to real-life acts of assault.  It’s a personal insightful adventure that leads them down an unpredictable rabbit hole.

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Festival Coverage

Blood in the Snow 2017: ‘Darken’

November 24, 2017Addison Wylie1 Comment

In 2014, at the Blood in the Snow Film Festival, I had rather exciting things to say about director Audrey Cummings.  The film she screened was her feature film debut, Berkshire County, and while it treaded common ground, she at least showed enough awareness to spin clichés into something new.

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Reviews

Last Flag Flying

November 23, 2017Wylie Writes Staff0 Comments

By: Jessica Goddard Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying is a touching, exquisitely-performed road trip drama, full of insight and engaging questions for the modern era.  This is a movie that never stops breaking your heart, while it keeps you guessing at all the right moments.  It’s both patriotic and skeptical;  somehow inspiring and disillusioning.

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Festival Coverage

Blood in the Snow 2017: ‘Once Upon a Time at Christmas’

November 22, 2017Wylie Writes Staff0 Comments

By: Trevor Chartrand While the concept of a homicidal Santa Claus has certainly been explored in slasher films like Santa’s Slay and Silent Night, Deadly Night, director Paul Tanter has found a surprisingly fresh approach to the ‘Killer Claus’ trope in Once Upon a Time at Christmas.  This fun and festive Canadian B-movie will give viewers a reason to keep the Christmas lights on overnight.

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Festival Coverage

Blood in the Snow 2017: ‘Kill Order’

November 21, 2017Wylie Writes Staff0 Comments

By: Trevor Chartrand Kill Order is essentially a Crank film without the charisma or charm.  It tries hard to be pulse-pounding and slick, but this punch-a-minute action flick is all fist and no fury.  Given the film’s structure, it’s not surprising to learn writer/director James Mark has a lot of stunt department work on his resume, including action-driven films like Jumper and Pacific Rim.  Kill Order favours style over substance, desperately stringing a series of…

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Reviews

Considering Love & Other Magic

November 20, 2017Addison Wylie2 Comments

I didn’t believe anything in Considering Love & Other Magic.  These characters are so disengaged, you could set them on fire and all they would do is shrug.  They’re all too busy pondering about death;  mostly the long-term existentialism that lingers when a loved one passes away.  The press release describes Dave Schultz’s film as a “family movie”.  Try explaining that pitch to your kids.  You’ll owe them ice cream after the show.

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Reviews

Paradise

November 18, 2017Addison Wylie0 Comments

Paradise, a Holocaust drama from Russian filmmaker Andrey Konchalovsky, is surprisingly mannered considering the film’s potential.  The movie murmurs its story while over-rehearsed interviews with individual characters interject break up the pacing with intimate perspectives.

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