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…
By: Addison Wylie Afflicted isn’t a found footage film, but rather a mockumentary documenting Derek Lee and Clif Prowse’s year long trip around the world. The film does, however, use the same techniques we’ve seen in previous found footage horrors. Luckily, the filmmakers in charge of this creature feature know what they’re doing. In fact, there are a lot of things filmmakers/co-stars Lee and Prowse do brilliantly in Afflicted. Firstly, the duo cover their asses extremely…
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…
By: Addison Wylie If I have one positive to say about Matthew Pollack’s autobiographical documentary, it’s that the film is rightfully titled. By the end credits, I didn’t want anything to do with Pollack. I actually wished I hadn’t bothered with this icky film in the first place. Run Run It’s Him is supposed to serve as a coping tool and a means of comprehension for Pollack with his obsessive addiction to pornography. Matthew’s fascination…
By: Addison Wylie Alive Inside is a touching documentary that may have entered your life without you even knowing. A video circulated around the Internet featuring Henry, a mumbling man living with dementia who’s mind is expanded when he listens to music. His eyes bulge, he starts to move in his seat, and he can inspiredly recollect memories. This segment emotionally affected people across the globe, and it’s just one of the many moving moments…
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…
By: Addison Wylie Every so often, a tall glass of ridiculousness helps break up moviegoing monotony. Some filmmakers have tried their hardest to makes escapist entertainment, and have instead delivered films that were too heavy on lunkheaded machismo. Gary Fleder’s Homefront had come in under the radar – or, so it seemed to me. Since it stars Jason Statham as the lead, it fell into that vaguely generic category most people seem to group Statham…
Out of all the festivals I’ve ever covered, the Hot Docs Film Festival is one of my favourites. It’s a festival that always promises a deep array of different types of documentaries from a variety of different countries. It’s very hard to find one doc that resembles another in Hot Docs. The press conference held at Toronto’s Bloor Hot Docs Theatre on March 18 certainly built the buzz well. The audience had the pleasure of…
By: Addison Wylie Why is it that Out of the Furnace has so many accomplishments going for it, yet it’s an impossible recommendation? Telling someone to watch Out of the Furnace would be like telling someone to hold a bunch of wild snakes and assuring them they won’t get bit. Scott Cooper’s thriller is one of those movies you appreciate a few hours after having watched it. Viewing Out of the Furnace for the first…
By: Addison Wylie A Field in England is a shock to the system. However, the film’s fine print entails a different definition of that phrase to movie goers. I certainly am not using that description to be complimentary. Some are going to find Ben Wheatley’s trippy drama an enigmatic experience that has them coming back for more. It’s a film that seems as if its been tailor-made for the patient arthouse crowd. Others – like…