Latest

Comedy

Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Hot Docs 2014: Crouching Arpaio, Hidden Elliot

May 1, 2014Addison Wylie4 Comments

Kung Fu Elliot (DIR. Matthew Bauckman & Jaret Belliveau) By: Addison Wylie Matthew Bauckman and Jaret Belliveau’s Slamdance favourite Kung Fu Elliot goes through three stages. First, there’s the ultra cheese.  Elliot Scott (also known as “White Lightning”) is a martial arts expert and is set on being Canada’s first notable action star.  He’s produced a few independent films to which he also peddles out.  The films shine of lo-fi aesthetics, but it’s hard to not turn…

Read More
Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Hot Docs 2014: A Doc with Braaains

April 26, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

Just as other festivals offer a “Midnight Madness” selection, Hot Docs hopes to bring in the same crowd with its Nightvision screenings. These documentaries feature brazen topics and massive cult followings;  films that are certainly unlike any other.  An added bonus is the discounted price of films screening after 11:00 p.m.  For a cool $7, treat yourself to some of these neat docs. If you’re into horror, you should give Alexandre Philippe’s doc a shot. Doc of the Dead (DIR. Alexandre Philippe)…

Read More
Reviews

The Other Woman

April 25, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By Parker Mott It’s hard to watch The Other Woman without bringing into the equation James Toback’s remarkable 1997 feature Two Girls and a Guy, a talk-heavy, one-room dramedy about two women (played by Heather Graham and Natasha Gregson Wagner) who discover they are dating the same man (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) and then conspire to make him suffer for his cheating ways.  The movie found ingenuity in the shameless rationale of its male…

Read More
Reviews

Journey to the West

April 15, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie As times change, a filmmaker is faced with the potential to grow within their craft.  I haven’t seen or heard from writer/director Stephen Chow since 2004’s fantastically insane Kung Fu Hustle, so I suppose I forgot that he would have to face this fork-in-the-road in his career if he continued to make movies. I see that advancement in his latest effort Journey to the West, but it’s not in the film’s tone….

Read More
Reviews

Bad Words

April 7, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie At first, it’s a riddle to figure out what actor Jason Bateman would gain from directing a dark comedy and playing the film’s anti-hero.  After watching Bad Words, it’s clear to me why the film would be an enticing challenge. It’s a chance to go against the grain of Bateman’s nice guy image to whom he’s been typecast for multiple times.  Not to mention a chance for the actor to not conform…

Read More
Reviews

Bad Johnson

April 5, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie In Bad Johnson, heartthrob Cam Gigandet plays Rich, a womanizing jackass who finds himself in predicaments when pleasing his manly needs.  He cheats on girlfriends, checks out T&A, and forgets women he’s gone to bed with.  According to the film, some of this is charming – usually when Gigandet is smirking and trying to woo. Alas, Rich’s mojo becomes too much of a burden.  In frustration, he wishes away his penis.  The…

Read More
Reviews

Authors Anonymous

March 31, 2014Addison Wylie6 Comments

By: Addison Wylie Authors Anonymous didn’t have any laughs in it for me, but I believe that’s because I couldn’t relate to it. The mockumentary about five writers who gather to critique their works-in-progress hopes to derive humour from these eccentric personalities.  One author is desperate for attention, one is the “ideas guy”, another likes to remind others of his future success while another writer can’t name a single author.  There’s a young slacker who…

Read More
Reviews

Veronica Mars

March 26, 2014Addison Wylie3 Comments

By: Addison Wylie As someone who has never set eyes on the cult television hit Veronica Mars and knows extremely little detail as to what took place on the show, the film puts me in an unusual spot for this detective’s feature film debut. Rob Thomas’ film is bound to please any fan who’s been begging for a Veronica Mars reunion, but the real test is how it stands as its own movie.  Can outsiders…

Read More
Festival Coverage

Canadian Film Festival 2014: The Birder Doesn’t Take Off

March 18, 2014Addison Wylie2 Comments

By: Addison Wylie I don’t blame you if The Birder’s premise doesn’t send you aflutter.  Ted Bezaire’s comedy is about a polite bird enthusiast (a “birder”) seeking retribution because he didn’t win the ‘Head of Ornithology’ position at his cherished National Park.  Did I also mention Tom Cavanagh plays the lead birder?  I’ll give you a moment to catch your breathe. I’ve always seen Cavanagh as someone who’s still trying to figure out where he fits…

Read More
Reviews

Ride Along

March 11, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie Here’s the thing.  I’m not mad at Ride Along.  I’m not even frustrated with Tim Story’s buddy cop comedy.  I’m not miffed, put off, or even slightly perturbed with it.  I’m just kind of numb.  Barely laughing in a comedy will do that to a person. I’m writing this review moments after watching the thing because I’m worried I’ll start forgetting portions of it.  This vehicle for Ice Cube and Kevin Hart…

Read More