2021

Reviews

The Funeral Home

If you’re looking for a movie that’s going to scare the pants off of you, Mauro Iván Ojeda’s The Funeral Home isn’t it.  Only the most sensitive and lily-livered viewers will be genuinely frightened by this Argentinian tale of hauntings and family drama.  But what it lacks in terror, The Funeral Home makes up for in moderately creepy weirdness and old-school, vintage visuals.

Reviews

Bring Me a Dream

Bring Me a Dream annoys me from all angles, but I’m also frustrated because I’m not qualified to criticize its lack of originality.  The horror-thriller reminded me that I have never seen a Nightmare on Elm Street movie (aside from Freddy vs. Jason which is more of a collaboration than a standalone film).  However, I’m familiar enough with the Freddy Krueger character to see similarities between Krueger and Bring Me a Dream’s derivative boogeyman the Sandman….

Reviews

Phobic

By: Jolie Featherstone When second-generation homicide detective Riley Sanders (Jacque Gray) returns to work after a traumatic experience, she’s partnered with the idealistic and stoic Paul Carr (Devin Liljenquist).  When Paul brings Riley up to speed on current cases, they realize that two of the crimes are very similar: the victims were bound in enclosed spaces and died of heart attacks.  Their investigation leads them to find that the killer is targeting people with clinically-diagnosed…

Reviews

Jiu Jitsu

By: Trevor Chartrand I am sad to share the unfortunate fact that Jiu Jitsu is, quite frankly, an awful movie…conclusively, undeniably disappointing all around.  Even with low expectations for an absurd martial arts B-Movie, this film is still going to be a big let-down for viewers.

Reviews

Baby Done

As much as I’m glad pro-choice movies are becoming more frequent in the mainstream eye, it’s refreshing to watch a movie about a couple who are thrilled to be expecting a baby. That nice feeling washed over me while watching Curtis Vowell’s humble comedy Baby Done, which plays as a millennial’s version of This Is 40 that’s just as funny with as many rough edges.

Reviews

Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time

By: Trevor Chartrand The second feature film from writer-director Lili Horvát, Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time is a strange romantic drama that’s difficult to connect with.  If that title seems long and complicated to you, wait until you see the movie.  Even for a film that’s barely longer than 90 minutes, this picture is an absolute slog to sit through.

Reviews

Make Up

Claire Oakley’s Make Up tells the story of a young woman named Ruth (Molly Windsor) who goes to a trailer park in Cornwall to be with her boyfriend, where she learns that he may be cheating on her.  As she attempts to come to terms with this realization, she begins to come to terms with the fact that she may be gay, as she finds herself obsessed with another woman.  This is a story that…

Movie Lists

Wylie Writes’ Yays and Nays of 2020

While catching the latest movie may have been a low priority in 2020, the compromised release schedule still offered a particularly unique experience for viewers.  Films relied, more than ever, on word-of-mouth which allowed smaller films to ride the same wave as at-home blockbusters;  continuing the unpredictable boom of the streaming market.

Reviews

Promising Young Woman

Promising Young Woman is a provocative call to arms that’s both committed to its cause and impossibly funny.  It’s one hell of a feature-length debut from writer/director Emerald Fennell, who has previously acted on the UK’s Call the Midwife and Netflix’s The Crown, as well as wrote for AMC’s Killing Eve.