By: Addison Wylie Unique. That’s the word I’d use to describe Andrew Bujalski’s Computer Chess, an utterly ambitious film about a competition featuring duelling men (and a woman) and their computers as they square off in a round robin of chess. Bujalski is ambitious in the way that he’s trying to make an entertaining movie about nerdy technicians and their comprehension of chess and their machines. But also, because he’s shot his film using Sony…
By: Addison Wylie Dominga Sotomayor Castillo has been collecting accolades for her directorial debut Thursday Till Sunday. Her young female lead – 11 year old Santi Ahumada – has also been earning her fair share of praise for her innocent performance. However, I regret to inform Castillo and Ahumada that they won’t be earning any applause on the Wylie Writes front because Castillo’s filmmaking has serious issues and Ahumada’s performance – following similar footsteps as last year’s…
By: Addison Wylie Riding high off his commercial and Academy Award nominated hit Bridesmaids, Paul Feig is back with The Heat, a female driven crass cop comedy with a perfect pairing of Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy and a surprising number of laughs. Feig’s comedy starts off on a funny but familiar step. We’re introduced to Bullock’s character, Ashburn, as well as introduced to her cockiness and her arrogance that makes her the least liked…
By: Addison Wylie Adam Sandler’s ego has become so large, it is now starting to swallow film. Case in point: Grown Ups 2, an unnecessary and excruciatingly unfunny experience where everyone bows to the shrine of Sandler with director Dennis Dugan barely steering the mayhem…again. I suppose the beginning is the best place to start. It’ll at least ease my way back into the headache I was feeling by the end of this ordeal. Adam…
By: Addison Wylie After seeing Vince Offer’s appalling InAPPropriate Comedy and Seth Gordon’s despicable Identity Thief, I thought I’d be done using “the worst” to describe any other film released this year. That is, until I saw Dev Khanna’s Fondi ’91. Don’t get me wrong. Offer’s racist cinematic tirade and Gordon’s insufferable comedy are still the worst films 2013 has given audiences, but this crummy coming-of-age tale about a young man’s week long soccer getaway…
By: Addison Wylie I’m So Excited is my introduction to renowned director Pedro Almodóvar’s work. It’s to my understanding that his latest romp strays away from what experienced movie goers are normally used to from the Spanish filmmaker – at least, his more recent outings. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing only time will tell as we watch this comedy’s theatrical run become fleeting or make itself at home. I’m So Excited…
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 About 75% of The Lone Ranger is immensely enjoyable and everything you’d want in a Summer blockbuster. It’s just unfortunate that 25% of it doesn’t reach the heights that director Gore Verbinski hits preceding and after the saggy middle portion of his film. Let’s get the cons out of the way, because I’d much rather remember The Lone Ranger for its amiable feats. After some hard-hitting fights and likeable introductions to a…
By: Addison Wylie Developing an opinion about Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring is serving to be a struggle. I don’t know what to make of it. On one hand, it’s becomes a slightly tedious ordeal to sit and watch empty-headed dopes essentially stare at each other as well as at themselves through mirrors and webcams. They also stare at their phones and material possessions until one of them breaks and takes a picture with their…
By: Addison Wylie The MPAA has given the latest instalment of the Fast & Furious franchise a PG-13 for “intense sequences of violence and action and mayhem throughout, some sexuality, and language”. From the sounds of that, Fast & Furious 6 should be a wild time at the movies. So, why was I so bored? Whether you walked away from Fast Five liking it or not, you at least could’ve left the theatre with some…