Better late than never, right? These movies were hard enough to watch in the first place, let alone revisit them for a year-end round-up. Give us a break! As always, don’t forget to click the highlighted titles for reviews from each Wylie Writes critic.
By: Trevor Chartrand Big Gold Brick is the brainchild of writer/director Brian Petsos, whose first feature film comes fully-loaded with a surprisingly star-studded cast. Featuring Andy Garcia, Megan Fox, and Oscar Isaac, this surreal comedy-drama has its moments, but ultimately gets bogged down by a slow pace and a series of uneven tonal shifts.
By: Trevor Chartrand Short film writer/director Blake Ridder is on the right track with his feature-length debut Help, but the movie struggles to tell a cohesive story. This neat little thriller is tidy and simple, but ultimately falls apart during its goofy, over-the-top final act. While the film has some decent visuals and an acceptable sense of pacing and style, it’s hard to take the narrative seriously.
By: Trevor Chartrand Documentary filmmaker Ilinca Calugareanu takes on a recent New York controversy in A Cops and Robbers Story; which focuses on former NYPD chief Corey Pegues. A vocal advocate against police brutality and racism, Pegues was the centre of a media swarm following a recent confession of his darker past.
By: Trevor Chartrand See For Me, directed by Randall Okita (The Lockpicker), is an engaging thriller that’s sort-of a reverse Don’t Breathe. In both films, a blind person fends off would-be home invaders – but in Okita’s movie, our visually-impaired lead character is not a sadistic sociopath – she’s (mostly) a good person.
By: Jolie Featherstone Set in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s, Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest is a wholly immersive ‘endless summer’ following two enterprising misfits in the deliriously light-headed throes of youth.
By: Jolie Featherstone By beautifully capturing the stories of American communities that are rarely seen on screen, Sean Baker has the makings of a modern auteur.
By: Trevor Chartrand Goofy and upbeat, Letters to Satan Claus is a comical send-up of Hallmark holiday movies…with a slasher twist. While it’s never laugh-out-loud funny, this film has a satirical edge that makes for an effective parody of holiday movies.
By: Jolie Featherstone Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci brings glitz, glam, star power, and seduction to the big screen. Decadent and grandiose, House of Gucci is chock-full of big hair, big glasses, and even bigger scandals set in the high fashion world of excess in the 1980s and 1990s.
