By: Addison Wylie For better or for worse, Algonquin is unpredictable. What starts as Canada’s independent answer to last year’s Academy Award nominee Nebraska finds unique footing after a detour in its narrative. I suppose any film related site listing the synopsis for Jonathan Hayes’ feature film debut would give away this major turn. Because I certainly didn’t see it coming, I’ll back away from that specific spoiler. It’s an example of how Hayes isn’t…
By: Addison Wylie Authors Anonymous didn’t have any laughs in it for me, but I believe that’s because I couldn’t relate to it. The mockumentary about five writers who gather to critique their works-in-progress hopes to derive humour from these eccentric personalities. One author is desperate for attention, one is the “ideas guy”, another likes to remind others of his future success while another writer can’t name a single author. There’s a young slacker who…
By: Addison Wylie Recently, we’ve seen Hansel and Gretel battle witches with steampunk weaponry in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and defeat a nefarious pot-peddling evildoer in Hansel & Gretel Get Baked. I’m still racking my brain as to why these Brothers Grimm siblings got the resurgence they did. Perhaps, the timing of it all makes H&G initially refreshing. It’s nice to see filmmaker Danishka Esterhazy take a low-key approach to this fairy tale and…
By: Addison Wylie Down River has so much emotion in it, the film is almost bursting at the seams to contain all of it. Actor turned filmmaker Ben Ratner pushes his four lead actresses to the brink of hysteria, but for fathomable reasons. Harper (played by Colleen Rennison) struggles as a lowly musician who’s losing touch of her sexuality, Fawn (played by Corner Gas’ Gabrielle Miller) is an actress who’s feeling a disconnect between her…
By: Addison Wylie I’ve been selling Nebraska to people as “a charming version of Fargo without the violence”. That gets attention fairly quickly. Alexander Payne’s drama, however, is more quaint than quirky. Nebraska’s prominent road trip involving a distracted father Woody (played by Bruce Dern) and his patiently courteous son David (played by Will Forte) coasts along flat landscapes. The two converse about the past and the exciting current possibilities of million dollar winnings Woody…
By: Addison Wylie The Spectacular Now is the movie about high school I wish I had growing up. It’s easily identifiable and relatable to anyone who felt growing pains or knew someone having a wobbly time through secondary education. James Ponsoldt’s coming-of-age dramedy features two exceptional performances from up-and-comers Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, who play unexpected friends who eventually become smitten with each other. Though, Teller’s motormouth Sutter Keely won’t directly admit it since…
By: Addison Wylie The Lifeguard deals with the discouraging feeling of going nowhere and the urge to flee home for comfort. It’s a circumstance that some of us may be all too familiar with; especially those who are fresh out of their post-secondary education. Liz W. Garcia’s film, however, gets very little right about events that take place after the retreat to a personal turf. Garcia is able to capture that initial awkwardness that ensues…
By: Addison Wylie Everyone has their own type of vice. Helene’s is her camera. Although she’s able to enthral people with her stunning photography, it’s an interest of hers that she chooses to take up a large portion of her life. The high she gets off of the perfect picture is that of a drug. Like a drug would do, Helene’s talent keeps her in her own world while others are kept out. Her daughter,…
By: Addison Wylie What do I say about The Dirties? A film that shook me up and has hung around with me days after I’ve seen it. Matt Johnson’s courageous and ambitious feature film debut is a tough film to recommend to a wide audience because of its timely, controversial material handled with a sense of humour. You definitely have to be in a specific mood for its darker approach to school shootings and the…
Well, now that TIFF has come to an end, let’s take a trip back to August. If you can believe it, August was busier than my experience with the Toronto International Film Festival. At Film Army, I was checking out different programmes hosted by Toronto’s TIFF Bell Lightbox, watching smaller independent fare, as well as getting ready for TIFF while setting up IFFFT coverage – the International Fetish Film Festival Toronto. It’s great to cover…