I always try to go into every screening with hope and optimism but there are certain franchises that can be a little harder to that for me than others- the Disney live action remakes for example. However, even with them I try to be open minded and sometimes they surprise me. Such was my experience with the most recent Colleen Hoover adaptation Reminders of Him. I strongly disliked her 2 previous adaptations so I looked at this new one with some degree of skepticism. That is why I’m delighted to tell you I really enjoyed this film! In fact, I enjoyed it enough I have seen it twice and I ended up interviewing the director. See below:

And no I didn’t enjoy the film because I was interviewing- the other way around to be honest. Anyway, this is actually a moving character piece about forgiveness, love and allowing people to recover from past wrongs. Maika Monroe plays Kenna who is freshly out of prison and trying to get her life back together. She begins a relationship hesitantly with Ledger played by Tyriq Withers, who has ties to her past. Lauren Graham and Bradley Whiford give strong supporting performances. The 2 leads have smoldering chemistry and they are both likable people I was rooting for (something I couldn’t’ say about the 2 previous films)

If you see Colleen Hoover and groan maybe give Reminders of Him a shot. It might make you a believer too.

Speaking of new perspectives and opportunities I am very sad about my time at KSL Movie Show has come to an end. I loved working on that show and was hopeful it would be a permanent position. Fortunately I am starting up my own weekly show called Friday Flicks which I would love if you all checked out. It’s going to be live streamed at around 9am mt Friday mornings and you will hear all the latest reviews and some really fun segments like TV movie of the week and re-release of the week.

Any help you could give on this new series I would really appreciate. It’s also on the audio streams for both Hallmarkies Podcast and Rachel’s Reviews.

Also my patreon is crucial right now to be able to keep doing what I do as the world seems insistent on me being a lone wolf, doing my own thing. I have some really fun perks so please take a look at the patreon. Most of the patrons have stayed on for multiple years they’ve enjoyed it so much.

Today I have a quick post for you to share our latest episode of Blind Spot podcast series. Manda and I took a look at the 2002 romantic comedy Brown Sugar:

While I like both of the leads in this movie and I thought they had good chemistry (Manda didn’t) the problem comes with the execution of the friends-to-lovers story. What makes that trope great is the building tension between 2 people afraid to make that leap and ruin the friendship. With these 2 they almost consummate their relationship the day before he marries another woman. This not only destroys the tension but it makes both of them unlikable and hard to root for. Do we want a rom-com about cheaters? I don’t think so.

Still I did like the tribute to hip-hop and the supporting cast is fun including Queen Latifah. It’s available to watch on hulu if you want to check it out.

It’s amazing how time flies. 2026 marks my 10th year doing the Blind Spot project. It’s also the beginning of my 3rd year doing the podcast coverage for the series with my friend Manda. As much as I enjoyed writing my own thoughts on the movie I have enjoyed even more watching and talking about them with my friend. For this epic year of Blind Spot we have 12 movies picked out for 2026. It’s a diverse and fun list I hope you will all enjoy. Here goes:

January- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

February- Brown Sugar

March- Rambo: First Blood

April- Cleopatra

May- Sweet Charity

June- Housesitter

July- SubUrbia

August- Once Upon a Time in America

October- Single White Female

November- New York, New York

December- Black Christmas

So there you have it! All 12 picks for 2026. What do you think of this list? I hope once I get things finalized with my future with KSL Movie Show I can figure out a  new normal for written reviews as I know I have been woefully negligent in that department this year. Nevertheless, I hope you have a wonderful New Year and look forward to many positive experiences to come.

I think all movie fans (including critics) have directors and writers that while excellent at their crafts just aren’t on our wavelengths or taste. These filmmakers make movies that aren’t bad but will rarely be listed amongst our favorites due to themes and stylistic choices they like to embody. One of these directors for me is writer/director Shane Black.

These feelings about Black’s work is perhaps surprising because he always sets his films at Christmas so you’d think I’d be drawn to him but his aggressively quirky style and mixture of violence and comedy rarely works for me. Such is the case with his early hit Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. This is by no means a bad movie but it’s just not my taste.

