film

Hot Docs 2011 Preview Part One

This year's Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival kicks off tomorrow and runs through May 8. Featuring over 200 films in total, picking which films are worth seeing is a tall order for even the most seasoned fest-vet. With that in mind, allow us to present the first part of our Hot Docs coverage - A selection of documentaries that may just pique your interest.

Scream 4 Review

Coming after not only a ten year hiatus, but also after the rise of torture porn, remakes, and reboots, Scream 4 is almost a breath of fresh air. Series creators Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson (who's absence from the third film in the series was wholly apparent) are back with another entry in the lucrative yet entertaining franchise, with a bit more material to chew on this time around.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes Trailer

I'll admit, I've never been a great fan of the Planet of the Apes series, beyond the original film. And certainly it's getting quite tiresome to see remakes, reboots and the like coming out of Hollywood rather than more original material. But the first trailer for Rise of the Planet of the Apes looks rather promising.

Hanna Review

Hanna is about a young girl being raised by her father in a log cabin in the sub-arctic. But as you might guess, this eponymous girl is unique: she is being trained as an assassin. Too often movies try to be more than they are - to impress with such intensity as to send them over the top - but Hanna is content to be a little piece of something elegant.

Your Highness Review

I didn’t walk into Your Highness with high expectations, that would have been silly, but I was looking forward to it in a way that defies my general like of good taste. A stoner-fantasy genre hybrid suddenly felt like exactly the nosh I was hungry for. But there isn’t a formula for this sort of subgenre as much as there is a vibe, and I’m sad to say no matter how much you tint your eyes rose coloured before entering the theatre, Your Highness doesn’t do a great job flowing with it.

Arthur Review

Much like the original Arthur with Dudley Moore from 1980, director Jason Winner's Russell Brand starring remake is a film perfectly befitting of it's main character. It is a film that coasts by so effortlessly on the charm and wit of the actor at the centre of it, that it is a hard film to dislike. It also really isn't that great of a film, and much like the billionaire, alcoholic playboy at the heart of the film, it has a lot of problems that are either never addressed or are dealt with too late in the film to have much of an impact.

Behold! Wondercon Green Lantern Footage!

Wondercon attendees were treated to an extended trailer for the upcoming Green Lantern film last night. The trailer expands on a number of concepts that I was curious about, namely the setting up of the film's main villain (Parallax?) and introducing us to the Green Lantern Corps in their entirety.

Insidious Interview: James Wan & Leigh Whannell

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with the creative team behind the original Saw, director James Wan and writer/actor Leigh Whannell. We discussed their new film Insidious, the horror genre, their film inspirations and influences, their favourite Toronto haunts and the dark secrets that their respective dork shelves undoubtedly hold.

Captain America: The First Avenger Trailer

The first full length trailer for Captain America: The First Avenger has hit the web. The Marvel Comics adaptation is being directed by Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer, The Wolfman) and stars Chris Evans as the titular super soldier.

Hobo with a Shotgun Review

Part of me actually toyed with talking about the social and political ideologies at the heart of Hobo With a Shotgun. But chances are, if you are going to see a film like Hobo with a Shotgun, you are not going to care in the slightest about any of that. Every time my brain was about to make a connection to something I read about, a bot of film theory, or anything I learned in university, the film pistol whipped me and told me to stop being such a pussy.

The Hobbit Begins Filming, New Pictures Released

The Hobbit, the highly anticipated film based on J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved book, has finally begun shooting today in New Zealand. Late yesterday evening, two teaser photos of director Peter Jackson posing in the iconic circular entrance to Bilbo's Shire crib, were released on Jackson's Facebook page.

Limitless Review

Limitless is a story about smart people who make bad choices that turn them into even smarter people, who then make worse choices. It’s a light, well-made action-thriller about kickass unearned power and privilege, which brings the fun but never quite shows us the dark side that it keeps threatening to.

Paul Review

The masterful cinematic combination of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost have oodles of talent on their own; but bring the three of them together, and they hit a whole new level of brilliance. Separate the trio, and while the work is still very good, it doesn’t quite reach the same peak. Scott Pilgrim is one example of this; and now Paul is another. Not a great film, but a very good one.

Super 8 Theatrical Trailer Arrives

After releasing the theatrical trailer for J.J. Abrams' new film Super 8 on Twitter last Friday, Paramount finally released the high definition version to the rest of the web today. Details about the Steven Spielberg produced film remain scarce, but judging by this new trailer we'd say that Super 8 looks like some strange amalgam of Stand By Me, The Goonies and War of the Worlds.