By: Addison Wylie The nightlife throbs in Nightcrawler. When the streets are sparse and the air is humid, there’s an electricity in the air. Lou Bloom is a lonely guy who lives off of it. We don’t know much about Jake Gyllenhaal’s lonely Lou. By the end credits, we still don’t know a heck of a lot about him – it’s exactly the point. The film’s title very much fits Bloom’s personality as someone who…
By: Addison Wylie I’ve seen good Christmas movies and I’ve seen bad Christmas movies. But, outside of those schmaltzy TV movies that play in syndication around the holidays, I don’t think I’ve seen a Christmas movie as strange as A Merry Friggin’ Christmas. I would say this means Tristram Shapeero’s film is in a league of its own, but that’d be giving the movie too much credit. A Merry Friggin’ Christmas has been labeled as…
By: Addison Wylie Copenhagen is bound to be compared to Lost in Translation or Cairo Time. A young man (William played by Game of Thrones’ Gethin Anthony) embarks on foreign travels and runs into a young woman (Effy played by Frederikke Dahl Hansen) who becomes very interested in the man’s personal journey. They drink in the scenery, taste the culture, and slowly develop something that’s more than a friendship. However, complications arise – as they…
By: Addison Wylie Stage Fright is a spirited stab to revive the musical genre through comedy and horror. And thankfully, Jerome Sable’s game attempt at directing such a film satisfies his audience. Call it a yuk-yuck sort of flick. If a filmmaker isn’t working with cartoons or with Disney, it’s a daunting task for someone to make a musical from scratch. Musicals are – sadly – a tough sell in this day and age. Even…
By: Addison Wylie Sometimes, films directed at children – very, very young children – can be recommended based on how bright the visuals are. If the entertainment isn’t stimulating through its story, the film will at least stimulate the senses through its colour palette. That’s sort of the case with The Hero of Color City, a mediocre kids film with not a whole lot to offer. Frank Gladstone’s kiddie film is possibly the most literal…
By: Addison Wylie With every review, I try to inject some insight as to how I felt while watching the movie. Sometimes, I use humour and metaphors to get my point across. Writing has allowed my voice to travel along some creative routes in order to express an opinion about the medium. There’s no feeling quite like finding a conscious flow to your thoughts. With Gavin Michael Booth’s The Scarehouse, I have nothing interesting to…
Domestic Blood (DIR. Alexis Korotash) By: Addison Wylie A young woman awakens her passive boyfriend by reminding him of her blood-sucking roots in Domestic Blood, a clever take on relationships and moody vampires. Korotash wrote the funny screenplay, and has directed herself and Warren Short in this story about a late night confession. Short finds Korotash on the floor next to the toilet and covered in blood. This leads to a heart-to-heart which then forms into…
Uncommon Enemies (DIR. Alex Hatz) By: Addison Wylie A late-night rendezvous between a Nazi (played by James Gangl) and a seductive mademoiselle (played by Melanie Scrofano) is interrupted by a couple of American soldiers. When discovered, the Sergeant (played by Flashpoint’s Michael Cram) and the Nazi hold each other at gunpoint, while the French miss tends to the wounded Private (played by AJ Vaage). Uncommon Enemies is a comedic period piece that tries too hard…
By: Addison Wylie For those looking for a seasonal flick, Getting to the Nutcracker may hit the spot. Serene Meshel-Dillman’s documentary about the conception of The Nutcracker at Los Angeles’ Marat Daukayev School of Ballet is a eloquent film. If you’re a theatre enthusiast and are already humming Tchaikovsky, Getting to the Nutcracker will have you grinning throughout its entirety. Dillman documents each phase as best as possible leading up to the big show (which…
By: Addison Wylie Gracie Otto’s The Last Impresario was a documentary I wanted to like. But, I simply had a hard time buying it. I like her film’s subject, Michael White, and I’ve grown to like a lot of the projects he’s produced. I admire his eye for originality, and how far he bent his back to make sure provocative artists were heard. He took underdog productions like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Cambridge Circus,…