By: Addison Wylie In terms of being a worthwhile cop drama, McCanick won’t astound movie goers, but it certainly does the trick. The problem with McCanick is that it has a really hard time trying to escape the shadow of other more successful cop dramas like Training Day and more recent middle-of-the-road fare brought to us by Antoine Fuqua. Josh C. Waller’s film allows David Morse to take a break from being a quirky supporting character…
By: Addison Wylie A film flying in from the UK called My Brother the Devil is sure to catch North American audiences off guard. It’s a compelling piece of work and an exceptional feature film debut from writer/director Sally El Hosaini, providing plenty of challenges for her characters as well as for her audience. Movie goers will be glued to the screen as a pivotal event changes the lifestyles of those driving Hosaini’s story. Brothers…
By: Addison Wylie As the Hangover series comes to a close, it’s wild to look back on the three successful comedies and reflect on how a jaw-dropping sleeper hit eventually became a three-part franchise that has split audiences – especially the second installment which many called “too dark” and “a complete rip-off of the original”. As for myself, I’ve enjoyed where this series has gone and am one of the few who appreciates the The Hangover…
By: Addison Wylie There’s something ingenious about the idea of Michael Bay helming a project about celebrating a shallow American dream. Who better to direct a story about a team of musclebound knucklehead criminals chasing the implausible than a guy who almost always has explosions take the lead role and lets T&A share the second billing. The film’s Miami setting takes on a “look good, feel better” attitude as all the characters are in some…
By: Addison Wylie Set against a bluegrass backdrop, Ellis and his best friend Neckbone (both played exceptionally by Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland) scavenge through their surroundings to help a wayward, disheveled man named Mud find tools to rescue a tattered boat from out of a towering tree. As they travel back to the island where Mud (played by a striking Matthew McConaughey) roams and hides, the three work together to carry out this seemingly…
By: Addison Wylie Shawn Linden’s The Good Lie is good looking and straightforward with its premise that instantly hooks you. A normal high schooler named Cullen (played by Thomas Dekker) is devastated after being pulled out of class to find out his mother Doris (played by Julie LeBreton) has died in a car accident. He’s even more upset after learning he’s the product of a horrific rape. Furious and upset, Cullen sets out to find…
By: Addison Wylie With his latest feature film, writer/director Derek Cianfrance has already made his Magnolia with The Place Beyond the Pines, an excellent and expansive drama intertwining complex characters and haunting pasts with a twist of fate. This is, without a doubt, a step in the right direction for Cianfrance who made a name for himself rather quickly with 2010’s Blue Valentine. I was a fan of the tightly wound performances in Blue Valentine,…
By: Addison Wylie I’m sure anything can be made funny in some way. But, I have a hard time fathoming someone making a “howling comedy” about the hilarities of identity theft. Especially, when the film’s featured crook (played gratingly by Melissa McCarthy) is introduced to us as a loud, obnoxious, compulsive liar who is often either drunk or randy. And, she’s our comedy relief, folks. In the hands of a cunning and careful dark comedic…
By: Addison Wylie I remember starring in a high school play, a play that shall remain nameless, where I didn’t know what was going on. Not in a way that I was passed out and my body was strung up resembling a Weekend at Bernie’s scenario; I legitimately did not know what the play was about, my character’s motivation, or what it all meant in the grand scheme of things. Being that the play was…