By: Addison Wylie Alan Zweig won top honours at the Toronto International Film Festival this past September for his documentary filmmaking with When Jews Were Funny – but, I needed more convincing. When Jews Were Funny – a doc on how a Judaic approach to comedy made its way into our funny bones – had appropriate subjects to interview, a proper conversational vibe about it, but its scope was too narrow. Zweig didn’t have enough…
By: Addison Wylie It’s neat to watch a subject take on an evolution people didn’t see coming. In Red Obsession’s case, that subject is wine – and it’s progression isn’t pleasing everybody. Documentary filmmakers David Roach and Warwick Ross capture a timeline that shows how wine went from something that was considered an art, to a product that is more of a business decision than anything. The price of wine keeps on climbing to a…
By: Addison Wylie Some would say talk-show host Morton Downey Jr. was a smart man. Others would comment but they may be too busy plugging their ears from his ranting and raving. Movie goers can see that filmmakers Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller, and Jeremy Newberger easily fall into the former category. With their new doc Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie, the trio starts from Morton’s early years – where he was known as…
By: Addison Wylie Trying to remember I Send You This Place is like trying to recount a fuzzy dream you had a couple of days ago. You can recollect bits of ideas and images, but assembling a resonating big picture is near impossible. That about sums up my feelings about Andrea Sisson and Pete Ohs’ abstract documentary. It’s a personal piece about Andrea’s intimate relationship with Iceland and her feelings of frustration towards the withdrawal…
By: Addison Wylie It’s hard to find dislikable qualities in Poull Brien’s crowd pleaser Charles Bradley: Soul of America. Whether you attend a screening of the film because you like Bradley’s music, funk/blues music in general, or a good underdog story, Brien’s doc will have you leaving the theatre with a giant smile plastered to your face while you bob your head to the funky tunes streamlining through your cranium. The doc quickly lets movie…
By: Addison Wylie The truth Morgan White’s doc The Rep holds is sad, but true. That constant dreaming of wanting to have access to a vintage movie house that screens older films is always apparent among film buffs and equally eager film buffs disguised as business men are wanting to bring that once-in-a-lifetime experience to an audience. It’s unfortunate that the process of getting a rep cinema off the ground and turning it into a grand…
By: Addison Wylie Many connections can be made through social networking, but obscure actor Rob Stewart made the ultimate one that also changed his life. Through Facebook, Stewart discovered a TV show he starred in 20 years ago called Tropical Heat had taken on a new life in Serbia. A Serbian punk band named Atheist Rap contacted Rob and offered an opportunity where Rob could perform with them during a song dedicated to Stewart’s Tropical…
By: Addison Wylie Revolution could very well be one of this year’s most important watches, but by the end of the documentary, you’ll be wondering what’s more of a threat: carbon dioxide poisoning in our atmosphere or filmmaker Rob Stewart’s constant need to be on camera. I can’t ignore it. No one can. Stewart just loves to star in his own passion project. I hesitate to continue with this criticism about the director/producer/writer/cinematographer for fear…
By: Addison Wylie According to The Ghosts in our Machine, it’s easier for photographer Jo-Anne McArthur to go unseen in factory farms than it is to be seen in major publications. McArthur has dedicated her life to capturing the life of unkempt animals through her lens to spread the word of inhumane treatment aimed towards animals to garner material goods. Whether she’s tagging along with other passionate individuals or executing guerrilla missions as we saw…
By: Addison Wylie Morag McKinnon and Emma Davie’s documentary I Am Breathing is really good and moviegoers will be thankful that they were fortunate to see it. Audiences feel enlightened having spent time with Neil Platt. Platt, having been diagnosed with MND (Motor Neurone Disease), spends his life paralyzed as he plays with his son and humours his nurturing wife. He loves words and always has interesting things to say and even more interesting ways…