We talk to brothers Andrew and Adam Gray, the documentarians behind Fly Colt Fly, a look at the almost unbelievable crime spree of 19 year old thief Colton Harris-Moore, about what first drew them to Colton as a subject, the sometimes unbelievable nature of his escapes from SWAT teams and army helicopters, how their love of comics helped in the mythological animated sequences of the film, the dangers Andrew put his own brother-in-law through for the live action recreations, how people from Colton’s younger days were more sympathetic, and how this film almost got them shot... twice.
We talk to Michael Suan, director of the Canadian shot modern silent hitman drama AKP Job 27 about his love of stoic cinema, how the film lost the dialogue that was created to bring more investors in, trying to find leads for a type of film that rarely gets made anymore, and the importance of locations that feel authentic in silent filmmaking.
Since all three of this week's major releases all press screened at the same night and time during the week, here now are our reviews of the smart and funny remake of About Last Night and the astoundingly and laughably awful Winter's Tale. Also, an explanation as to why we don't have new reviews for Endless Love or Gloria, we double back on last week's never press screened Vampire Academy, we a look at Pussy Riot: A Punk Rock Prayer, which was the only new film at the Bloor this week, a special sneak at The Bloor tonight, family day offerings at The Bloor and the TIFF Bell Lightbox, and a look ahead to a Lightbox retrospective of some of Jean-Luc Godard's favourite Hollywood films starting on Thursday.
We take a look this weekend's teen oriented and teen selected TIFF Next Wave film festival, with reviews of six of this year's offerings.
Leap 4 Your Life The performing arts mockumentary is hardly a new or groundbreaking concept, but this entry into the genre courtesy of writer, producer, and actor Taylor Hill buzzes with energy, a lot of genuine laughs, and enough inspired silliness to make one briefly forget that its nothing audiences haven’t seen before. The low-rent […]
Fly Colt Fly Blending interviews, archival news footage, animation, and staged recreations, this documentary look at one of the biggest folk hero criminals in American history does a fine job explaining how one teenager who posed a concern to many could become an icon to others. Filmmakers Andrew and Adam Gray look into the life […]
A Birder’s Guide to Everything If one were to cross a low-key modern American indie with a 1980s coming of age road comedy, you would get something close to the amusing and thoughtful debut feature from Rob Meyer, A Birder’s Guide to Everything. Both a better breed of teen movie than audiences normally get and […]
I Learn America Focusing on five recent immigrants, 3 in their senior year, at New York City’s International High School at Lafayette, Jean-Michel Dissard and Gitte Peng’s documentary I Learn America takes on the traditional adolescent growing pains, while focusing on the challenges of navigating a new culture and language. The filmmakers’ gain an impressive […]
For No Eyes Only A modern day retelling of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, For No Eyes Only takes the simple premise of the 1954 classic and applies it to present day. After breaking his leg in an indoor field hockey practice and stuck in his bedroom, Sam (Benedict Siverding) begins to pass time spying on […]
Palo Alto Based on James Franco’s book of short stories, Palo Alto immerses the audiences into the lives and experiences of a group of teenagers (Emma Roberts, Jack Kilmer and Nat Wolff) living in the California town of the same name as they try to determine who they are and what they want to do […]
Although it eventually becomes too convoluted for its own good, Adrian Garcia Bogliano’s sexually charged parental nightmare Here Comes the Devil is certainly an effective little shocker.
While most of the time the long delayed big screen Dean Koontz adaptation Odd Thomas looks and sounds like a made for TV hybrid of Buffy, Veronica Mars, and Doctor Who, that doesn't mean it at all fails at what it's trying to attempt. It's the best film director Stephen Sommers has done since The Mummy in 1999 at the very least.
Despite its microbudget trappings, the Paraguayan thriller 7 Boxes offers up tons of inventiveness, a firm grip on a twisty multi-arc narrative, and some decidedly effective low-fi thrills.
For our second installment of Unsung Anniversaries we take a look back on the 20th anniversary of the decidedly less than rad Home Alone knock-off Blank Check and just how a movie like this ends up getting made in the first place.
If you can put aside your feelings towards the original film long enough to accept an updated facelift to the RoboCop narrative is passably entertaining, but also worthy of being judged more on its many newer faults rather than by any unfair comparisons to its forebearers.