In the film Robert Downey Jr plays a burglar turned actor who gets involved with a series of crimes in seedy LA by trying to help his childhood friend named Harmony (Michelle Monaghan.) We also see Val Kilmer playing a gay detective named Perry and Corbin Bernsen as the mob boss Harlan Dexter.

The best part of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is the editing and action. It is constantly moving from one set-piece to the next. The performances are also a lot of fun throughout with a star-making turn from RDJ.

I guess where the movie loses me is in the aggressively self-conscious script that prefers more about flashy dialogue over authentic characters. It’s distracting when the screenwriter is drawing more attention t themselves rather than the story or characters.

Speaking of the story it’s kind of a mess. Characters are introduced out of nowhere (like the pink haired girl) and then never addressed again. The narrative is all-over-the-place and I’m not sure who the protagonist actually is. One wants to say it is RDJ but we learn more about Harmony and at times it seems like her movie. It’s one of those movies one has to enjoy in the moment because the overall story is muddled.

All that said Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a confident debut feature from Black. It may not be my cup of tea stylistically but at least he has a style and I can see why it was viewed as a promising start for him and his work.

My patrons keep me honest and able to see and review as much as I do. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. If you value honest criticism check it out. Find out more here.

Hi everyone! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful November. I actually posted our Blind Spot episode a couple of weeks ago but forgot to post it here on the blog. We made a last minute change to the schedule when I realized I had a major blind spot in the original Predator movie from 1987.

I am perhaps one of the few people who saw Predator Badlands before seeing the original film. This is particularly unique for that film as Badlands subverts the franchise by telling the story of a predator creature instead of the normal human POV. I really enjoyed Badlands as a stand alone entry but even without seeing the other films admire it’s attempt to try something new (we are getting a Moana remake just to remind you how rare such an attempt actually is.)

The biggest surprise watching the original Predator film is how much of a monster movie it is. It is not the scifi movie of something like the Alien films but more similar to something like Jurassic Park. I was also surprised how much of an ensemble film it is. Honestly Carl Weathers is as much the star of the film as Arnold Schwarzenegger.

It’s also more of a war movie than I expected with many scenes reminding me of Apocalypse Now or other 80s era war films. The director John McTiernan is in love with the visual effects of the 80s including making the predator be clear or invisible. It is a very bloody film but at under 2 hours doesn’t feel bloated like many action movies do today.

If you haven’t seen Predator it is definitely worth a watch, as is Predator Badlands. It’s the kind of franchise filmmaking we should be encouraging from Hollywood (and Disney) instead of the soulless entries  they so often offer.

My patrons keep me honest and able to see and review as much as I do. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. If you value honest criticism check it out. Find out more here.

Hi friends! I hope you are doing well. Sorry I’ve been so MIA but I’ve been completely engrossed in my podcasting and work on KSL Movie Show. I’ve been subbing in for Steve Salles and the entire experience has been a dream come true. I hope that you listen each Friday or on the podcast version. Through an error, however, we missed talking about a new release this week. It is from Amazon and it’s called Sarah’s Oil. This is a wonderful based on a true story drama that the whole family can benefit from. Since we didn’t review it on the show I figured I’d do an old fashioned written review (we will probably cover it next week so tune in!)

Sarah’s Oil tells the story of Sarah Rector a real life young Black girl who inherits oil rich land in Oklahoma in the 1910s. In real life she really did sell her land to Rockefeller and was a millionaire by the time she turned 18. It’s a fascinating story well-told with dramatic license of course by director Cyrus Nowrasteh. I am sure a lot of kids will be inspired to see a strong-willed determined child like Sarah and her story on the big screen.

In the film Sarah is played by Naya Desir-Johnson and she has a terrific screen presence and her and Zachary Levi have nice chemistry together. The screenplay perhaps spends too much time on his character named Bert Smith (who is an invention for the film) but it was still a pleasant friendship to see unfold on screen. I also loved Sonequa Martin-Green as Sarah’s mother Rose (she’s always great even in Star Trek Discovery.)

