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Young Werther

Young Werther is a witless comedy, which is awkward considering the production deems itself as a slick flick. While I can’t comment on whether Jose Lourenço’s feature-length filmmaking debut is faithful to its source material (the 1774 novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther” by Johann Wolfgang Goethe), I can relay to my readers what Young Werther reminded me of. Werther (Douglas Booth of Netflix’s The Dirt), someone who considers himself  to be a noble cosmopolitan and…

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Pins & Needles

Cat-and-mouse thriller Pins & Needles can’t escape its flaws. Unfortunately for editor-turn-filmmaker James Villeneuve, there’s plenty of them in his feature-length debut (which had its world premiere last month at the Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival).

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Wylie Writes’ One-On-One with Peter Lepeniotis

Ten years ago, I gained new respect for Peter Lepeniotis.  The Canadian animator was coming off the success of his first independently directed feature, The Nut Job, and he was very candid about the film industry with the audience at TIFF Kids.  He was a great storyteller and a fountain of knowledge.  But despite being a seasoned pro, Lepeniotis is still finding ways to challenge himself;  such as with R.L. Stine’s Zombie Town, the filmmaker’s live-action directorial…

Reviews

Die Alone

Die Alone is the latest from WolfCop director Lowell Dean, but it’s a much more sombre effort from the Saskatchewan filmmaker.  Still firmly rooted in horror within an undead dystopia, Die Alone is a tricky thriller that challenges its characters in unorthodox ways.

Reviews

The Pee Pee Poo Poo Man

I can picture filmmaker Braden Sitter Sr. watching the news and becoming sidetracked by the ticker scrolling across the bottom of the screen. I can also picture the filmmaker getting lost down a rabbit hole of ridiculous clickbait articles on social media. This isn’t a knock against Braden because a movie as off-the-wall as his unauthorized comedy The Pee Pee Poo Poo Man needs sheer mischievous curiousity to make it work, and there’s no shortage of…

Reviews

Backspot

My appreciation for Backspot moves like a teeter-totter.  While it’s worth congratulating the filmmakers for not giving in to sports clichés, the movie may have benefited from more melodrama.

Reviews

Wild Goat Surf

By: Trevor Chartrand Superb and charming, Wild Goat Surf is a timeless coming-of-age story from writer/director Caitlyn Sponheimer. The movie perfectly encapsulates youth and our formative years;  a turbulent time full of nuance and doubt.

Festival Coverage

Hot Docs 2024: ‘My Dad’s Tapes’

Ever since the the death of Leonard Watson in 2006, aspiring filmmaker Kurtis Watson has struggled to find closure and understand his Dad’s decision to commit suicide.  It’s been an upsetting topic for his family, who are either still grieving or are more in the dark than Kurtis about the tragedy.

Reviews

The Movie Man

The Princess Diaries The Dark Knight The Secret Life of Pets Mission: Impossible – Fallout These are the four movies I’ve seen at Highlands Cinema in Kinmount, Ontario.  Four completely different movies with a ubiquitous moviegoing experience; provided by the theatre, its staff, and owner Keith Stata.  It’s only fair to present my bias before reviewing The Movie Man, Matt Finlin’s documentary about Stata’s legacy and the history of his DIY multiplex.  Located in the…