By: Addison Wylie I don’t like the route that these new documentaries from DisneyNature have taken. Plain and simple. I don’t like how facts have taken a backseat and cute stitched together stories have taken the forefront. These are documentaries after all, not straight forward narratives. Understandably, Disney is making these films for a young target audience. But still, young acquiring minds don’t mind the odd instance of factual information. These nature documentaries draw in…
By: Addison Wylie The Campaign is hilarious, but, the funniest thing about the new political comedy starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis may be the reactions from confused patrons expecting a dumb comedy. The befuddled audience members will not find this funny, because they’ll be too busy being disappointed, but everyone who got a kick out of this mixed breed of childish humour and a straight political underdog story will be grinning from ear-to-ear. There’s…
By: Addison Wylie Life can imitate art and vies versa. For novelist Calvin Weir-Fields, he’s still trying to figure out where his encounter with Ruby falls. What an audience can be certain about though is that Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ Ruby Sparks always keeps things interesting. Calvin (played by Paul Dano) is a neurotic character – as all movie writers usually are. From Nicolas Cage’s portrayal of Charlie and Donald Kaufman in Adaptation. to…
By: Addison Wylie “Excuse me. I just….I know I’m in the way. I know, I know, I know, I just need to do one……….thing. I know I’m in your way. I just need to do….this. Do you mind? If you mind, I can move. But, I’ll be quick. There! Did it. Sorry to be such an inconvenience.” Inconvenience is right. If Lockout was a living person, it’d be “that guy”. The guy who knows what…
By: Addison Wylie These recent concert documentaries have done a terrific job at peeling away layers of a hot musical artist and presenting them to audiences in a vulnerable way. Katy Perry: Part of Me may just be the most naked one yet. That’s not to say Perry DOES get naked. That would obliterate any chance of getting a PG rating and creating an accessible product for her young fans. Perry does however keep up …
By: Addison Wylie Back when we all had a little bit more patience, it felt that films like People Like Us took up over half the screens at local movie theatres; most notably in the 90’s. Come to think of it, here’s a perfect example. With all the film’s scenes featuring characters talking about favourable vintage music, People Like Us has a High Fidelity vibe going for it. That’s not to say Alex Kurtzman’s film…
By: Addison Wylie The most difficult task the audience must carry out while watching The Amazing Spider-Man is trying to distance this new origin story of the web-slinging superhero from Sam Raimi’s version starring Toby Maguire. The Social Network’s Andrew Garfield takes the role of high schooler Peter Parker; a quiet individual who tools around with mechanics and could read about scientific discoveries all day when he’s not pulling off kickflips on his skateboard. Instead…
By: Addison Wylie I remember starring in a high school play, a play that shall remain nameless, where I didn’t know what was going on. Not in a way that I was passed out and my body was strung up resembling a Weekend at Bernie’s scenario; I legitimately did not know what the play was about, my character’s motivation, or what it all meant in the grand scheme of things. Being that the play was…
By: Addison Wylie Derick Martini’s Hick reminded me of Deborah Kampmeier’s 2007 indie film Hounddog. Both with it’s Southern setting and the state’s troubled habitants but also because both films took innocent, young actresses and positioned them in harsh adult themes. Hounddog was all the hubbub because of a certain scene involving Dakota Fanning’s Lewellen being sexually assaulted. It easily made people aware of the film because we could never picture the delightful actress from…
By: Addison Wylie Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. Can I see you in my office for a moment? Hi, guys. Let me tell you, you two had quite the promising start. Your innovative Crank films have split audiences. But, even to those who think those two action films are crass and immature, they can’t deny that what you two insane directors are doing is something audiences haven’t seen in a mainstream flick. You guys have…