By: Addison Wylie In The Blood is what it is. It’s straight-down-the-middle B-movie schlock. In this case, it’s easier to accept because of how many stunts made me giddily wince while I watched it. But, director John Stockwell shows audiences that action movies may not be his “thing”. Former American Gladiator-turned-actress Gina Carano plays Ava, a newly married gal trying to find the whereabouts of her missing husband Derek (played by Cam Gigandet). While on…
To movie goers who may not be doc-savvy, they may instantly think a documentary has to be a film where talking heads flap away while being accompanied with relevant b-roll. That’d be unfortunate because that’s not always the case. The Hot Docs International Documentary Festival tries to provide audiences with documentaries that set out to portray the genre from a different angle. The festival does a solid job at providing plenty of examples. However, there are…
By: Addison Wylie I’ve enjoyed covering the TIFF Kids International Film Festival in the past, but this year was especially cool. This marked the first year for any festival where I obtained an industry pass. The TIFF Kids Industry pass entitled you to sit in on exclusive conversations, workshops, keynotes, and Q&A’s. The team behind the festival made sure they delivered on guests who could provide truthful insight about the world of filmmaking and…
The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is fast approaching, which means it’s time to check out some of the docs that will be playing this year. The festival has been known to feature a variety of different work capturing all sorts of subjects and world events. There’s simply no other festival like it, which explains why it’s become the largest film festival for docs in North America. Hot Docs is one of my favourite festivals…
By: Addison Wylie Following a recent trend of year-in-the-life-of-a-high-schooler documentaries, School of Babel marks the movement’s first forgettable entry. It serves a purpose and the events in Julie Bertuccelli’s doc will undoubtably affect the featured students, but the impact on the audience is muted by vacant direction and a slow pace. In Paris at La Grange-aux-Belles secondary school, a class of diverse teens learn the French language while inhabiting the new culture. It’s always so…
By: Addison Wylie Why do we have a sequel to last year’s poorly reviewed A Haunted House? Well, some people – including me – thought the first outing was a dumb unadulterated comedy that was actually a really funny send-up to the recent trend of horror flicks involving possessions and the devil. Because of the giggly reception and a profitable box office, director Michael Tiddes and partner-in-crime Marlon Wayans have decided to throw another spoof…
By: Addison Wylie Jeremy Gardner’s slow burn horror The Battery has earned crowds of cheers reaching back to its early film festival days from genre movie goers. Even though I wasn’t sold on this flabby flick, that’s great news for the filmmaker. It’s a zombie movie that hardly shows you any of the walking dead. That’s a tough sell! You see limited amounts of zombies because Gardner wants to set his sights more on the…
By: Addison Wylie The House of Magic is an abundantly likeable film, and will certainly be a memorable pick at this year’s TIFF Kids. On the surface, the bouncy flick has all the ingredients for a smiling good time at the theatre. There’s an adorable cat, whimsical magic, and stunning animation paired with incredible use of 3D technology. It’s to be warned that Jérémie Degruson and Ben Stassen’s film isn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the first…
By: Addison Wylie I have a theory about animated films aimed towards children that are headlined by The Weinstein Company. And, The Nut Job gives me more material to work with. The Nut Job further solidifies my opinion that: the Weinsteins are severely out of touch with the youth of today, they think your children are dolts who will lap up anything animated, and they think you – the parent – are nothing more than…
By: Addison Wylie As times change, a filmmaker is faced with the potential to grow within their craft. I haven’t seen or heard from writer/director Stephen Chow since 2004’s fantastically insane Kung Fu Hustle, so I suppose I forgot that he would have to face this fork-in-the-road in his career if he continued to make movies. I see that advancement in his latest effort Journey to the West, but it’s not in the film’s tone….