Hey everyone! It’s time to update you on a bunch of the films I have been watching. I am planning on doing a longer review for Everything Everywhere All at Once coming this weekend (my thoughts on that delightful insanity can’t be limited to a mini review).

There was also a really excellent Hallmark movie this month called Just One Kiss I highly recommend. It’s great for anyone not just Hallmark fans.

So let’s talk about some recent movies:

Moonshot

The cast was the big reason why I was interested in watching Moonshot. I am not the biggest scifi fan but I love Lana Condor who was in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved series and Cole Sprouse has been charming in films like Five Feet Apart. Now I have seen it they are the biggest draw but it has enough fresh about it to recommend especially for teens or romance movie fans.

Sprouse and Condor play young adults in 2049 who are trying to get to a colony that has been established on Mars. Condor is going to see her boyfriend where Sprouse is infatuated with a girl he has a meet cute with at the beginning of the film. The two become friends when he sneaks on board and she has to hide him from the space centers computer system.

The production design is excellent here and both leads have nice chemistry. The story is something we’ve seen before but I didn’t mind that because it’s executed well. I appreciate they did not have her emotionally cheating on her boyfriend and the conflict had real emotion in it. It’s definitely worth checking out especially for romance fans.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Julia

If you have followed my content for any amount of time you know how much I adore Julia Child. I find her story of setting out on a second career in her 40s to be so inspirational and I think her and Paul Child had a marriage to be envied. It is for these reasons I will watch anything about her including the new series on HBO Max called Julia. 

It’s tough to capture Julia Child in media because she was the definition of larger than life. Her voice is so unique. She’s so tall at 6’2 and had a charisma unlike any other. I must admit Sarah Lancashire leaves a lot to be desired in her portrayal especially in the voice. It doesn’t sound anything like Julia. However, I was able to get used to her choices after a while and embrace the project.

At first I didn’t like David Hyde Pierce as Paul Child. He was petty and jealous and from everything I’ve read that’s not who he was at all. They also seem to have combined Avis DeVoto and Julia’s sister Dorothy into one character but I didn’t mind that because I love Bebe Neuwirth who played her.

Eventually Julia was able to win me over and I enjoyed it. It’s not the Julia Child parts of Julie and Julia but it’s a nice depiction of Julia’s start on television.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

The Northman

I am sure there will be many people who will be singing the praises of Robert Eggers new film The Northman and I can see why. It is very ambitious and well made with good performances from all involved. The problem is it’s so brutal and joyless that it becomes a slog. What happened to fantasy stories being even a little bit inspirational? A film like The Northman has no heroes let alone a heroes journey. It’s just one scene of brutality after another. That’s not entertainment to me.

The Northman tells the story of Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård) and how he seeks revenge on the man who kills his father in the opening scenes. His mother is played by Nicole Kidman and Anya Taylor-Joy plays his love interest Olga.

The story brings in supernatural elements in some truly bizarre scenes and as I said the actors throw their all in it but it becomes exhausting. Eggers needs to allow some moments of quiet so we can get to know the characters and feel invested in their journeys. This was too much of everything and I grew weary of it (it’s 137 minutes!). If it sounds like something you’d like than go for it but it definitely wasn’t for me.

4.5 out of 10

Frown Worthy

One Road to Quartzsite

In 2020 Nomadland took the world by storm and it ended up winning best picture at the Oscars. In many ways the film felt like a documentary using real life modern nomads along with the actors to immerse you in the life of people who travel for a living. Now we have an actual documentary with One Road to Quartzsite that follows the same people and in many ways it feels like a companion piece to Nomadland. Q

One Road to Quartzsite is directed by Ryan Maxey and it takes a slice of life approach to following the people at Quartzsite, Arizona as they gather in camps and RV centers to share their life experiences together. It’s interesting to see people that are in many ways outcasts and loners find solace in community just like the rest of us do.

These kind of documentaries will be too slowly paced for some but if you are interested in the lives of these modern nomads you should be entertained. I also loved all of the folk music played throughout.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

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