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Nebraska

March 3, 2014Addison Wylie2 Comments

By: Addison Wylie I’ve been selling Nebraska to people as “a charming version of Fargo without the violence”.  That gets attention fairly quickly. Alexander Payne’s drama, however, is more quaint than quirky.  Nebraska’s prominent road trip involving a distracted father Woody (played by Bruce Dern) and his patiently courteous son David (played by Will Forte) coasts along flat landscapes.  The two converse about the past and the exciting current possibilities of million dollar winnings Woody…

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Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2014: Saving Face

March 2, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie The Human Rights Watch Film Festival has made me exhale an astonished “wow” twice now.  That’s a compliment I haven’t admitted to in a while.  It’s absolutely true in the case of Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s harrowing doc Saving Face. The mighty film, which deservedly won 2012’s ‘Best Documentary Short’ Oscar, shows audiences how disturbingly frequent and heartbreakingly affective acid crimes are.  Every year, numerous Pakistani women are dosed with different forms of…

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Solo

March 1, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie Solo starts out on an “A” game, but ends up finishing with a generous “C” grade. Isaac Cravit’s independent thriller is a straight-up campfire story – and, the filmmaker knows it.  Gillian (played by former Degrassi: The Next Generation co-star Annie Clark) needs to prove herself to be a capable camp counsellor in order to obtain a summer job.  The newbie needs to pull a “solo”, a two-night experience on a secluded…

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Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2014: In the Shadow of the Sun

February 27, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie I find myself in a predicament trying to review Harry Freeland’s documentary In the Shadow of the Sun.  Prior to the film, I was oblivious to the subject matter and found myself perplexed by the harsh reality that stalks Tanzanian albinos. In the Shadow of the Sun is a perfectly fine documentary, but I keep feeling as if I’m rating Freeman’s doc on the content represented rather than the film the material…

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The Lego Movie

February 25, 2014Addison Wylie5 Comments

By: Addison Wylie In any other situation, The Lego Movie would’ve been used as a promotional tool to shill out a new line of toys to wide-eyed youth while parents have premonitions of their wallet getting lighter by the second.  Luckily, filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller – who were responsible for the surrealist Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs adaptation and the hilarious 21 Jump Street reboot – to shut down that possibility completely. If you…

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3 Days to Kill

February 23, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie 3 Days to Kill pairs action veteran Luc Besson with the imperious directing efforts of McG.  The two filmmakers have unmistaken love/hate relationships with movie goers, but it’s clear that these men have strengths in specific areas.  Besson has shown audiences how action can be exciting with jaw-dropping stunts, and McG knows how to capture an explosion.  The latter may sound underwhelming compared to Besson’s clout, but “flash” is McG’s forte. Their…

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Pompeii

February 21, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie By definition, Paul W.S. Anderson is a filmmaker.  In my eyes, he’s not a very good filmmaker, but he’s been able to create brainless successes. His latest blunder Pompeii is by definition “mindless entertainment”.  The film follows similar conventions that were used in his Resident Evil adaptations, and he crosses his fingers hoping people will eat it up all the same. It’s expected people will walk out of Pompeii passively shrugging off…

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Fly Colt Fly

February 21, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie Seen as a brave folk hero to some and a menacing nuisance to others, teenager Colton Harris-Moore outran police forces, bounty hunters, and watch dogs for nearly three years.  He hitched rides, stole money, and was infamously known for stealing airplanes and crashing them on new islands to loot. Fly Colt Fly marks the first feature-length movie from Andrew and Adam Gray and their documentary is out to chronicle Harris-Moore’s fugitive escapades…

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AKP: Job 27

February 20, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie When the only bad thing about your feature film debut is its marble-mouthed title, it’s a sign that your ambitious film is close to being sublime. When you get past that weak title, AKP: Job 27 is a really good time at the movies.  It treads trodden ground by being centred around a private hitman on a mission in unfamiliar territory (the territory being Toronto), but its Michael L. Suan’s vision of…

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Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve

February 20, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie Personally, my knowledge of the Federal Reserve goes about as deep as a mall fountain collecting pennies and dimes.  Naturally, Jim Bruce’s documentary Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve should be the perfect vehicle to educate people like me who need a bit more information about its history and the possibly bleak future it has ahead of it. Jim Bruce seems like the right filmmaker for the job seeing that he’s…

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