For a small budgeted film the movie looks great with some impressive setpieces involving the oil rig. It all feels historically accurate and is easy to get immersed in the story. Naturally some of the harsher elements of the story involving antagonists against Sarah are kept family friendly but they make the point they need to make without being too traumatizing.

If families are looking for a night at the movies that will inspire their kids Sarah’s Oil is a great choice. It’s playing at theaters right now so check it out

My patrons keep me honest and able to see and review as much as I do. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. If you value honest criticism check it out. Find out more here.

Hi friends! I hope you are doing well. I know I have basically been abandoning written reviews lately because of my work on KSL Movie Show but I am still reviewing movies. Make sure you check out the show each Friday as it has really been a dream come true for me. I don’t know how much longer it will last but I’m going to enjoy it for as long as I can. I am still writing reviews for theatre so you will want to be sure and follow me on my theatre site.

One of the fun parts of working at the show is it has forced me out of my comfort zone to watch films I might not have normally seen. This has been a net positive and I’ve discovered really good films like the first 2 Conjuring movies and a neat little horror movie from this year called Bone Lake.

With Halloween coming up Manda and I decided to continue this embrace of horror for our Blind Spot entry in October, and we watched the classic Poltergeist for the first time. I think this might be our best episode that we’ve recorded together yet because not only did we both really enjoy the film, but we had a lot of fun talking about the production controversy- mainly did Steven Spielberg actually direct the movie or was it the credited Tobe Hooper. It’s a good listen I would love if you check it out.

As far as the movie, Poltergeist is a horror I would recommend watching as an approachable gateway to the genre. It builds tension well with creepy scenes like when the chairs are all levitating or the silverware is bending. That’s effective and fun. Plus, it does creepy kid better than almost any other horror film I’ve seen. It involves supernatural elements but nothing too upsetting or disturbing and features a kick-butt mother in Diane who will literally dive into an abyss for her daughter so that’s cool.

If you can handle something like The Sixth Sense you can handle Poltergeist. It’s a ton of fun and we had a great time watching and talking about it.

Let me know what you have been watching lately and again sorry for skipping written reviews. Make sure you are checking out Hallmarkies Podcast as we are diving into the Christmas movie season already and everything else I have going on. Happy Halloween!

My patrons keep me honest and able to see and review as much as I do. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. If you value honest criticism check it out. Find out more here.

Another month has come and gone and that means another blind spot. I’m super sorry I’ve been so neglectful of my written reviews but it’s just been the result of being so busy with my podcasts and KSL Movie Show. The support I have received on the show has been amazing and I’m beyond grateful for it. I am still writing my regular theatre reviews so make sure to take a look at that site.

This month the blind spot was the 1939 classic adaptation of Wuthering Heights. I have seen other adaptations but as I’m not the biggest fan of the book I hadn’t seen this one, and I’m glad I checked it off of my blind spot list. It’s still not my favorite story because Catherine and Heatcliff are both so unlikable but I do appreciate the melodrama in the script as well as the clear animosity between the actors.

This is certainly a beautifully made movie with one of the most memorable scores in a drama in film. Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier evidently hated each other which is just the dynamic you need for Catherine and Heathcliff. The more hate the better! It’s going to be interesting to see how Emerald Fennell’s version turns out next year. It looks like it is going to be a lose adaptation (unlike this one aside from the ending) but will a new interpretation work?

It was interesting to learn in preparation for the podcast about director William Wyler and what he put the actors through. One scene he asked Olivier for 72 takes with little to no feedback of what he needed to do differently. I can’t imagine what that would have been like but that exasperated emotion probably helped Olivier capture Heathcliff’s frustrations and anger so well in the film.

I personally prefer Olivier in Pride and Prejudice the next year but that comes down to story preference more than anything else. What about you? What do you think of Wuthering Heights and this version from 1939? Check out the podcast! I think you’ll really enjoy it.

My patrons keep me honest and able to see and review as much as I do. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. If you value honest criticism check it out. Find out more here.