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Mystery

Reviews

Strangerland

By: Addison Wylie The characters in the Australian/Ireland import Strangerland are surrounded by miles of flatland.  The tattered town of Nathgari maintain a tight community, yet there is a sense of feeling forlorn and stranded.  Newly minted feature filmmaker Kim Farrant uses these qualities to effectively stir up restlessness and sputtering hope when her story of missing children is in full swing. Catherine and Matthew (played by Nicole Kidman and Joseph Fiennes) are still adapting…

Reviews

Gone Girl

By: Addison Wylie David Fincher is a masterful filmmaker, but he’s even better at spinning a web of mystery and suspense.  Numerous films in his catalogue deal with puzzling content, and not once have I seen him drop the ball. He’s also a fantastic handler of, shall we say, hidden motivations.  Gone Girl is an extremely difficult film to delve into without giving away too much – bear with me. There are people in Fincher’s…

Reviews

White Bird in a Blizzard

By: Addison Wylie White Bird in a Blizzard hits you with a wallop pivotal enough to make you concussed.  You walk away having appreciated Gregg Araki’s latest film, but it doesn’t entirely settle well, and its difficult to come up with reasonings as to why. Now thinking of it though, the Araki films I’ve caught (Mysterious Skin and Smiley Face) have had the same effect.  Mysterious Skin is a distraught story of a troubled teenage…

Reviews

The One I Love

By: Addison Wylie Every moviegoing year has a movie like The One I Love.  That one movie where everyone who sees it unanimously and silently agrees to keep quiet about it. It’s a neat decision to witness.  It shows that the average audience still loves a challenge and still loves to keep a secret, hoping that their friends can one day see the movie and join the club. Just as many who have seen and…

Reviews

No Clue

By: Addison Wylie Comedy comes naturally for Brent Butt.  Say what you want about his clean-cut deadpan performances and how “it doesn’t work for you”.  But, six seasons of a highly popular footnote in Canadian television is nothing to ignore. Myself – along with a large cult fan base – find the Saskatchewan born comic to be hilarious and in tune with all the components it takes to make people laugh: delivery, timing, and content….

Reviews

Borgman

By: Addison Wylie A film can tell you nothing for no good reason, having you frustrated until the final frame.  Sometimes, a movie can keep everything a secret and get away with it because of how intriguing it is.  Alex van Warmerdam’s haunting Borgman is a magnificent example of the latter. Borgman is a weird flick, but daring because of that.  The skillful filmmaker has set up his plan masterfully, and has the average movie…

Reviews

In The Blood

By: Addison Wylie In The Blood is what it is. It’s straight-down-the-middle B-movie schlock.  In this case, it’s easier to accept because of how many stunts made me giddily wince while I watched it.  But, director John Stockwell shows audiences that action movies may not be his “thing”. Former American Gladiator-turned-actress Gina Carano plays Ava, a newly married gal trying to find the whereabouts of her missing husband Derek (played by Cam Gigandet).  While on…

Reviews

The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden

By: Addison Wylie Documentarians Daniel Geller and Danya Goldfine have a fascinating story on their hands with The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden.  It’s a real-life murder mystery that took place in the 1930’s within the secluded collection of islands located near Ecuador. In the late 20’s, a couple seeking independence and an escape from civilization took to Floreana to start a new life.  Surrounded by tortoises and iguanas, Friedrich Ritter and Dore Strauch…

Reviews

Veronica Mars

By: Addison Wylie As someone who has never set eyes on the cult television hit Veronica Mars and knows extremely little detail as to what took place on the show, the film puts me in an unusual spot for this detective’s feature film debut. Rob Thomas’ film is bound to please any fan who’s been begging for a Veronica Mars reunion, but the real test is how it stands as its own movie.  Can outsiders…

Reviews

The Days God Slept

By: Addison Wylie There are short films that get wrapped up in their own mysterious styles and murky vagueness, and then there’s Jeremiah Kipp’s The Days God Slept. Kipp’s short film skates awfully close to being just another brick in the surrealistic wall but its consistency to its characters and story is what saves it, making it a memorable watch. The Days God Slept gives the power to the audience to assume the context of…