Author: Rachel's Reviews

Tribeca 2026: Doc Meets World

| Rachel's Reviews

Growing up I didn’t have many television shows I watched regularly. My parents aren’t media people, and we often didn’t have a TV or cable membership. This is probably why I’ve always been more of a movie person than a television. However, the comedy Boy Meets World is an exception. Starting in 1993 the show aired for 7 seasons and in the 2nd season the characters began high school which was the same year that I was a freshman. Then they started college in 1998 which was the same year I started college. You get the idea- I grew up with this show!

Like most media from childhood, I have a lot of nostalgia tied up into Boy Meets World and the new documentary at Tribeca Film Festival Doc Meets World dives into those emotions but it tries to dig deeper particularly into the lives of 3 of the show’s stars: Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, and Rider Strong. It uses a tour for their podcast Pod Meets World as the narrative device to explore teen stardom, friendship, fandom and more.

It’s unfortunate the show’s star Ben Savage did not participate in the documentary or the podcast. It leaves the documentary feeling empty of a very important perspective on the show and forces others to guess how he may or may not be responding. Things can also get in the weeds with the tour, and the mechanizations of running a podcast, which are both about as exciting as you’d expect.

Still if you are a fan of Boy Meets World you’ll enjoy this documentary. It’s pleasant to catch up with Fishel, Friedle and Strong and in a world where so many child stars end up as troubled adults it’s nice to see that basically everyone from this show turned out well. I don’t think non-fans will be entertained but that’s ok. It’s made for the fans and as one of them I’m glad I saw it.

Covering festivals is not easy and small sites like Rachel’s Reviews need help to provide such extensive coverage of film and theatre. 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.

 

Tribeca 2026: Next Life

| Rachel's Reviews

Of all the high concept movie plots out there one that I keep being drawn to time and again is one of alternate timelines. In the world of physics it’s called The Many-Worlds Theory. The idea is that in each decision there are multiple outcomes that are possible and that the universe splits off into those different realities. At the very least it is fascinating to think about how little decisions impact our lives in some times big ways.

Naturally this concept works really well in the romance genre most famously with the 1998 film Sliding Doors. In this film Gwyneth Paltrow has 2 realities- one where she makes a subway and catches her cheating boyfriend and one where she does not. It’s a delightful film I recommend if you haven’t seen it.

Now the latest in this genre, Next Life, is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival. This film stars Emilia Clarke as Ivy a singer who’s 2 realities revolve around her having a meet cute where she spills coffee on a jazz musician Diego (Edgar Ramirez) on the subway. The reality with no meet cute she ends up with her ex-fiance Noah played by Jack Farthing but her and Noah do connect eventually in both timelines (it’s meant to be!)

This film is written and directed by Drake Doremus and he tries to speak to weightier themes than the premise might suggest. It’s actually an exploration on life and if we are destined for certain fates or not. Clarke is very likable in the role and she manages to have decent chemistry with both Farthing and Ramirez. Doremus could have learned from Sliding Doors and given Ivy different hairstyles for each reality because it can get confusing which version of the character we are seeing from scene to scene.

It also sometimes gets heavier than it needs to be and Ivy can start to feel unlikable particularly in the Noah sections. Still, I overall enjoyed myself with the music playing throughout adding another fun component (it would be a good soundtrack to listen to.)

Next Life is the kind of movie you could go to with friends and then have a good discussion after but yet it still manages to be a pleasant time. One might say in the reality where I saw the movie I’m glad I did!

Covering festivals is not easy and small sites like Rachel’s Reviews need help to provide such extensive coverage of film and theatre. 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.

Blind Spot 124: Sweet Charity

| Rachel's Reviews

Hi friends! Another month has come and gone which is crazy. I’ve been as busy as ever before with my new Friday Flicks show, which is something I’m very proud of and love. Don’t fear though I actually have quite a bit of writing planned for the next few weeks. My friend Allison asked me to help her apply for the Tribeca Film Festival and she was accepted. Almost all of that coverage will be written so expect to see reviews and other posts for that coming up soon.

