Wylie Writes’ 2017 Mid-Year Report
We’re halfway through the year, which means it’s time for Wylie Writes’ recap of the best and the worst films of 2017. Don’t forget to click the coloured titles to read a more detailed write-up about the film!
June 2017
Handsome: A Netflix Mystery Movie
Jeff Garlin is a clever and hilarious performer. You wouldn’t know that from watching Handsome: A Netflix Mystery Movie. Garlin directed, wrote, executive produced, and stars as Gene Handsome in this unfathomable clunker about a lonely homicide detective in LA. Yet, the film is so devoid of engagement, you would think the actor/filmmaker was tanking this project on purpose to honour a lost bet.
The Mummy
Well, here I am swimming upstream – having seen Universal’s The Mummy and actually liking it. How do you defend a movie that’s hard to save due to the outpouring of negativity against it? Hey, I was there to defend last year’s heavily panned Suicide Squad. I can give The Mummy a shot.
Run Away With Me
It’s a bleak future that Eren Özkural’s Run Away With Me presents. Abraham (Kye Loren) is released from prison to a familiar yet dystopian existence. With no real way to integrate back into society, he finds work from a mysterious and blatantly untrustworthy man (Bill Hutchens), and also meets a peculiarly familiar woman (Rosie MacPherson) along the way who brings his spotted past into a collision with his present, and humanity’s future.
It Comes at Night
There is a tradition in American horror cinema of making a short film with a lot of effects and minimal plot to be eventually used as a calling card. It seems like this practice has found its way into the feature length semi-mainstream. At least, that’s the only explanation for the existence of Trey Edward Shults’ It Comes at Night, a film which shows the director’s abilities as a horror filmmaker – including his great gift for…
My Cousin Rachel
By: Jessica Goddard Directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill, Changing Lanes), My Cousin Rachel is a mysterious, ambiguous, and appropriately moody adaption of the 1951 Daphne du Maurier novel of the same name.
11:55
Upon returning from his service in war-torn Afghanistan, US Marine Nelson Sanchez (co-writer Victor Almanzar) is reminded of his past when a wayward friend alerts him of an incoming threat. A thug by the name of Nicky Quinn (Mike Carlsen) has been mulling over the death of his brother ever since Nelson – in desperate measures – killed him point blank. Quinn’s buddies stake out Nelson’s hometown and all the exits are blocked – the…
A Better Man
A Better Man seems to have a concise albeit well-filmed production. It’s structured around a few confrontational chats and therapy sessions, along with a brief tour of pivotal locations mattering to filmmaker Attiya Khan and ex-lover Steve. The truth is A Better Man has been 20-plus-years in the making.
Awakening the Zodiac
Will you find Awakening the Zodiac thrilling? Does the thought of rummaging through a mundane mystery excite you? How about if you’re rewarded with a looney final act that contradicts the film’s creeping atmosphere? This isn’t a good sell because you already know the disheartening answers.
Wylie Writes @ The 2017 Canadian Sport Film Festival
The Canadian Sport Film Festival sprints to Toronto for its ninth year. This weekend (Friday, June 9 – Sunday, June 11), audiences will be able to watch a diverse selection of feature films, documentaries, and short films about athletic subjects and themes. Wylie Writes’ Shannon Page received a sneak peek of the festival by watching the Emmy-award winning opening night selection Keepers of the Game, along with a haunting doc titled Hillsborough.