Canadian Film Fest ’18: The Cannon
Boogie Nights meets The Wrestler in Marshall Axani’s The Cannon. Although those are some fairly daunting examples to follow, The Cannon – for the most part – does a decent job of keeping up.
Canadian Film Festival
Canadian Film Fest ’18: A Swingers Weekend
Certain topics pertaining to sex and intimacy aren’t really taboo anymore. We’ve had an influx of orgy comedies (A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town), and filmmakers have also captured stripped-down dating culture in the current digital age (Jackie Boy, as well as with glossier mainstream movies). Because of these advancements in storytelling, Jon E. Cohen’s underwhelming feature film debut A Swingers Weekend feels a few years too late.
Canadian Film Festival ’16: Dead Rush
The arrival of Dead Rush’s world premiere at this year’s Canadian Film Fest came at a coincidental time. On April 8, Ilya Naishuller’s Hardcore Henry hits theatres. Both films are very good genre flicks that position the viewer in the lead character’s perspective. As far as which film has a cleaner landing though, Dead Rush has the edge.
Canadian Film Festival ’16: Jackie Boy
Jackie Boy leaves a controversial footprint at this year’s Canadian Film Festival. It’s bound to shake up the room and ignite all those who watch it. In other words, filmmaker Cody Campanale reminds us of how films can be greatly provocative and start intelligent discussions.
Canadian Film Festival ’16: Chasing Valentine
There is no bigger proponent of Canadian cinema than myself. If a film really captures me, I’ll go out of my way to champion it. Low budget, undetectable indies sometimes need that extra push. However, no matter if the film is big or small, if the end result is wildly inconsistent, I have to throw in the towel. Case in point: Navin Ramaswaran’s shockingly inept Chasing Valentine.
Canadian Film Festival ’16: Borealis
Borealis is a film I’ve been waiting for: Canadian cinema that’s tragic, but neither melodramatic or gratuitous.
Canadian Film Festival ’16: The Sabbatical
Producer/director Brian Stockton pulls a reverse Ghost World with The Sabbatical, a low-key comedy where the older eccentric follows a current generation through a younger artist.
Canadian Film Festival ’15: Pretend We’re Kissing
By: Addison Wylie Dov Tiefenbach is the Sasquatch of cinema. He materializes in random movies, showing his unmistakable mug just long enough for movie goers to do a double take. As soon as we realize who he is, Tiefenbach vanishes. Because of this, I used to think YTV’s Squawk Box was a figment of my imagination. But, I digress. Tiefenbach has come out of hiding to star in Pretend We’re Kissing, an odd romance directed…
Canadian Film Festival ’15: Late Night Double Feature
By: Addison Wylie An after hours horror show goes mad in the uneven Late Night Double Feature. Before the mayhem ensues on the set of Dr, Nasty’s Cavalcade of Horror, the audience is treated to a couple of spooky shorts intercut by commercials and previews. For the most part, the film is authentically structured like a craggy cable access show, which provides plenty of chuckles. An ill-placed ad cashing in on the night’s horror theme…
Canadian Film Festival ’15: Ben’s at Home
By: Addison Wylie Earlier this year, I gave I Put a Hit on You an unfavourable review. This led me to believe that making a compelling comedy about snippety people bumming around their house was impossible. Mars Horodyski proves me wrong with Ben’s at Home. This film is funny and fully realized, successfully capturing an introvert’s post-breakup buffer period. Ben (played with wit by Dan Abramovici) chooses to stay housebound because he’s satisfied with personal…