By: Addison Wylie I didn’t like The Disappeared, but I can at least compliment its opening shots. Director Shandi Mitchell quickly establishes the nothingness that exists around a crew of lost men at sea. Mitchell generates an instantaneous sense of fear and hopelessness as the vagueness in their whereabouts and time of day effects the audience greatly. Then, someone speaks. And, more people speak. It’s not so much speaking as it is projecting and emphasizing…
Sitting in the theatre on the last night of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival is bittersweet. While one week is the perfect duration for a genre festival that pushes the wee hours of the night, it’s still tough to say “goodbye” to an event that almost always delivered on quality. The last day of the festival ended with the dark comedy Cheap Thrills and acclaimed thriller Big Bad Wolves – which also happens to…
By: Addison Wylie Alan Zweig won top honours at the Toronto International Film Festival this past September for his documentary filmmaking with When Jews Were Funny – but, I needed more convincing. When Jews Were Funny – a doc on how a Judaic approach to comedy made its way into our funny bones – had appropriate subjects to interview, a proper conversational vibe about it, but its scope was too narrow. Zweig didn’t have enough…
By: Addison Wylie The last thing I expect to feel during “riotous and outrageous sexual exploration” is snooze-inducing boredom. That was the case with My Awkward Sexual Adventure, an unadulterated Canadian sex comedy that sets up an array of absurd situations only to do nothing but fumble around. I hate pointing all the blame towards one individual, but with My Awkward Sexual Adventure, it’s tough not to do that when Jonas Chernick is the source…
By: Addison Wylie In the span of a month, Toronto has gotten two independent films that feature exotic locations starring a cast member of Degrassi: The Next Generation. While they’re both badly made, Adriarico My Love is not the worst out of the two. That dishonour still goes to Dev Khanna’s Fondi ’91. However, Nikola Curcin’s peculiar film is a shabby endeavour and just about the strangest film you’ll see this Summer – and, not…
For those who may be unaware, I also write on a more Canadian-savvy site called Film Army. At Film Army, contributors wish to bring filmmakers – ranging from students to up-and-comers to tenured artists – together and provide resources, news, and other relevant information in order to keep these dedicated readers in the loop regarding the film and television industry. Contributors have some sort of tv/film experience under our belts. Some have been working behind-the-scenes…
By: Addison Wylie After seeing Vince Offer’s appalling InAPPropriate Comedy and Seth Gordon’s despicable Identity Thief, I thought I’d be done using “the worst” to describe any other film released this year. That is, until I saw Dev Khanna’s Fondi ’91. Don’t get me wrong. Offer’s racist cinematic tirade and Gordon’s insufferable comedy are still the worst films 2013 has given audiences, but this crummy coming-of-age tale about a young man’s week long soccer getaway…
By: Addison Wylie Shawn Linden’s The Good Lie is good looking and straightforward with its premise that instantly hooks you. A normal high schooler named Cullen (played by Thomas Dekker) is devastated after being pulled out of class to find out his mother Doris (played by Julie LeBreton) has died in a car accident. He’s even more upset after learning he’s the product of a horrific rape. Furious and upset, Cullen sets out to find…
By: Addison Wylie Many connections can be made through social networking, but obscure actor Rob Stewart made the ultimate one that also changed his life. Through Facebook, Stewart discovered a TV show he starred in 20 years ago called Tropical Heat had taken on a new life in Serbia. A Serbian punk band named Atheist Rap contacted Rob and offered an opportunity where Rob could perform with them during a song dedicated to Stewart’s Tropical…
By: Addison Wylie Revolution could very well be one of this year’s most important watches, but by the end of the documentary, you’ll be wondering what’s more of a threat: carbon dioxide poisoning in our atmosphere or filmmaker Rob Stewart’s constant need to be on camera. I can’t ignore it. No one can. Stewart just loves to star in his own passion project. I hesitate to continue with this criticism about the director/producer/writer/cinematographer for fear…