By: Addison Wylie Every so often, a tall glass of ridiculousness helps break up moviegoing monotony. Some filmmakers have tried their hardest to makes escapist entertainment, and have instead delivered films that were too heavy on lunkheaded machismo. Gary Fleder’s Homefront had come in under the radar – or, so it seemed to me. Since it stars Jason Statham as the lead, it fell into that vaguely generic category most people seem to group Statham…
Out of all the festivals I’ve ever covered, the Hot Docs Film Festival is one of my favourites. It’s a festival that always promises a deep array of different types of documentaries from a variety of different countries. It’s very hard to find one doc that resembles another in Hot Docs. The press conference held at Toronto’s Bloor Hot Docs Theatre on March 18 certainly built the buzz well. The audience had the pleasure of…
By: Addison Wylie Why is it that Out of the Furnace has so many accomplishments going for it, yet it’s an impossible recommendation? Telling someone to watch Out of the Furnace would be like telling someone to hold a bunch of wild snakes and assuring them they won’t get bit. Scott Cooper’s thriller is one of those movies you appreciate a few hours after having watched it. Viewing Out of the Furnace for the first…
By: Addison Wylie A Field in England is a shock to the system. However, the film’s fine print entails a different definition of that phrase to movie goers. I certainly am not using that description to be complimentary. Some are going to find Ben Wheatley’s trippy drama an enigmatic experience that has them coming back for more. It’s a film that seems as if its been tailor-made for the patient arthouse crowd. Others – like…
By: Addison Wylie In Fear marks the first time in a while where a film has really scared me using traditional minimalist tactics. We’re paired with Tom and Lucy – a complicated couple played by Iain De Caestecker and Alice Englert – as they head towards a secluded hotel via their tiny vehicle. The search for the hotel brings them deeper into the woods and directional signs send them on a wild goose chase as the…
By: Addison Wylie It’s no competition that Kenny vs. Spenny – whether you like it or not – has become a staple in Canadian pop culture. Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice’s reality television show featured the buddies going toe-to-toe with each other in various matches such as Who Can Win a Ten Mile Race and Who Can Stay in a Haunted House the Longest. However, as the competitions became increasingly irreverent and Hotz’s strategies more…
By: Addison Wylie Here’s the thing. I’m not mad at Ride Along. I’m not even frustrated with Tim Story’s buddy cop comedy. I’m not miffed, put off, or even slightly perturbed with it. I’m just kind of numb. Barely laughing in a comedy will do that to a person. I’m writing this review moments after watching the thing because I’m worried I’ll start forgetting portions of it. This vehicle for Ice Cube and Kevin Hart…
By: Addison Wylie North Americans have Will Ferrel’s Ron Burgundy, an on-camera anchorman who’s self-centred arrogance has him chewing down on his own foot often. In Europe, the Brits have Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge. Partridge is an egotistical radio personality obsessed with a celebrity image and a winning smile. Where Burgundy can read on screen as a pompous jerk with a heart of gold steeped in spoof misogyny, Partridge is more endearing. He always finds…
By: Addison Wylie You can’t say The Suspect was mismarketed. All that spectacular stunt work that’s flashed in the film’s trailer is there, and it’s still enthralling in context. What the trailer doesn’t capture is how overblown Won Shin-yun’s film is. Maybe that’s for the better since the lethargic narrative is a major turnoff. First, the film’s key strength: Shin-yun knows how to map out an action sequence. There are more than enough car chases…
By: Addison Wylie The Human Rights Watch Film Festival has made me exhale an astonished “wow” twice now. That’s a compliment I haven’t admitted to in a while. It’s absolutely true in the case of Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s harrowing doc Saving Face. The mighty film, which deservedly won 2012’s ‘Best Documentary Short’ Oscar, shows audiences how disturbingly frequent and heartbreakingly affective acid crimes are. Every year, numerous Pakistani women are dosed with different forms of…