By: Addison Wylie Most of the complimentary things I can say about Rob Marshall’s Into the Woods stem from how inspired its original work is. The broadway musical of the same name (written by James Lapine with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim) interweaves your favourite fairy tales into a story that sprawls over three magical nights. The story then continues with a pragmatic epilogue which results in a topsy-turvy conclusion. Lapine’s musical has a…
By: Addison Wylie The Hunger Games series has been particularly strong with its film adaptations. However, something always appears to be slightly off key. Not always a detail that greatly affects the film as a whole, but an attribute that hampers the film from being great. The Hunger Games was a powerful introduction to dystopian District 12 and all the have-nots that inhabited such a mucky home. Audiences also received a brutal – yet PG-13…
By: Addison Wylie Reviewing The Starving Games won’t take very long, so leave your coat and shoes on. This halfhearted send-up to The Hunger Games has been pieced, glued, taped, and mashed together by infamous spoofmeisters Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. It crawls and wheezes to feature length, yet only has enough material to fund a commercial bumper on the MTV Movie Awards – even that is pushing it. Friedberg and Seltzer have never hit a…
By: Addison Wylie Into the Storm secures its audiences with that title and its exciting poster. You can already picture thrill seekers lining up in anticipation for an entertaining time at the movies, hoping Steven Quale’s movie will measure up to other enjoyable guilty pleasures. Twister would be the easiest to link to. In fact, the advertising’s power of persuade movie goers works so well, that we instantly recognize the bad weather as the main…
By: Addison Wylie The Planes franchise is not for me. However, I’m not a seven-year-old boy who’s obsessed with airplanes and other miscellaneous aviary vehicles – the demographic these films are so clearly for. That’s not to snub the seven-year-old boy who likes to play with toy airplanes in his parents’ living room. Being a kid is a great time and should be cerished. There’s a lack of responsibilities, you have no dire worries, and…
By: Addison Wylie Moms’ Night Out is a tame movie. It’s tamer than tame. If movies were made from the fabric that makes those mattresses they drop bowling balls on to show you how soothing your sleeping habits will be, Moms’ Night Out would be the ideal prototype. The film isn’t worthy of being labeled “bad”. That status goes to movies that try to achieve something, and flounder in spectacular ways. Moms’ Night Out doesn’t…
By: Addison Wylie Mel Brooks hasn’t directed a film since 1995’s Dracula: Dead and Loving It. After watching the comedy for the first time, it’s quite possible this is where Brooks may have fallen out of love with filmmaking – a tragic end to our coverage of TIFF’s retrospective. Now, of course, I could be speaking out of school. Brooks has served as a producer on numerous projects (including some upcoming work in 2015), and…
The Canadian premiere of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies took place in Toronto and Oscar-winner Peter Jackson, co-star Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies, The Fall), and screenwriter/producer Philippa Boyens hit the red carpet at the Windsor Arms Hotel.
By: Addison Wylie Last time we checked in with TIFF’s Mel Brooks retrospective, it was to recover old memories of his classic Blazing Saddles. Another reason why It’s Good to Be the King is a useful look back at Brooks’ filmography is that it allows audiences to see how the filmmaker’s sense of humour has aged. Unfortunately, Robin Hood: Men in Tights isn’t exactly a fond way to remember Mel Brooks’ signature silliness. His love for cinema and poking fun…
By: Addison Wylie “Pre-invested interest…pre-invested interest. What are you doing? Do you have pre-invested interest?” Those words were ghostly floating around in my head as I tried to throw myself into The Decent One, a new documentary from Vanessa Lapa. I wouldn’t consider myself a history buff, or even a history dabbler. Honestly, I was never interested in history class nor could I memorize dates and names for crucial tests. If my high school teacher…