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Ms. 45

By: Addison Wylie In an attempt to bounce back from mediocre midnight madness with The Visitor, Drafthouse Films returns with another remastered cut of a cult movie.  Maybe the third time will be the charm for these cinema aficionados who are desperate to shed light on obscurity. In the meantime, we have this re-release of Abel Ferrara’s robotic Ms. 45.  It’s grindhouse exploitation through and through, and maybe movie goers will get some sort of…

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The Spectacular Now

By: Addison Wylie The Spectacular Now is the movie about high school I wish I had growing up.  It’s easily identifiable and relatable to anyone who felt growing pains or knew someone having a wobbly time through secondary education. James Ponsoldt’s coming-of-age dramedy features two exceptional performances from up-and-comers Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, who play unexpected friends who eventually become smitten with each other.  Though, Teller’s motormouth Sutter Keely won’t directly admit it since…

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A Fragile Trust

By: Addison Wylie Former New York Times journalist Jayson Blair has misstepped in his career which has cost him lifelong liability.  Blair was dragged through the coals when he was caught plagiarizing in 2003 with numerous works.  His infamous write-up knocked the credibility of the otherwise well-regarded news outlet he worked for, and spun the world of journalism out of control with readers growing increasingly sceptical of print media. Blair’s tumultuous whirlwind is frustrating, but…

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Does It Float?: Don Jon

Upon the invention of this series, I was hoping Does It Float? would successfully show how a movie can be conceived in different ways.  It doesn’t always have to be a positive experience turning into a negative one or vice versa, however.  Maybe a movie could still be a solid watch on separate occasions for different reasons.  Who would’ve guessed Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s feature length directorial debut Don Jon would be that film to prove this? Don Jon was the first TIFF film…

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Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

By: Addison Wylie Following in the same footsteps as other horror franchises, Paranormal Activity has its faithful fans and its hardcore haters.  It’s also a franchise that decides it has to change its beat every third movie in hopes of convincing movie goers that they aren’t watching the same movie over and over again.  It’s a business plan that works for me. Since Paranormal Activity 4 was ordinarily playing the same tune as its fantastic…

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Battle of the Year

By: Addison Wylie Come on in, guys!  I want to address the entire crew before you go out and try to win Battle of the Year. I know we’ve all been through rough patches during this rocky ride – including me.  When I was first approached to witness the best B-Boys to compete in this renowned dance tournament, I didn’t think it’d be possible.  But, filmmaker Benson Lee and choreographer Dave Scott, with the help…

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After Earth

By: Addison Wylie Much like After Earth, this review is going to be a bit of a confounding thing to endure since the substance behind it is puzzled itself. Will Smith seems like a levelheaded guy outside of movies.  I’m sure there was concise logic behind his story to which he’s credited for in After Earth.  If so, there’s been a severe case of “Broken Telephone” during the film’s production that eventually led to M….

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Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

By: Addison Wylie After Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy’s slow success, a sequel has been in high demand from its cult community.  What that crowd – as well as the film’s cast and crew – didn’t realize is that capturing that same lightning in a bottle is easier said than done. Director/co-writer Adam McKay returns with the film’s original Channel 4 news team (Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Steve Carell, with Will Ferrell leading the…

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The Visitor

By: Addison Wylie Drafthouse Films has taken Giulio Paradisi’s director’s cut to his very strange 1979 sci-fi flick The Visitor and are unleashing it to the public in a newly remastered mode. There are a lot of uncanny compositions of malificent behaviour that especially punch out.  These set a tone incredibly fast and have the power to make you immediately feel at unease.  Confusion runs rampant throughout The Visitor, and for the most part, it’s…

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I Give It A Year

By: Addison Wylie Here’s an interesting proposal.  Take the producers behind romantic hits such as Love Actually and Bridget Jones’ Diary and apply their genre knowledge in a direction that turns romantic comedies on their ear.  Then, bring in Dan Mazer to write and direct the sweet and salty hybrid. Mazer has plenty of experience shocking audiences with filthy jokes.  His résumé consists of behind-the-scenes work on Da Ali G Show as well as lending his penmanship…