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Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2014: Saving Face

March 2, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie The Human Rights Watch Film Festival has made me exhale an astonished “wow” twice now.  That’s a compliment I haven’t admitted to in a while.  It’s absolutely true in the case of Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s harrowing doc Saving Face. The mighty film, which deservedly won 2012’s ‘Best Documentary Short’ Oscar, shows audiences how disturbingly frequent and heartbreakingly affective acid crimes are.  Every year, numerous Pakistani women are dosed with different forms of…

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Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2014: In the Shadow of the Sun

February 27, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie I find myself in a predicament trying to review Harry Freeland’s documentary In the Shadow of the Sun.  Prior to the film, I was oblivious to the subject matter and found myself perplexed by the harsh reality that stalks Tanzanian albinos. In the Shadow of the Sun is a perfectly fine documentary, but I keep feeling as if I’m rating Freeman’s doc on the content represented rather than the film the material…

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Reviews

Fly Colt Fly

February 21, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie Seen as a brave folk hero to some and a menacing nuisance to others, teenager Colton Harris-Moore outran police forces, bounty hunters, and watch dogs for nearly three years.  He hitched rides, stole money, and was infamously known for stealing airplanes and crashing them on new islands to loot. Fly Colt Fly marks the first feature-length movie from Andrew and Adam Gray and their documentary is out to chronicle Harris-Moore’s fugitive escapades…

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Reviews

Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve

February 20, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie Personally, my knowledge of the Federal Reserve goes about as deep as a mall fountain collecting pennies and dimes.  Naturally, Jim Bruce’s documentary Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve should be the perfect vehicle to educate people like me who need a bit more information about its history and the possibly bleak future it has ahead of it. Jim Bruce seems like the right filmmaker for the job seeing that he’s…

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Reviews

TIFF Next Wave 2014: I Learn America

February 16, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie Acting as this year’s Fame High at TIFF Next Wave, I Learn America is also about a select group of students who attend high school and face frequent obstacles.  In Fame High, those students were hampered when chasing a creative dream.  In I Learn America, these young immigrants try and understand the American dream. New York City’s Lafayette is the home of International High School.  The school opens its doors for nearly…

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Reviews

If You Build It

February 5, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie Educators/designers/activists Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller organized a program called Studio H and aimed it towards a select group of high school students in the Bertie County.  The class involves teens brushing up on carpentry and learning about architecture.  The program then has the students utilizing their skills towards their own community. Bertie County is undemanding.  Those who live in the stoic Northern California area understand their unfortunate circumstances and try to…

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Reviews

12 O’Clock Boys

January 30, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie The start of the year showed Toronto movie goers a more fabulous side of Baltimore, Maryland in the crowd pleasing doc I Am Divine.  As January wraps itself up, those same audiences are let in to Baltimore’s inner-city brew with Lotfy Nathan’s documentary 12 O’Clock Boys. The 12 O’Clock Boys earned their name by notoriously buzzing around busy streets on dirt bikes and carrying out wheelies that appeared to hold a near 90-degree angle….

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The Final Member

January 24, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie The Final Member – an outrageous documentary from filmmakers Jonah Bekor and Zach Math – is cheekily strange and hilariously honest.  I half expected mockumentary legend Christopher Guest to come running out at any moment. There’s no way this documentary about the world’s lone penis museum could be real.  Fortunately, it is.  And, don’t be surprised if this fascinating film becomes one of your favourite docs of the new year.  Not since…

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Linsanity

January 23, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie Basketball superstar Jeremy Lin had a rise to fame that was the epitome of an underdog story. Having set aspirations to become an athlete someday, Lin rarely winced when faced with challenges.  He played basketball because he enjoyed it, planted reasonable expectations while cementing his priorities, and gained notoriety by naturally being a talented player. Evan Jackson Leong’s uplifting doc doesn’t phonily paint Lin as such an upstanding individual.  He simply comes…

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Reviews

A Fragile Trust

January 8, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie Former New York Times journalist Jayson Blair has misstepped in his career which has cost him lifelong liability.  Blair was dragged through the coals when he was caught plagiarizing in 2003 with numerous works.  His infamous write-up knocked the credibility of the otherwise well-regarded news outlet he worked for, and spun the world of journalism out of control with readers growing increasingly sceptical of print media. Blair’s tumultuous whirlwind is frustrating, but…

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