By: Addison Wylie Heaven Is for Real is – so far – my favourite recent faith-based flick in a year full of religion centric movies. It’s mild-mannered and shoots for attainable goals, which makes Randall Wallace’s movie all the more amiable. Another major plus is how there’s no preachy hidden agenda detailing the motivations of the movie. Religion serves as a prominent theme in Heaven Is for Real, but its only to add depth to…
By: Addison Wylie Every moviegoing year has a movie like The One I Love. That one movie where everyone who sees it unanimously and silently agrees to keep quiet about it. It’s a neat decision to witness. It shows that the average audience still loves a challenge and still loves to keep a secret, hoping that their friends can one day see the movie and join the club. Just as many who have seen and…
By: Addison Wylie For a while, Atlantic. was the most relaxed I had felt at this year’s festival. Incredibly shot sequences of Fettah windsurfing across the infinite drink eased me into a trance. Its angelic score cradling the audience is the final nuance Atlantic. has that completely sends us into adoration with these moments of Jan-Willem van Ewijk’s tranquil tale. Alas, Atlantic. follows a bothersome and oddly common theme at this year’s TIFF. Atlantic. eventually drifts…
By: Addison Wylie I’ve had to alter my evaluating criteria for DisneyNature. It’s clear the sub-studio has no interest returning to the quality of earlier docs like Earth and Oceans anytime soon. Instead, families receive a cutesy story set to live action B-roll of animals in their natural habitats. As someone who appreciates the importance of these wildlife documentaries, I find it tough to embrace this type of manufactured product. DisneyNature’s African Cats left me…
By: Addison Wylie We return to the Short Cuts Canada programmes to take a look at a few films that aren’t afraid to get “real”. Well, “real” in surreal surroundings and under crazy circumstances. These three shorts may be tales out of a book (certainly in the case of The Underground), but the emotion conveyed is what makes these stories come alive. They hit and miss various points, but the risks these filmmakers take are nothing…
By: Addison Wylie Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie is fanfare to its core. It’s also a movie that was funded by fans through a highly successful Indiegogo campaign manned by filmmakers/screenwriters Kevin Finn and the Nerd himself James Rolfe. By avid YouTube subscribers and other online viewers having such an integral role in the making of Finn and Rolfe’s film, I’m not completely surprised to see the finished product completely pander to that crowd….
By: Addison Wylie Wet Bum features a superb performance by TIFF Rising Star Julia Sarah Stone. Her helpless presence draws us in, as if we feel the need to lend her a shoulder to cry on. But, it’s her earnest portrayal of fourteen-year-old outsider Sam that signifies the puzzling phases of fitting in among your peers, and trying to swallow the lump in your throat when you’re singled out for being different. The film that…
By: Addison Wylie At TIFF ’12, a cold film named Krivina made its mark on the circuit. Directed by Igor Drljaca and produced by Albert Shin, Krivina was a film with a strong, silent lead. It tested my patience with meandering stretches, but halfheartedly won me back with a shocking twist I didn’t see coming. Smashcut to present day and the roles have switched with In Her Place – Shin is now the writer/director and…
By: Addison Wylie TIFF’s Canadian roots are more than prominent in the Short Cuts Canada programmes. Alexander Rogalski and Magali Simard – two of the festival’s programmers – have selected what they feel are the cream of the short form crop. They’ve included filmmakers with impassioned voices and integral visions, and they’ve even included some touched up classics. It’s expected that The National Film Board of Canada would be involved in this showcase somehow. Their…
By: Addison Wylie Filmmaker Naji Abu Nowar marks a departure from short films with Theeb, a gripping slow burn that confidently risks it all to challenge itself with different genres. The boldness often profits this tense flick. At first, it’s a character study ala Beasts of the Southern Wild, albeit told more conventionally. While its composure helps the film with its accessibility towards the audience, it doesn’t contain any stimulating eruptions through its presentation. However,…