It’s odd to perceive the high stakes drama Emily the Criminal as a game-changer for star/producer Aubrey Plaza, but it absolutely is. Her role in John Patton Ford’s feature-length filmmaking debut requires the actor to channel her deadpan demeanour towards a more serious direction that details her character’s desperation, exhaustion and, later, her vindictive desires – it’s an incredible performance in an exciting dramatic thriller.
Films are rewarded when they think outside the box and resist their genre’s conventions. But sometimes, a movie can remind us of how narrative prerequisites can be misinterpreted as cliché by indifferent filmmakers.
By: Jessica Goddard Our own Addison Wylie mentioned I probably shouldn’t watch the trailer for Lawrence Michael Levine’s Black Bear, since it would be better to go in cold.…and boy was he right. When I tracked down the trailer after seeing the film, I was shocked by how much it gives away. So in that spirit, I’ll warn that this review contains what are, effectively, spoilers (though that’s not the perfect word).
Set on the sunny California coast, director Matt Spicer’s Ingrid Goes West is a dark critique of social media that manages to hit its mark, despite some minor flaws.
The Little Hours fuses arthouse cinema with modern comedic stylings borrowed from Judd Apatow’s toybox. In other words, it’s a film with lovely cinematography and patient pacing, yet features bawdy behaviour and provocative profanity.
There’s a difference between being self-aware and being self-involved – the former usually has more sense than the latter. For instance, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is aware of its buffoonery, but neglects to be involved in its own idiocy. There’s still a brain behind the immaturity displayed by Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (Zac Efron).
When Dirty Grandpa was released in January, it was panned by critics and moviegoing audiences stayed fairly quiet. However, after Wylie Writes’ Shannon Page reported that the film was a funny party with irresistible chemistry between veteran actor Robert De Niro and heartthrob Zac Efron, I was inclined to check it out.
Dirty Grandpa wasn’t a film that I expected to enjoy as much as I did. The casting of the two leads had me doubtful.
By: Addison Wylie Playing It Cool has its cake and eats it too, and knows damn well what it’s doing. However, director Justin Reardon is no David Wain or Charlie Kaufman, and Playing It Cool is nowhere near as clever as They Came Together or Adaptation. Reardon ventures into feature films with this smug rom-com send-up involving a bitter screenwriter (played by Chris Evans) who is given the task of writing a romantic comedy. He…
By: Addison Wylie With his first feature film, director Colin Trevorrow (with the help of screenwriter Derek Connolly) has conjured up this gem that pokes fun at, while still embracing adolescence and growing up. It all starts with our lead female played by character actor Aubrey Plaza – who has always had a certain quality to her presence and to her line-reading that can be summed up in one word: pubescent. In Safety Not Guaranteed,…