Céline Sciamma’s highly acclaimed drama Portrait of a Lady on Fire is visceral filmmaking at its most eloquent. So much of this period piece hinges on textures, sights, and sounds to make the audience believe that we’re living through someone’s romantic memories.
The best choice made about 52 Words for Love concerns its release date. Whoever decided to release this movie on Valentine’s Day deserves a big box of chocolates.
Movies about people looking for true love tend to be treated with a lighter attitude. Mostly because audiences respond more efficiently to stories that they can relate to that don’t portray their problems as a wet towel. To my recollection, Let the Sunshine In is the first film – in some time, at least – to put real weight behind this personal mission of romance. Although the film provides relatable results for some viewers, the…
Tru Love hits Toronto’s Carlton Cinema today, and it’s a wise choice to support it. While it occasionally dabbles as a soap opera, I found its romantic intimacy lovely. The characters are innocent when facing the premise, which makes their maturity manifest naturally. Recently, I talked Tru Love shop with the film’s co-directors, Kate Johnston and Shauna MacDonald. We discussed the film’s snowcapped Toronto setting, the importance of setting a general tone, and if post-production altered that original mood….
By: Addison Wylie There should be entertainment in watching something as expensive and clueless as Winter’s Tale foul up as bad as it does. To do so, there has to be peculiar performances or unusual story elements to keep us guiltily hooked. Winter’s Tale has these, but it’s empty core covers any unintentional laughs. It’s a film serviced by a writer/director who can’t fully comprehend the source material he’s adapting. Akiva Goldsman has been a producer on…
By: Addison Wylie Ever since The Notebook’s crowd pleasing fame, there’s been a line of Nicholas Sparks adaptations brought to the big screen. Because these films have hit home runs at the box office, it wasn’t surprising to see other romantic book-to-film conversions follow suit. The trailer for The Fault in Our Stars gave off that cover of being “just another one of those romantic movies”. Movie goers who have read and fallen in love with…
By: Addison Wylie Mustering through Making the Rules is like watching a bunch of people try and sail using only the framework of a boat. The film marks the acting debut of musician Robin Thicke. This triggers a question right off the bat: is watching thespian Thicke as painful as it sounds? My answer may disappoint those wanting me to slam the Blurred Lines hit maker. I honestly couldn’t tell you if his performance is…
By: Addison Wylie The last thing I expect to feel during “riotous and outrageous sexual exploration” is snooze-inducing boredom. That was the case with My Awkward Sexual Adventure, an unadulterated Canadian sex comedy that sets up an array of absurd situations only to do nothing but fumble around. I hate pointing all the blame towards one individual, but with My Awkward Sexual Adventure, it’s tough not to do that when Jonas Chernick is the source…
By: Addison Wylie The Vow is one of those movies that is a guaranteed success. With the film hitting theatres around Valentine’s Day and by having two attractive actors fill out the lead roles, the familiarity and the timing is enough to bring in big bucks for everyone involved. It also must be nice for Kim and Krickitt Carpenter (the couple this movie is based on) to have their story told to a younger, unaware…