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Court

August 28, 2015Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Mark Barber Chaitanya Tamhane’s courtroom drama, aptly titled Court, has received broad international acclaim for its compelling minimalism and intelligent use of realism, but also deserves praise for its insightful analysis on the lingering effects of colonialism on India’s legal system. Understated and distanced, Court eschews the familiar Hollywood-style intensity of John Grisham adaptations.  A procedural take on the Indian legal systems and the personal lives related to one case, Court examines its postcolonial…

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Reviews

Backcountry

August 27, 2015Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Mark Barber Adam Macdonald’s Backcountry is a terrifying mix of Jaws and Blair Witch, but manages to avoid the usual kitschy pastiche of recent Canadian genre films.  Unlike the campiness of Wolfcop and Hobo with a Shotgun, Backcountry is an intense, serious horror film. Inspired loosely by tragic events, Backcountry follows a Toronto couple, Alex (Jeff Roop) and Jenn (Missy Peregrym), as they become lost in a camping trip in a northern Ontario park….

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Reviews

Strange Magic

August 24, 2015Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie Strange is right. Magic? Not so much. Oscar winner Gary Rydstrom takes a stab at feature length directing and writing with animated musical-fantasy Strange Magic, a movie that shouldn’t be anyone’s “first” for anything.  It begins as a novelty act with some redeeming moments of punchy animation and terrific duets, and then pushes its luck too far. The story (conceived by Star Wars’  George Lucas) gives audiences two opposing territories.  There’s a…

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Reviews

Sinister 2

August 20, 2015Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Trevor Jeffery Ciarán Foy’s Sinister 2 startles to the point of frustration, but frightens beyond its use of clichés. In the cellar of his runaway family’s newly squatted home, Dylan joins a pack of ghost kids to watch the snuff films they made, in order to stop his nightmares.  It seems counterintuitive, but the snappily dressed leader of the pack insists it helps.  Dylan Collins, his brother Zach and his mother Courtney (Shannyn Sossamon)…

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The Kindergarten Teacher

August 16, 2015Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Shannon Page Despite the understated aesthetic appeal of a few scenes, Israeli writer and director Nadav Lapid’s drama about a kindergarten teacher (Sarit Larry) who discovers a prodigal talent for poetry in one of her young students is remarkably dry of feeling. As the plot moves through an earnest attempt to explore the necessity for preserving art and beauty in a world that is increasingly hostile and dismissive of poetry, the characters motivations and…

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Reviews

She’s Funny That Way

August 13, 2015Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie Peter Bogdanovich (director of The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon, and What’s Up, Doc?) must have tons of clout.  This would explain the overconfidence in his latest film She’s Funny That Way. This star powered, ode to screwball farces couldn’t help but remind me of when the Farrelly Brothers made a feature-length Three Stooges movie.  Bogdanovich has made the movie he wanted to make, but the film itself reinforces that it’s currently hard…

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Reviews

Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story

August 10, 2015Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie There’s nothing new in Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story that you haven’t already seen in other found footage horrors.  See if you can keep score at home: a small news crew ([REC]) are stringing together interviews and B-roll for a project (The Blair Witch Project), when suddenly a box of abandoned videocassette tapes containing disturbingly transfixing footage is discovered (name that Paranormal Activity sequel). A looming creature – evoking infamous Internet legends…

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Reviews

The Gift

August 9, 2015Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Trevor Jeffery The Gift isn’t an exception to the notion that suspense-thrillers lose substantial value on subsequent viewings, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be one hell of a ride the first time through. Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) seek a fresh start in California, not far from where Simon grew up.  An old high school acquaintance, Gordon (still going by his high school nickname, Gordo) (Joel Edgerton) approaches Simon and Robin…

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Fantasia Fest 2015: ‘Antisocial 2’

July 30, 2015Addison Wylie2 Comments

By: Addison Wylie My experience with Cody Calahan’s Antisocial 2 started with a surprise.  Antisocial offered some squeamishly great effects but was by no means “one for the books”.  While ultimately forgettable, it did leave on enough of a cliff-hanger to provoke thoughts of a sequel.  However, it was a small production and the chances of seeing another Antisocial were slim. For Calahan to push himself to continue the story of Sam – the Social…

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Reviews

Best of Enemies

July 30, 2015Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Mark Barber In 1968, an ailing ABC network hired progressive author Gore Vidal and conservative intellectual William F. Buckley to shed some light on the 1968 Democratic and Republican Party Conventions.  This dialectical meeting of minds changed the way politics is mediated through television.  It overemphasized opinion and discussion, bringing about the birth of punditry. Best of Enemies tells the riveting story behind this “political odd couple.”  Despite their toxically unamicable relationship, Buckley and…

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