Black Panther’s Chadwick Boseman plays Andre Davis, a stoic NYPD detective who was psychologically affected at a young age by the murder of his father, a policeman in the line of fire. From that tragedy, Davis developed a certain alertness to his job but the experience has made him mentally withdrawn from situations and company. Peers are either impressed with his work or intimidated by his reputation. Davis invests all of his passion in his most…
By: Jessica Goddard From directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (The Way Way Back), Downhill is an English-language remake of Ruben Östlund’s European awards contender Force Majeure (2014). Having not seen the original, I can only speak to the quality of the new film – starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell – as a standalone film. And, it’s not bad! Truly, it’s not bad. It’s a little simple and unpolished, and uncertain of what it wants to…
Céline Sciamma’s highly acclaimed drama Portrait of a Lady on Fire is visceral filmmaking at its most eloquent. So much of this period piece hinges on textures, sights, and sounds to make the audience believe that we’re living through someone’s romantic memories.
Most movies build towards a crescendo, yet the first act of Ant Timpson’s Come to Daddy is the climax. But then, instead of gradually hitting new heights, Timpson’s film simmers to a tepid temperature. Despite the outrageous feedback you may have heard about the movie’s wild qualities, Come to Daddy is actually family tame (if you’re used to off-the-wall genre pieces).
Code 8 is an Indiegogo funded passion project from actors Robbie and Stephen Amell that raised over $3,000,000 (Canadian) crushing the campaign’s $200,000 goal – that’s impressive. I learned about the crowdfunding after watching the movie, which made my appreciation for the film grow. But, I still think Code 8 is both a tedious action/thriller and a mishmash of too many observational social commentaries.
By: Jessica Goddard The day after I saw this movie, I got an ad for it on Facebook. According to the post promoted on my timeline, Time Out New York had given Kitty Green’s The Assistant five stars, and called it a “flawless thriller.” I can’t disagree that The Assistant is a good, worthwhile movie, but calling it a thriller is a stretch. Especially when what makes it work so well is its very objective,…
A film can sometimes take so many risks, twists, and turns that the movie itself becomes borderline indescribable. Ant Timpson’s Come to Daddy falls in this camp, so how do I even begin to discuss it?
By: Trevor Chartrand While epic in scale with an ambitious, decade-spanning story, The Traitor is ultimately a disappointing, bloated film. This movie sets out to tell the gritty true story of the Italian mafia’s first police informant, Tommaso Buscetta (Pierfrancesco Favino), however, this lengthy picture gets bogged down with an overstuffed plot. Even with such rich and captivating source material, the film is ultimately uninteresting due to its failure to satisfy in the ‘audience accessibility’ category.
As 2019’s awards season comes to a close with the upcoming Oscars ceremony on February 9, the critics at Wylie Writes would like to shine a spotlight on the movies they thought were the very best of the year – including some festival favourites that will receive wider releases this year.
