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Video Games: The Movie

September 21, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie Gamers are a smart brand of people and consumers.  As much as Video Games: The Movie believes in that notion, filmmaker Jeremy Snead’s patronizing presentation suggests otherwise. Many can pitch the argument that gazing into a monitor and playing video games wastes you away, but the hypervigilance that is developing amongst nimble younger generations has older fans impressed.  Those veterans are also admiring how the industry has brought players together, and how…

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Reviews

Bears

September 9, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie I’ve had to alter my evaluating criteria for DisneyNature.  It’s clear the sub-studio has no interest returning to the quality of earlier docs like Earth and Oceans anytime soon.  Instead, families receive a cutesy story set to live action B-roll of animals in their natural habitats. As someone who appreciates the importance of these wildlife documentaries, I find it tough to embrace this type of manufactured product.  DisneyNature’s African Cats left me…

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Festival Coverage

TIFF 2014: A Boring Exhibit

September 3, 2014Addison Wylie3 Comments

By: Addison Wylie Ok, everyone.  This way, please.  This tour is running behind, and we need to catch up. This next work we’ll be observing is Frederick Wiseman’s National Gallery.  This work has been known to carelessly eat up time for those who endure it.  The entire canvas – for some reason – takes close to three hours to view.  And, even though we’re given too much time to comprehend this lacklustre endeavour, on-lookers will…

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Reviews

To Be Takei

August 25, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie Jennifer M. Kroot’s documentary To Be Takei is cheesy and cute.  Then again, so is her subject: actor and activist George Takei. Takei, most notably known for his work on Star Trek as Lieutenant Sulu, is a busy man and yet we never hear him complain.  When he’s not acting, he’s passionately speaking to crowds about homosexual orientation and the deserved right for same-sex marriage.  After years of withholding his sexual preferences…

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Reviews

The Market

August 13, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie The Market offers a rare look at an issue through generic eyes.  Filmmaker Rama Rau shouldn’t worry though.  I’m still recommending her transfixing film about kidney trafficking and the butterfly effect these risky surgeries cause. Rau’s doc handles two different perspectives: life in an Indian slum, and the apprehensive idling of someone awaiting a kidney transplant in Canada. Both views are packed with a lot of emotion as well as unforgettable talks…

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Reviews

GMO OMG

July 24, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie You often hear the term “edutainment” thrown around. I’ve used it in a few reviews regarding films that keep the audience thrilled while offering plenty of food for thought, but I usually pair the word to learning tools a teacher could use in a grade school homeroom. Whether you’re watching GMO OMG for fun or using it to study up about genetically modified organisms, Jeremy Seifert’s film is able to keep you…

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Reviews

Bird Co. Media

July 16, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie What partly hurts Bird Co. Media is its insistence to make people believe it’s a documentary.  Actions in the movie may have been inspired by real life events, but once you see how the film is formatted, you’ll have all the reason to doubt.  For instance, cameras follow our leads and then freely cut around them – including on the other sides of doors.  Those are some nimble cameramen. Bird Co. Media…

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Reviews

Life Itself

July 10, 2014Addison Wylie2 Comments

By: Addison Wylie Life Itself has the sympathetic appeal and gravitas of a rightfully great documentary about an unbreakable legacy.  It’s the type of film Roger Ebert would’ve liked, even if it wasn’t chronicling the late film critic’s life and times. Ebert’s “thumbs up/thumbs down” signature alongside buddying rival Gene Siskel left more than just an imprint on the film industry.  Their clashing opinions and exuberance for winning movies had readers and viewers alike riveted….

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Reviews

Manakamana

July 3, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie This weekend, a form of torture…er…a “spellbinding” new documentary called Manakamana (pronounced Mana-Ka-Mana as suggested by the film’s poster) will be released upon the public.  Those moviegoers should buckle up for a stinker, and maybe bring a pillow while they’re at it. To be honest, I’m surprised I’m writing a review.  About halfway through this aggravating experience, I was predicting I would be curled up in the fetal position, rocking back and…

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Reviews

The Case Against 8

June 28, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie The Case Against 8 takes you right to the very beginning of the scandalous, distressing times involving California’s passing of Proposition 8. Watching clips of Prop 8 propaganda and observing professionals talking in all seriousness about the benefits of the amendment is like falling through the looking glass.  It’s hard to believe that this period existed and that 18,000 couples with different sexual orientations were told their marriages were voided. Shooting and…

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