By Parker Mott Sin City: A Dame to Kill For seems to almost prey on our memories (and, for some, admiration) of 2005’s first Sin City by reintroducing many of the same shadowy characters in the same grim, gutless city and not providing a narrative motor to make the return worth it. The film not only wastes the audience’s time, but the characters’s as well. Without injecting urgency to each plodding minute, A Dame to…
By: Addison Wylie As soon as I found out Señoritas was the feature debut for filmmaker Lina Rodriguez, everything started making sense. Señoritas reminded me a lot of Krivina and Tower, two indies I caught at TIFF two years ago. Both films featured up-and-coming filmmakers taking on character studies and applying a drawn out pace. What separates those two independent films from Señoritas is that they were building towards something. Krivina applied a twist that…
By: Addison Wylie In an attempt to be complementary, but at the same time seem unintentionally inconsiderate, I enjoyed Life of Crime because it lacked a notable visionary’s presence. It didn’t feel the need to impress the audience with any sort of pizazz. It has a solid story, an array of interesting people ranging from low-lifes to the pompous rich, and a good time period to reference through lavish art direction and a sensational score….
By: Addison Wylie It’s been about a week since I’ve seen Richard Linklater’s much anticipated Boyhood. I don’t usually give myself that amount of time to conceive a write-up. Boyhood’s different though. Boyhood’s an ambitious project that had Linklater shooting scenes over a 12 year period capturing his young lead Mason (played by Ellar Coltrane) mature into a strong-willed individual. He, along with his cast, crafted a story around that filmmaking method and then –…
By: Addison Wylie In the literal sense, Frank is an adult male – roughly 5′ 10 – who wears a magnificent paper mâché crown equipped with bulging blue eyes and a moony mouth. Frank’s the frontman of an avant-garde band named “Soronprfbs” – a name that’s not so much a title, but something you say as you cough up phlegm. He pushes his bandmates to their limits and makes them reach deep inside themselves to…
By: Addison Wylie The word “incompetent” is usually associated with low intelligence. In the case of Hard Drive, I think the melodrama is outrageously incompetent, but I don’t think its writer/director William D. MacGillivray is stupid. MacGillivray’s achievements were attached to the press notes, and there’s enough proof in the pudding to make me believe he ain’t no dummy. The filmmaker has been attached to projects that have earned him acclaim, Canadian credibility, and a…
By: Addison Wylie There’s a craft to making dirty words and sexual innuendos funny that Sunflower Hour never masters. Aaron Houston’s mockumentary gathers a decent amount of giggles when its playing up pathetic characters in cleverly clean ways, but the comedy would much rather have those dolts exclaim expletives, or call things “gay”. The film centres around puppeteers competing for an open slot on ‘Sunflower Hour’, a supposedly successful – albeit cheaply made – children’s…
By: Addison Wylie The Market offers a rare look at an issue through generic eyes. Filmmaker Rama Rau shouldn’t worry though. I’m still recommending her transfixing film about kidney trafficking and the butterfly effect these risky surgeries cause. Rau’s doc handles two different perspectives: life in an Indian slum, and the apprehensive idling of someone awaiting a kidney transplant in Canada. Both views are packed with a lot of emotion as well as unforgettable talks…
By: Addison Wylie How do the Muppets follow up their 2011 crowd pleasing resurgence? With a song titled We’re Doing a Sequel including a lyric admitting that the second film in a series isn’t nearly as good as the first. Not so fast, guys. Muppets Most Wanted actually ends up being more memorable and more clever than its predecessor. Picking up where The Muppets left off, the cheerful fleet of felt eye an upcoming tour as…
By: Addison Wylie Wylie Writes’ coverage of TIFF’s Jim Jarmusch retrospective began with a mixed bag of shorts, and ends with a mixed bag of concert cutouts and behind-the-scenes glimpses. It’s undoubtable Jarmusch captures a raw vision of Neil Young and Crazy Horse with his scattershot Year of the Horse. The filmmaker catalogues footage from unique perspectives; the performances are especially visceral if occasionally obscured. He switches between different film stocks (16mm, Hi-8 video, and Super 8)…