By: Addison Wylie Life Itself has the sympathetic appeal and gravitas of a rightfully great documentary about an unbreakable legacy. It’s the type of film Roger Ebert would’ve liked, even if it wasn’t chronicling the late film critic’s life and times. Ebert’s “thumbs up/thumbs down” signature alongside buddying rival Gene Siskel left more than just an imprint on the film industry. Their clashing opinions and exuberance for winning movies had readers and viewers alike riveted….
By: Addison Wylie My most anticipated movie of 2014 is one I’ve already seen, but has yet to make a widespread appearance in theatres or on DVD/VOD. I want to recommend this excellent indie as soon as it shows its bloody face. Found screened for horror hounds at last year’s Toronto After Dark. It left the audience – particularly me – shaken and disturbed. The low budget flick about a sibling who discovers his stoic,…
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….
By: Addison Wylie “Is this really happening?” Get used to those four words, people. You’ll be asking yourself that a lot during Words and Pictures, a big letdown that wavers between an overplayed drama, an awkward romantic comedy, and hokey classroom schmaltz. Despite that harsh statement, Words and Pictures isn’t flat-out bad. We at least have watchable performances by Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche. Their roles as teachers who butt heads (Binoche being the more…
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…
By: Addison Wylie This weekend, a form of torture…er…a “spellbinding” new documentary called Manakamana (pronounced Mana-Ka-Mana as suggested by the film’s poster) will be released upon the public. Those moviegoers should buckle up for a stinker, and maybe bring a pillow while they’re at it. To be honest, I’m surprised I’m writing a review. About halfway through this aggravating experience, I was predicting I would be curled up in the fetal position, rocking back and…
By: Addison Wylie It’s terrific news to report that Lost Episode Festival Toronto (or, LEFT) is back! Some of you who have been following me since my time at Film Army may have seen my coverage of the weekend-long festival last year. It was a neat experience and certainly a film festival unlike any I’ve attended. For those who need a brief introduction, LEFT is a film festival run by fearless leader Johnny Larocque. It…
By: Addison Wylie The Case Against 8 takes you right to the very beginning of the scandalous, distressing times involving California’s passing of Proposition 8. Watching clips of Prop 8 propaganda and observing professionals talking in all seriousness about the benefits of the amendment is like falling through the looking glass. It’s hard to believe that this period existed and that 18,000 couples with different sexual orientations were told their marriages were voided. Shooting and…
By: Addison Wylie Me and You marks the return of Bernardo Bertolucci as he cozies his way back into the director’s chair. After all, it’s been a decade since audiences caught Bertolucci’s controversial, NC-17 drama The Dreamers. The filmmaker has toned matters down for Me and You compared to the graphic content in The Dreamers, but his latest is unique in its own way. I wouldn’t go as far as to say Me and You’s…
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…