By: Addison Wylie Bea and Paul are that cute couple you wish to never go out to dinner with. They’re not terrible people or arrogant, they’re just overwhelmingly in love. They’re those newlyweds who have cute nicknames for each other and always have an enamoured smile plastered on. On the car ride home, you’re significant other would turn to you and say, “They were nice. We should be more like them.” Maybe that’s why I…
By: Addison Wylie Swearnet: The Movie follows three chowderheads trying to figure out where they fit in after their long time claim to fame. The three douchebags: Robb Wells, John Paul Tremblay, and Mike Smith. Those fucking tools that we’ve seen bumble around on television and star in this year’s jag-off road comedy Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It. They can’t be associated with anything that has to do with that fucking landmark in Canadian…
By: Addison Wylie The word “incompetent” is usually associated with low intelligence. In the case of Hard Drive, I think the melodrama is outrageously incompetent, but I don’t think its writer/director William D. MacGillivray is stupid. MacGillivray’s achievements were attached to the press notes, and there’s enough proof in the pudding to make me believe he ain’t no dummy. The filmmaker has been attached to projects that have earned him acclaim, Canadian credibility, and a…
By: Addison Wylie The Market offers a rare look at an issue through generic eyes. Filmmaker Rama Rau shouldn’t worry though. I’m still recommending her transfixing film about kidney trafficking and the butterfly effect these risky surgeries cause. Rau’s doc handles two different perspectives: life in an Indian slum, and the apprehensive idling of someone awaiting a kidney transplant in Canada. Both views are packed with a lot of emotion as well as unforgettable talks…
By: Addison Wylie Comedy comes naturally for Brent Butt. Say what you want about his clean-cut deadpan performances and how “it doesn’t work for you”. But, six seasons of a highly popular footnote in Canadian television is nothing to ignore. Myself – along with a large cult fan base – find the Saskatchewan born comic to be hilarious and in tune with all the components it takes to make people laugh: delivery, timing, and content….
By: Addison Wylie It must be nice for director Mike Clattenburg to know the Trailer Park Boys fan base he’s co-created isn’t going anywhere. That must be why his latest criminal adventure with Sunnyvale’s best isn’t afraid to experiment with a beginning of downbeats. Clattenburg – who knows how to maneuver through ridiculous circumstances with these hilariously seedy characters using DIY filmmaking – oddly sets the bar low with the likability factor this time. He…
Matt Johnson’s impressive and ambitious feature film debut The Dirties is making its way onto Blu-ray and DVD after earning plenty of well-deserved accolades – including winning the Scotiabank Jay Scott Prize for the top emerging artist at January’s Toronto Film Critics Association Film Awards. The Dirties is an unsettling and unflinching look at bullying through a struggling perspective. The first-person view follows Johnson and his friend Owen (both using their real names, but taking on different on-screen…
By: Addison Wylie For better or for worse, Algonquin is unpredictable. What starts as Canada’s independent answer to last year’s Academy Award nominee Nebraska finds unique footing after a detour in its narrative. I suppose any film related site listing the synopsis for Jonathan Hayes’ feature film debut would give away this major turn. Because I certainly didn’t see it coming, I’ll back away from that specific spoiler. It’s an example of how Hayes isn’t…
By: Addison Wylie If I have one positive to say about Matthew Pollack’s autobiographical documentary, it’s that the film is rightfully titled. By the end credits, I didn’t want anything to do with Pollack. I actually wished I hadn’t bothered with this icky film in the first place. Run Run It’s Him is supposed to serve as a coping tool and a means of comprehension for Pollack with his obsessive addiction to pornography. Matthew’s fascination…
By: Addison Wylie Opening this weekend is Canadian indie Down River, a drama that peers into the lives of three strong women pushed to extremes in order to fulfill an artistic destiny. What they also have in common is their connection to Pearl, an old soul who is ready to drop everything if she’s needed for friendship and support. Down River is a character study that offers a fair bit to chew on and doesn’t…