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Gone by Dawn

Sexploitation cinema’s latest entry Gone by Dawn boasts bare bodies as if its already waving down Mr. Skin for a year-end top prize in nudity.  However, don’t be fooled by this skin flick.  Even though the film prides itself on sex appeal, there’s something more meaningful underneath it all.

Reviews

The Reflecting Skin

British filmmaker Philip Ridley’s The Reflecting Skin hasn’t screened in Toronto since its Canadian premiere at TIFF in 1990.  Given its vibrant formalism and unconventional approach to genre, Ridley’s first feature simply may have been unable to find a broader audience.  However, the film works well for cult film audiences.

Reviews

End of Days, Inc.

Dear Jennifer Liao, Thank you for taking the time to make a movie.  It’s a gruelling process filled with compromises and long hours, but by the end of the day, it’s hopefully all worth it.  However, due to insufficient content in Christina Ray’s screenplay and a cast of mugging comedic performers, I regret to inform you that I personally thought End of Days, Inc. was a swing and a miss.

Reviews

A Date with Miss Fortune

Real-life couple Ryan K. Scott and Jeannette Sousa wrote, produced, and star as the leading couple in director John L’Ecuyer’s cross-cultural romantic comedy, A Date With Miss Fortune.  The film also features appearances by two well-known Canadians: Grammy award-winning musician Nelly Furtado and George Stroumboulopoulos – consider it a Score: A Hockey Musical reunion for the celebrities.

Red Carpet

Wylie Writes on the Red Carpet: ‘A Date with Miss Fortune’

On January 28th, Toronto’s Yonge and Dundas Cineplex Theatre hosted a red carpet media screening in preparation for the Canadian release of A Date With Miss Fortune staring Jeannette Sousa, Ryan K. Scott, Vik Sahay (TV’s Radio Active, American Reunion), along with special appearances by musician Nelly Furtado and television personality George Stroumboulopoulos.  John L’Ecuyer’s romantic comedy about what happens when a struggling screenwriter clashes with his new girlfriend’s traditional and eccentric Portuguese family has already been released…

Reviews

Les Démons

Allow me to preface this by disclosing my biases: I have a strong love for Canadian cinema and coming-of-age stories, and I truly believe that Canada perfected the coming-of-age story.  That being said, Philippe Lesage’s Les Démons is a fitting addition to this obscure canon.

Reviews

Al Purdy Was Here

Al Purdy Was Here has a lot of strengths going for it including its peaceful camerawork with editing to match, and an enigmatic subject filled with so much knowledge and pathos.  But, to me, the most inspiring elements of Brian D. Johnson’s documentary is how illustrative it is with influence.

Reviews

The Trick with the Gun

By: Addison Wylie The Trick with the Gun has a lighthearted voice, but the film shouldn’t be discounted.  Michael McNamara’s documentary is one of the most enjoyable and exhilarating films I’ve seen this year.  Though the film is easy for us in the audience, the same can’t be said for the film’s subjects who face a deadly task. Scott Hammel is a valiant magician whose illusions and motivational speaking have helped inspire young audiences.  He…

Reviews

Ally Was Screaming

By: Addison Wylie As much as I would like to commend writer/director Jeremy Thomas for making a sophisticated and adult film about grief and the internal struggle to define what is morally correct, his woeful feature Ally Was Screaming is an anticlimactic and overcooked blunder that drove me crazy.  Although, Thomas’ maturity is essentially what was much needed in January’s I Put a Hit on You. Seth, Nole, and Ally were a friendly and tender trifecta….