By: Addison Wylie Director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett are two filmmakers who love the horror genre. Furthermore, they’re filmmakers who understand the genre. They deserve a ton of success and praise. I hope The Guest finally gets them there. You might say, “Addison! What’re you talking about? These two have made a name for themselves already!” Sure, they have; I agree that the duo have established themselves in moviemaking, but Wingard and Barrett…
By: Addison Wylie The suspiciously released comedy Best Night Ever could easily be retitled Wedding Movie. Or, Hangover Movie or Bridesmaids Movie to be a bit more on the nose. The reason why the film doesn’t go by those titles is because (A.) those suggestions are terrible and (B.) the directorial duo are most likely trying to distance themselves away from schlocky spoof movies. That duo: Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Friedberg and Seltzer need…
By: Addison Wylie We’re only a few minutes into Citizen Marc, and the audience is already aware of how polarizing pot activist Marc Emery can be. Emery’s button-pushing tactics to challenge the Canadian government can be seen as either courageous or just plain obnoxious. His outspokenness may be a little of column A and B, but documentarian Roger Evan Larry uses this film to portray Emery as real as possible. That image being a passionate,…
By: Addison Wylie Edet Belzberg’s Watchers of the Sky is built on perseverance. It’s the film’s bread and butter. The doc has stories about those who refuse to give up fighting for change. But, the glue holding these stories together is Raphael Lemkin’s unstoppable mission to invent the word “genocide” and give it a meaning. His sweat and tears worked hard to urge the UN to consider the heinous act of ethnic cleansing as an…
By: Addison Wylie Suburban Gothic is…weird. And, not that good kind of “weird” that Toronto After Dark joyfully uncovers through obscure titles. It’s a movie that makes you ask questions. Questions like: What is Suburban Gothic? Better yet, what genre is Suburban Gothic? Is it a comedy? Is it a horror? Better yet, is it a horror/comedy? If so, how can it be a comedy when it’s this stupefyingly unfunny? How can it be a…
By: Addison Wylie The Asylum and SyFy hit a cult goldmine with Sharknado, a television event with an inane premise and flat production values that point all blame towards budgetary reasonings and its small screen platform. With a solid social media campaign and successful PR, the stars aligned, and out popped a hit! A hit that was “so bad, it’s good”, but a hit nonetheless. I don’t belong in that fanbase. I caught Sharknado after the…
By: Addison Wylie The sporadic weather and the dropping temperature suggests that watching movies at a classy venue is the best way to stay snug. Lucky for you, the Reel Indie Film Fest rolls into Toronto this week. The festival opens Tuesday, October 14 at 7:00 pm with Greg Olliver’s Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty and wraps up on Saturday, October 18 at 9:30 pm with the intriguingly titled March of the Gods: Botswana Metalheads….
By: Addison Wylie God Help the Girl matches the sweetness of its leading female Emily Browning. It’s also a film that has allowed the actress to let her hair down, or at least style it into a bob. Browning has shown glimpses of how great of an actress she could become. However, she attracts roles that have her looking forlorn in dreary circumstances. As far as I know, God Help the Girl is her first…
By: Addison Wylie Happy Slapping is a movie that slowly won me over. It’s a film that’s difficult to get used to, but I’m glad I finally did. That said, I am torn. Despite my surprised reaction, Christos Sourligas’ film is something I can’t outright endorse. At least, not without a few warnings and reservations because of how it was conceived and how it ultimately looks on screen. You may have heard of Happy Slapping…
By: Anthony King GOING IN: I think it’s fair to say that any big Movie Buff – or whatever they refer to themselves as – likes all genres of film. They’ll dance during a musical, cry for a rom-com, and even read subtitles for a foreign film. I, for one, consider myself in this category but if I had to pick one genre as my least favourite or the one I tend to avoid, it…