Latest

May 2014

Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Inside Out 2014: Oddball Comedy is Merkin Me Laugh

The Foxy Merkins (DIR. Madeleine Olnek) By: Addison Wylie Margaret (played by Lisa Haas) has taken on the life of prostitution and homelessness.  Being that she’s a lesbian, her clients are all high end females looking for a good, undisclosed time. While on her way to find a place to sleep, she meets Jo (played by Jackie Monahan).  The two hit it off almost instantly, and Jo – who’s also homeless – soon starts to show Margaret…

Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Inside Out 2014: The Impostors in a Sham

An Evening with the Impostors (DIR. Raymond Helkio) By: Addison Wylie Filmmaker Raymond Helkio takes a day-in-the-life approach and applies it to the Impostors, an all male performance group where the talent impersonate female celebrities.  Beyoncé, Aretha Franklin, and Cher are among the names in their roster.  We follow the gang as they travel to Port Hope for their largest venue yet – the Captiol Theatre. While the performers remain professional with oodles of charisma, they…

Reviews

A Million Ways to Die in the West

By: Addison Wylie Seth MacFarlane is known for pushing the limits.  He practically takes over FOX every Sunday night with various animation programs that would make your parents cup their own ears.  He’s also shown his naughty side with his feature film debut hit Ted, a crass comedy about a friend and his talking – occasionally drunk and high – teddy bear. With his latest anticipated endeavour A Million Way to Die in the West, those gross-out…

Reviews

We Are The Best!

By: Addison Wylie My affection for We Are The Best! could be compared to the happiness some found in last year’s sleeper hit Good Vibrations.  Both films share the same type of optimism towards punk rock music, as well as curious characters figuring out life through the off-beat genre. Good Vibrations won many audiences over with its sentimentality.  Though the whole thing was too precious for me, I’m happy for those who found pleasing values…

Reviews

Cabin Fever: Patient Zero

By: Addison Wylie Eli Roth exploded onto the scene with Cabin Fever, a subversive backwoods horror that took a flesh-eating disease and made it as terrifying as any nightmarish creature.  It was a bizarre film with nasty visuals and a peculiar sense of humour, but everything about it was addictive. I haven’t seen Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever.  I just haven’t got around to it.  Maybe some day, but director Ti West’s distain towards his…

Reviews

Wylie Writes @ Inside Out 2014: Many Lives in One Great Doc

I Always Said Yes: The Many Lives of Wakefield Poole (DIR. Jim Tushinski) By: Addison Wylie Jim Tushinski’s doc is exactly like his subject when Wakefield Poole is dancing.  The film is nimble, lovely, and tells a story.  We’re always willing to go for the ride. When it comes to the arts, Poole has nearly done it all.  He’s a dancer, a choreographer, a teacher, and has been described as a wonderful cook.  His most famous forte,…

Reviews

Web Junkie

By: Addison Wylie World of Warcraft and those who play the video game have become a punchline in pop culture.  Whether we’re overhearing teens and their strategies or watching the boys from South Park take digs at obsessive gamers, we’ve all been exposed to it one way or another. The youngsters dedicating their lifestyle to it, however, are the ones who are overexposed to the digital battles.  They get sucked in and refuse to give…

Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Inside Out 2014: Experimental/Egotistical

Masculinity/Femininity (DIR. Russell Sheaffer) By: Addison Wylie It’s so limited, but it interrupts the whole filmmaking process.  It’s not a steady stream of consciousness as much as some of the performers would like it to be.  It kind of breaks it up. That’s a quote from someone describing super 8 film in Masculinity/Femininity.  A format of film so cumbersome, it would take an ambitious individual to want to shoot on it to make a modern movie….

Reviews

112 Weddings

By: Addison Wylie Doug Block started shooting wedding videos because it was a good opportunity to earn some extra dough.  But as his filmography grew, so did his fascination with different couples and the dynamics he caught on camera. The question that’s been rattling around in his head is: what happens years after the wedding and the honeymoon?  Can these giddy newlyweds keep up their love once reality settles in and kids enter the picture?…

Reviews

Blended

By: Addison Wylie Adam Sandler has developed a foolproof plan.  It’s a movie formula that enables him and his friends to take luxurious vacations while making a movie in between excursions.  The baffling part is that even though these recent flicks get slammed by critics, they manage to make a lot of money.  I’m unclear as to if the film makes a profit, but it must be a good sign if Blended marks Sandler’s fifth…