The Toronto Youth Shorts festival is a great platform for aspiring filmmakers and for storytellers with a lot on their mind. I can usually count on the selections to cover themes from cultural reflections to personal discoveries, with an occasional fluffy piece to break up the weight of these programmes.
We’re halfway through the year, which means it’s time for Wylie Writes’ recap of the best and the worst films of 2019. Don’t forget to click the coloured titles to read a more detailed write-up about the film!
A movie is made up of many moving parts, as you know, but The Tomorrow Man really makes you appreciate its supporting characters. John Lithgow and Blythe Danner (as Ed and Ronnie) are terrific actors who have no problem holding our attention and steering the story (provided by writer/director Noble Jones). But, their characters would have a hard time finding momentum if it wasn’t for Ed’s temperamental family – a group of people we’re briefly involved…
The Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (February 15-17) is an essential stop for movie goers who indulge in worldwide animation.
YouTube Premium, so far, has catered to younger audiences with popcorn entertainment and recognizable faces from their streaming platform (The Thinning: New World Order). But, the streaming giant’s latest series Wayne seems to be cut from different cloth. Created by Shawn Simmons and executive produced by screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland, Deadpool), Wayne pitches mature audiences a good old fashioned story about finding justice that will surely feature Reese and Wernick’s brand of action and comedy.
The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Nov. 8 -16) has ended yet another successful run, continuing to offer filmmakers and storytellers an integral platform to connect with audiences. I was fortunate enough to catch a couple of the feature films programmed at this year’s Reel Asian Film Festival but, unfortunately, I was left feeling underwhelmed by my selections.
The Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival celebrates its 10-year anniversary with a variety of well-realized works, made by young filmmakers worth keeping watch for. The festival’s whopping total of 47 films are split into four programmes – the kids presentation Sparks (screening on September 21), followed by Forging Our Own Discourse, Moving Forward, and Searching For Belonging (screening, in order, on September 22).
Benched is pitched (har, har) to audiences as the latest entry in the sports movie genre, but it almost ends up working more as a buddy comedy instead. The scenes of gameplay are present and they’re easy to get wrapped up in, but the drive behind those scenes – along with other elements in this charming story of winning and losing – is the love/hate dynamic between two little league coaches playing on the same…
Sook-Yin Lee is currently mystifying Toronto movie goers with her long-awaited return to feature-length filmmaking. Octavio is Dead! gradually reels us in with a dream-like allure as we observe Tyler (Sarah Gadon) rediscover herself through the death of her absent father (Raoul Max Trujillo). From there, Lee strings her audience on a winding narrative that consistently maintains a personal intimacy throughout its run.
We’re halfway through the year, which means it’s time for Wylie Writes’ recap of the best and the worst films of 2018. Don’t forget to click the coloured titles to read a more detailed write-up about the film!