Wylie Writes

Reviews

Iris

By: Addison Wylie Fashion icon Iris Apfel has such wonderment, such humbling intellect, and such bewildered enthusiasm.  She’s firm, but looks at her fame as dazed and unfazed.  Her presence is infectious, and in Albert Maysles’ documentary Iris, she helps raise the film to another level.  Without her, the audience would be stuck with Maysles’ cut-and-dry traditional filmmaking. Movie goers are taken through Apfel’s influential history, and observe her optimism when others appreciate her opinion….

One-on-Ones

Wylie Writes’ One-On-One with Nick Kroll

By: Shannon Page It’s not exactly uncommon to find comedic actors who have made the transition, or at least attempted the transition, to more serious acting roles. Nick Kroll’s latest creation, the indie-comedy Adult Beginners, is an undeniably sharp departure from the character-based sketch comedy that the comedian’s fans have come to expect from his Comedy Central show, Kroll Show.  Though it has its comic moments, Adult Beginners, which explores the relationship between two estranged…

Reviews

Roar

By: Addison Wylie Drafthouse Films’ track record is uneven, but you have to give them credit for being able to uncover bizarrely profound work.  As for their current experiment, they’re giving Roar – an outrageously irresponsible survival film – a second chance.  Knowing the production company, they see cult potential in Noel Marshall’s dangerous film. Roar was littered with problems during production including multiple injuries to the cast and crew, as well as natural disasters…

Reviews

Camp Takota

By: Addison Wylie Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart, and Hannah Hart are three charismatic personalities who have found impressive fame through YouTube.  Each actress has found their calling (whether its through video blogging, cooking, or both) and have deservedly garnered lots of attention for it, which has then followed with more victories (Hannah now has a cook book, Helbig hosts her own show on E!, and Mamrie is a writer who earns steady work). What’s important…

Reviews

88

By: Addison Wylie 88 is proof a film can go feral.  It’s a version of Memento that’s been influenced by exploitation schlock and left out in the sun for too long.  It’s fun for a bit, but the film runs out of steam.  The rowdy trashy energy sends the film to a place of no return – fandom purgatory. April Mullen has appeared in front of the camera in various supporting roles, and has now…

Reviews

Phoenix

By: Addison Wylie One half of Christian Petzold’s Phoenix is an arresting period drama about redefining oneself after a devastating tragedy.  The other half is a mystery consisting of drawn-out contrivances.  The viewer feels one heck of a tug-o-war as they vary between liking Phoenix and becoming fed up with it. Even when Phoenix derails itself with unconvincing misunderstandings, the film never loses the captivating performances.  Petzold’s cast fits seamlessly within the post-WWII backdrop with…

Reviews

Maggie

By: Addison Wylie Henry Hobson has been given a one-of-a-kind opportunity to showcase Arnold Schwarzenegger’s never-before-seen tender side with Maggie.  I welcome my readers to send in examples of other low-key films the Terminator star has acted in, but I expect to receive no tips. The post-apocalyptic film also hands the filmmaker a chance to re-imagine zombie movies that star “the infected”.  Screenwriter John Scott 3 has crafted a story concerning the rights of the…

Reviews

Adult Beginners

By: Shannon Page You could be forgiven for feeling like you’ve seen Adult Beginners before – you probably have. Directed by Ross Katz, the film follows 30-something entrepreneur Jake (Nick Kroll) as he loses everything on the eve of his company’s launch and is forced to move in with his somewhat estranged and pregnant sister Justine (Rose Byrne) and brother-in-law Danny (Bobby Cannavale)in the suburbs.  Desperate to stay away from Manhattan and his former business…

Festival Coverage

Hot Docs 2015: ‘Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi’ and ‘Raiders!’

Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi (DIR. Neil Broffman) By: Shannon Page If you own a computer, have a Facebook account, frequent Twitter, or read the news – basically, if you interact with information and technology at all – you should watch Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi.  The emotional and thoughtful film, directed by Neil Broffman, tells the story of a Brown University student who went missing one month prior to the Boston Marathon bombings and…

Reviews

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

By: Mark Barber Prolific documentarian Alex Gibney’s latest film is an insightful–if perhaps overlong–two-hour reminder of the controversial Church of Scientology.  Based on and working extensively off of Lawrence Wright’s 2013 book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, Gibney traces Scientology’s history from its very beginnings with its erratic and odd founder L. Ron Hubbard to the assimilation of Hollywood celebrities into the cult. Perhaps most distressingly, however, is Gibney’s chosen slate…