By: Addison Wylie David Fincher is a masterful filmmaker, but he’s even better at spinning a web of mystery and suspense. Numerous films in his catalogue deal with puzzling content, and not once have I seen him drop the ball. He’s also a fantastic handler of, shall we say, hidden motivations. Gone Girl is an extremely difficult film to delve into without giving away too much – bear with me. There are people in Fincher’s…
By: Addison Wylie 2014 has released plenty of exceptional documentaries, but Jesse Moss’ The Overnighters is unlike any of them. The Overnighters is a remarkable film about the human spirit and the struggle to maintain compassion and beliefs within a critical community. Exercising good faith isn’t always a walk in the park when the odds are intimidatingly stacked and judgement is looming. North Dakota’s economy is booming, which has brought plenty of pros and cons…
By: Addison Wylie Last September, TIFF featured a Canadian indie named Wet Bum. It sold itself to audiences as an innocent coming-of-age tale about a meek high schooler who finds guidance in her relationships with the elderly. A lot of movie goers ate it up, and found Wet Bum to be endearing. While it’s momentarily touching, I found Lindsay MacKay’s indie had too many precious quirks. Those developed the film into something far less original…
By: Addison Wylie There’s a world where rainbows cross the sky day in and day out, animals play in harmony, and shiny people joyfully smile without a care to be had. I know it exists because I’ve just seen Common People, a sweet British film that’s available right now on iTunes to rent or purchase. Stewart Alexander and Kerry Skinner’s film is one of these vehicles where movie goers are dropped off in tiny slices…
By: Addison Wylie You can’t start off discussing St. Vincent without leading in with everyone’s favourite movie buddy: Bill Murray. Bill Murray is a very tough actor to dislike. He has a charm – an aura – that draws you in and makes you grin like a madman. He’s one of those rare cases where you don’t mind if every character you see him play is – in fact – himself, because he’s immensely watchable…
By: Addison Wylie Force Majeure has a thought-provoking concept that shocks the audience and the characters involved. Writer/director Ruben Östlund then proceeds to run his movie around in circles until its green in the face. It’s a process he continues to repeat until that once interesting premise transforms into an exhausting, ineffective tale. The concept: the ideal family vacations to a picturesque resort. It’s hinted the husband is business-oriented, so this time away from his job should be…
By: Addison Wylie If you grew up watching teen movies or were exposed to the batch of PG-13 high school flicks that flooded cinemas from the 90’s to the early 2000’s, it’s natural to have a repellant reaction to Charlie Lyne’s doc Beyond Clueless. The documentarian intentionally takes your beloved guilty pleasures and dissects them to find running themes. An introduction using 1996’s The Craft tells us exactly what movie goers are in for, and…
By: Addison Wylie Wyrmwood charges through our senses. It’s easily the scariest, most effective zombie flick audiences will have seen as of late. Kiah Roache-Turner uses a dangerous form of filmmaking that is rarely seen in modern cinema. Mostly due to the fact that it’s an insane style that could go belly-up if the audience isn’t ready for its shocking invasiveness. Roache-Turner throws movie goers in the centre of the intense life-or-death face-offs. He positions…
By: Addison Wylie White Bird in a Blizzard hits you with a wallop pivotal enough to make you concussed. You walk away having appreciated Gregg Araki’s latest film, but it doesn’t entirely settle well, and its difficult to come up with reasonings as to why. Now thinking of it though, the Araki films I’ve caught (Mysterious Skin and Smiley Face) have had the same effect. Mysterious Skin is a distraught story of a troubled teenage…
By: Addison Wylie A dangerous plague has wiped out most of humanity within wide proximity of Refuge’s main family. The secluded family has stowed themselves away in their crumbling abode as life around them breaks down and dawns a bleak future. Refuge isn’t a film where the infected are on the hunt for the living. Andrew Robertson’s slow burn is a study of survival as the human race turns on each other. Unkempt gangs roam…