Wiig, Gyllenhaal, and Monster Love at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival

Friends and family think me crazy for driving up the QEW so I can sit in darkened theaters for around thirty of a total eighty-hours in Toronto, but I wouldn’t spend my early September days any other way. This is what the Toronto International Film Festival does—it makes you look sanity in the face, say no thanks, and go the exact opposite way towards a world-renowned cinematic spectacle those same people are jealous about once I tell them I saw Kristen Wiig tell a joke. It was a funny one too…

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TIFF14 REVIEW: Bang Bang Baby [2015]

“I am that. I am the service station.” Harkening back to the era of its setting, Bang Bang Baby embraces the over-the-top aesthetic of 1963 entertainment with small town girl Stepphy (Jane Levy) dreaming big for a chance at stardom in New York City. Overproduced, old-timey vocals emanate from her mouth as faux backdrops provide the film with the same type of production value we see in the cheesy TV program starring heartthrob Bobby Shore (Justin Chatwin) that she adores. Unfortunately, even if her song wins her a spot on…

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REVIEW: Rewind This! [2013]

“Titanic—two-tape Titanic. Again. Always.” When the slew of collectors, producers, sellers, bootleggers, and fans interviewed for Josh Johnson’s documentary Rewind This! are asked to comment on the legacy of VHS tapes and what the format brought to the movie industry, the consensus seems to be all about accessibility. Not only did the home video revolution allow people to watch content that had previously disappeared after leaving theatres, it also gave aspiring filmmakers a new avenue with which to join the annals of cinematic history. The population could now buy and…

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REVIEW: Plan 9 From Outer Space [1958]

“I’m muzzled by army brass” So here it is—what some say is the worst movie ever made— Ed Wood’s Plan 9 From Outer Space. With its horrid acting, juvenile storytelling, and cheesy special effects, I can see how people come to that conclusion. Perhaps it is that I have watched it for the first time knowing its place in history and its context in the film canon, but I must say I was highly entertained. Were I to have seen it upon original release, I most likely would have been…

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