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Jessica Goddard

Movie Lists

Wylie Writes’ Yays and Nays of 2020

While catching the latest movie may have been a low priority in 2020, the compromised release schedule still offered a particularly unique experience for viewers.  Films relied, more than ever, on word-of-mouth which allowed smaller films to ride the same wave as at-home blockbusters;  continuing the unpredictable boom of the streaming market.

Reviews

Black Bear

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).

Reviews

Blackbird

By: Jessica Goddard Despite its inexplicable first-rate cast, Blackbird is an eye-rollingly disappointing take on the terminal illness drama from director Roger Michell (Notting Hill, My Cousin Rachel).  Screenwriter Christian Torpe paints with a bland palette of stock characters to slap together a narrative infested with clichés and unnatural one-liners, leading nowhere of interest.

Reviews

Downhill

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…

Reviews

The Assistant

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,…

Movie Lists

The Best Movies of 2019

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.

Reviews

Marriage Story

By: Jessica Goddard At the Marriage Story screening I attended, a complimentary packet of tissues was waiting in the cup holder of each seat in the theatre.  Quite the statement.  So when the movie opens with both leading characters reading the lists of things they like about one another in front of a mediator, you know this will be a wrenching watch.