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Festival Coverage

Blood in the Snow ’14: Queen of Blood

November 27, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

Queen of Blood (DIR. Chris Alexander) By: Addison Wylie Two years ago, Fangoria’s editor-in-chief Chris Alexander rocked the Blood in the Snow Film Festival with his filmmaking debut Blood For Irina.  He called it an “experience” and said the best way to view the film is by locking yourself in with it.  He was absolutely right.  His atmospheric silent film was a masterpiece and a sensory whirlwind; utilizing ominous music and smouldering cinematography to pull the movie goer…

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Festival Coverage

Blood in the Snow ’14: Serpent’s Lullaby & Berkshire County

November 25, 2014Addison Wylie3 Comments

As movie goers prepare for the season’s holiday offerings, horror fans buckle up for a round of Canadian talent at this year’s Blood in the Snow Film Festival. The festival, founded by Kelly Michael Stewart, features the cream of the genre crop.  Blood in the Snow’s selections range from unsettling slow burns to the visually grotesque.  It’s a competently passionate showcase that gives indie filmmakers a fantastic opportunity to premiere their work, and hands audiences a rare…

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Festival Coverage

The Reel Indie Film Fest’s So-So Trove

October 13, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie The sporadic weather and the dropping temperature suggests that watching movies at a classy venue is the best way to stay snug.  Lucky for you, the Reel Indie Film Fest rolls into Toronto this week. The festival opens Tuesday, October 14 at 7:00 pm with Greg Olliver’s Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty and wraps up on Saturday, October 18 at 9:30 pm with the intriguingly titled March of the Gods: Botswana Metalheads….

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Festival Coverage

Affective and Absurd: A Toronto Youth Shorts Preview

September 23, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

The Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival is a terrific way for young filmmakers to enter the scene.  It’s a festival run by responsible believers who maintain faith in future generations of storytellers. The film festival has also given hard-working individuals a deserving premiere in an appreciated Toronto-bound theatrical venue.  The awards ceremony is an added bonus to those seeking genuine recognition, as well as constructive criticism by a panel of educated peers. This year, movie…

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Festival Coverage

TIFF 2014: Into the Drink

September 11, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie For a while, Atlantic. was the most relaxed I had felt at this year’s festival.  Incredibly shot sequences of Fettah windsurfing across the infinite drink eased me into a trance.  Its angelic score cradling the audience is the final nuance Atlantic. has that completely sends us into adoration with these moments of Jan-Willem van Ewijk’s tranquil tale. Alas, Atlantic. follows a bothersome and oddly common theme at this year’s TIFF.  Atlantic. eventually drifts…

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Festival Coverage

TIFF 2014: Short Cuts with Sorrow

September 8, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie We return to the Short Cuts Canada programmes to take a look at a few films that aren’t afraid to get “real”. Well, “real” in surreal surroundings and under crazy circumstances. These three shorts may be tales out of a book (certainly in the case of The Underground), but the emotion conveyed is what makes these stories come alive. They hit and miss various points, but the risks these filmmakers take are nothing…

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Festival Coverage

TIFF 2014: Wet Noodle

September 6, 2014Addison Wylie2 Comments

By: Addison Wylie Wet Bum features a superb performance by TIFF Rising Star Julia Sarah Stone.  Her helpless presence draws us in, as if we feel the need to lend her a shoulder to cry on.  But, it’s her earnest portrayal of fourteen-year-old outsider Sam that signifies the puzzling phases of fitting in among your peers, and trying to swallow the lump in your throat when you’re singled out for being different. The film that…

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Festival Coverage

LEFT’s Horror Fest is the Right Choice

July 2, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie It’s terrific news to report that Lost Episode Festival Toronto (or, LEFT) is back! Some of you who have been following me since my time at Film Army may have seen my coverage of the weekend-long festival last year.  It was a neat experience and certainly a film festival unlike any I’ve attended. For those who need a brief introduction, LEFT is a film festival run by fearless leader Johnny Larocque.  It…

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Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Inside Out 2014: Who’s Tired of Vagina Wolf?

June 3, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf? (DIR. Anna Margarita Albelo) By: Addison Wylie There’s nothing more obnoxious than a movie that thinks its being clever.  Enter Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf?, an indie with all the self-absorption of Michael Urie’s He’s Way More Famous Than You helmed by Anna Margarita Albelo who wishes to become Lena Dunham through eccentric styles and a hipster soundtrack. Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf? has writer/director Albelo playing an exaggerated version of herself.  She’s…

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Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Inside Out 2014: Oddball Comedy is Merkin Me Laugh

May 31, 2014Addison Wylie2 Comments

The Foxy Merkins (DIR. Madeleine Olnek) By: Addison Wylie Margaret (played by Lisa Haas) has taken on the life of prostitution and homelessness.  Being that she’s a lesbian, her clients are all high end females looking for a good, undisclosed time. While on her way to find a place to sleep, she meets Jo (played by Jackie Monahan).  The two hit it off almost instantly, and Jo – who’s also homeless – soon starts to show Margaret…

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