Sharlto Copley
Monkey Man
By: Jeff Ching Are we seeing the genesis of Dev Patel as Hollywood’s next big action star? Will Monkey Man become a colossal action movie franchise similar to John Wick? Monkey Man is certainly in the running for this year’s best action movie.
Ted K
Ted K places the viewer next to Ted Kaczynski, infamously known as the “Unabomber”. Portrayed with the utmost commitment by Sharlto Copley (Elysium, Hardcore Henry), Kaczynski expresses distain for a lot of outsider elements that have pushed him towards living off the grid in Montana. The film is narrated by lifted passages from his writing, and the film prides itself on shooting in the same area Ted secluded himself to.
TIFF 2016: ‘Free Fire’
It is probably inaccurate to call Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire “a comedy of errors” given that term’s context, but perhaps the term “comedy of injuries” could be coined to describe this cross between cruelty and the absurd in a way that only Wheatley can do.
Hardcore Henry
Some frenetic films have been described as live-action video games, but Ilya Naishuller’s Hardcore Henry takes that criticism up a notch by actually strapping viewers into a live-action video game. We act out all of the disorienting, brutal action sequences. It’s the gimmick behind Man Bites Dog injected with Crank’s epinephrine.
Maleficent
By: Addison Wylie “I think I liked that movie…” As soon as Maleficent’s credits rolled, those were the lukewarm words that scrolled across my brain like a news ticker reporting a traffic jam at three in the morning. Robert Stromberg’s reimagining of one of Disney’s villains had me entertained and interested throughout. But, do modern day revisions have to be this heavy? This is more of a question directed towards Disney and screenwriter Linda Woolverton. When…
Elysium
By: Addison Wylie Neill Blomkamp came out of the woodwork in 2009 with his Oscar-nominated sci-fi flick District 9. The action enthralled genre fans, but it was one of those rare films that had impacting political messages and symbolism under all the futuristic mayhem. It ceased to bludgeon its audience with the meanings and issued the right amount of trust and respect towards movie goers. With Elysium, that greatness hasn’t let up. Blomkamp proves he’s…