By: Addison Wylie “If a movie does nothing wrong, does that make it a movie that does everything right?” I asked myself that during The F Word, and afterwards when I was developing my overall feelings towards Michael Dowse’s Toronto bound romantic comedy. The F Word does the trick, and goes through the hoops it needs to in order to please its general audience. We have two likeable leads (Wallace and Chantey played by Daniel…
By: Addison Wylie Let’s Be Cops is one of those comedies that’s hard to get behind. You want to go with it, you want to laugh along, but you can’t help but be put off by the film’s sense of plausibility. Director Luke Greenfield co-wrote this screenplay with Nicholas Thomas, and it’s a script that does more harm than good. The story starts off well enough with two schlubs (Ryan and Justin played by Jake…
By: Addison Wylie My feelings for Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai follow in the same vein as some sceptics felt about Nicholas Winding Refn’s Drive – a whole lot of style and not much else. I could see what Jarmusch was trying to do with Ghost Dog. It was the same thing we later saw Refn carry out with Drive, except Refn executed his film much better. Jarmusch was wanting to…
By: Addison Wylie TIFF Cinematheque opens up a wonderful world of weird with Strange Paradise: The Cinema of Jim Jarmusch. The retrospective – which began on July 24 and runs until August 16 – screens Jarmusch’s unique filmography in pristine condition at the TIFF BELL Lightbox. The scheduling of the program jumps around, so faithful watchers are never following the career in chronological order. Something tells me this quirk is much like Jarmusch’s unpredictable sensibilities. Wylie…
By: Addison Wylie The legend of Hercules has been told time after time. Heck, earlier this year, movie goers even received another Hercules film. It didn’t do so hot (both with overall reception and with box office receipts), but maybe I’ll give it a watch down the road to wash away the dingy aftertaste Brett Ratner’s Hercules left behind. When a character as old as Hercules is dusted off and used to make another swords-and-sandels…
By: Addison Wylie Tammy is the latest instalment in a series of movies featuring Melissa McCarthy acting inappropriately. It garnered her an Academy Award nomination in Bridesmaids, it repelled good taste in Identity Thief, and brought in lots of giggles in The Heat. Now, her rude persuasiveness finds its way in the backwoods. Tammy, which embraces its hickabilly fog, has McCarthy playing the title role and hitting the road with her blunt, booze gulping grandma…
By: Addison Wylie When people gang up on Tyler Perry, I’m there to usually defend him. I might not be saying good things about his movies, but I’ve stood up for him from a business perspective. He knows his audience well, and that knowledge has led him to be one of the most profitable filmmakers of our time. But this time, I side with the haters. And, I can’t see his fan base happily accepting…
By: Addison Wylie The conception of a movie like And So It Goes doesn’t so much start with an outline or a series of ideas. It begins with a demand no one has demanded; except for zealous producers who think they know their desired demographic. The general public likes Michael Douglas and those same patrons are most likely to enjoy watching Diane Keaton. The brains behind And So It Goes have taken these two variables…
By: Addison Wylie You often hear the term “edutainment” thrown around. I’ve used it in a few reviews regarding films that keep the audience thrilled while offering plenty of food for thought, but I usually pair the word to learning tools a teacher could use in a grade school homeroom. Whether you’re watching GMO OMG for fun or using it to study up about genetically modified organisms, Jeremy Seifert’s film is able to keep you…
By: Addison Wylie Legendary British comedy masterminds Monty Python gathered at London’s O2 arena and performed their last show of Monty Python Live (mostly) on Sunday, July 20. There were plenty of animal puns, ridiculous cheekiness, and spam to go around. Monty Python Live (mostly) opens with a silly song about llamas and leads in with John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and show director Eric Idle performing a sketch about reuniting and oneupmanship…