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Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Hot Docs 2014: Baring It All and Barely Keeping Quiet

April 21, 2014Addison Wylie2 Comments

The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is fast approaching, which means it’s time to  check out some of the docs that will be playing this year. The festival has been known to feature a variety of different work capturing all sorts of subjects and world events.  There’s simply no other festival like it, which explains why it’s become the largest film festival for docs in North America. Hot Docs is one of my favourite festivals…

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Reviews

Noah

April 4, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie I wasn’t going to see Noah to look for religious inaccuracies and become very picky about its epic portrayal of Noah’s Ark.  I left my biblical checklist at home. I went into Noah wanting to see how a creative filmmaker like Darren Aronofsky could handle a big budget blockbuster, and wanting to observe how well his integrity would float in mainstream waters.  This would be a first for the Oscar-nominated director who…

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Festival Coverage

Canadian Film Festival 2014: H&G is Lost

March 21, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie Recently, we’ve seen Hansel and Gretel battle witches with steampunk weaponry in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and defeat a nefarious pot-peddling evildoer in Hansel & Gretel Get Baked.  I’m still racking my brain as to why these Brothers Grimm siblings got the resurgence they did. Perhaps, the timing of it all makes H&G initially refreshing.  It’s nice to see filmmaker Danishka Esterhazy take a low-key approach to this fairy tale and…

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Articles

Solo Speaks: A One-On-One with Annie Clark

March 2, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie After being featured at Toronto After Dark, the indie Canadian thriller named Solo is making a more public appearance with a theatrical run at Toronto’s Carlton Cinema. Carlton Cinema is a very appropriate venue seeing as the theatre and the film both share a level of independence.  Carlton Cinema is a quaint theatre that feels as if you step into another world of movie watching, and Solo’s lead is left in her own world…

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Reviews

Solo

March 1, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie Solo starts out on an “A” game, but ends up finishing with a generous “C” grade. Isaac Cravit’s independent thriller is a straight-up campfire story – and, the filmmaker knows it.  Gillian (played by former Degrassi: The Next Generation co-star Annie Clark) needs to prove herself to be a capable camp counsellor in order to obtain a summer job.  The newbie needs to pull a “solo”, a two-night experience on a secluded…

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Reviews

The Selfish Giant

January 25, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie The Selfish Giant gives off an aroma of a film that will be remembered for a very long time.  The staying power of its troubled characters as well as the painfully realistic portrayal of a down-and-out community in Northern England are quite remarkable. This directorial feature debut from British director Clio Barnard trails the life of two young troublemakers trying to make sense of their early teens.  Both boys always yearn to…

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Reviews

Does It Float?: Don Jon

January 7, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

Upon the invention of this series, I was hoping Does It Float? would successfully show how a movie can be conceived in different ways.  It doesn’t always have to be a positive experience turning into a negative one or vice versa, however.  Maybe a movie could still be a solid watch on separate occasions for different reasons.  Who would’ve guessed Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s feature length directorial debut Don Jon would be that film to prove this? Don Jon was the first TIFF film…

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Reviews

The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology

December 11, 2013Addison Wylie3 Comments

By: Addison Wylie The conceptual idea of a philosopher (in this case, Slavoj Žižek) walking audiences through beloved and forgotten films and giving their outlook on the film’s ideological take has potential.  The documentary, however, has to have competent direction and a confident mind at the forefront in order for the project to work.  The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology has neither. Sophie Fiennes’ doc is hitting home runs with most movie goers (it currently holds an…

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Reviews

If I Were You

November 30, 2013Addison Wylie2 Comments

By: Addison Wylie It’s appropriate that If I Were You’s climax includes a theatrical production because Joan Carr-Wiggin’s film is a full-on farce that would play well on stage. When I say “farce”, I mean a comedy of errors set at Defcon 4.  This is the type of film where someone ties a noose around their neck with full intentions to hang themselves, only to forget about the rope until they try and walk to…

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Articles

On The Film Army Front: June ’13 Edition

July 16, 2013Addison Wylie0 Comments

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…

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