In the meantime I still have blind spot for May to share with you. This month it is the musical Sweet Charity which I’ve never seen on stage or screen. It was fun to finally watch this film and overall I liked it- particularly for the Bob Fosse dance numbers. My favorite being “The Rhythm of Life” with Sammy Davis Jr selling it as a preacher named Big Daddy.

The story is nothing amazing and I was a little disappointed by the singing quality throughout but it’s still an entertaining musical with again some great dancing (and costumes.) I didn’t realize until the podcast that it was all based on a Fellini film Nights of Cabiria. That makes 2 Fellini films that went on to become musicals (with Nine being the other.)

While the film version of Sweet Charity isn’t a masterpiece it is definitely worth a watch and I’m glad I got to check it off my blind spot list! Next month I have the comedy Housesitter.

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.

Blind Spot 123: Cleopatra

| Rachel's Reviews

Hi friends! This month’s blind spot proved to be one of those movies that’s much more fun to talk about than to watch. It’s 1963’s Cleopatra. The film that almost bankrupted 20th Century Fox. Honestly I thought it would be better. I knew it was super long. That’s why I hadn’t watched it but I thought it would be more campy fun but it’s really not. I was shocked how many long processionals there are where nothing is happening. You could almost have it as a screensaver and get as much entertainment out of it.

That said, my friend Molly and I had a great time talking about it on the podcast. Just the story of the producer Walter Wanger is worth its own podcast episode. It’s available on all the podcast platforms so give it a listen.

Next month is the musical Sweet Charity so that should be really fun to check off of my blind spot list!

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.

Can a movie win me over on cuteness vibes? Yes ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ (Review)

| Rachel's Reviews

So back in 2023 I didn’t like the first The Super Mario Bros Movie. In my review I said “If you want to see a basic animated film for kids The Super Mario Bros Movie I suppose will suffice but if you are hoping for something fresh, exciting, creative or funny I’m afraid you’ll have to look elsewhere.”

Well, the last 3 years have worn down this critic because the new movie The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is all of those things I accused the original of being and it is not fresh or exciting and yet I liked it! (I do think it is creative and funny so maybe that’s where it won me over)

The truth is I don’t really remember the original film well nor did I have time to rewatch it. I recall it being more boring than the new film which honestly can be a little crowded in the story department (crowded and yet also quite basic in its storytelling.)

The thing is it’s also really cute… For whatever reason I found almost every scene to be charming with adorable characters I enjoyed spending time with. I liked that Mario and Luigi were together for most this movie where they weren’t in the original. I liked Yoshi and his cuteness. I thought Peach was a fun character and her sister Rosalina were delightful characters. The toadstools are adorable. Sometimes even us critics have basic responses to film, and that was the case here. I found it to be a charming adventure.

Of course there are problems. As I said, the story is crowded and yet also quite basic. There is no attempt to dazzle me with the animation like we have seen in so many recent animated films. Illumination is still as generic as you can get in that department but the way they interwove the animation from the video game was quite clever and surprising. I am sure there are loads of Easter eggs fans will get but even my non-gamer heart caught a lot of them.

I’m seeing a lot of critics going very hard on this film but I also wonder what kind of movie can you do for 2 male plumbers in a fantasy world. It’s not a concept that strikes me as ripe for storytelling. What they came up with is a generic adventure to save a princess but they filled it with lost of cuteness and enough laughs to entertain me.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie gets a recommendation from this princess peach.

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.

Blind Spot 122: First Blood (Rambo’s first movie)

| Rachel's Reviews

I just wanted to share a quick post with this month’s Blind Spot pick. It was 1982’s First Blood which is our introduction to the character of John Rambo. This was honestly much better than I was anticipating and I had a great time talking about it with my friend Ryan who filled in for Manda in March.

I didn’t expect to be moved by Rambo’s story but I was. It’s also not as violent as the sequels became known for. It’s a survival story of veteran Rambo being hunted by Brian Dennehy’s Teasle.

I was quite touched when Rambo says “I can’t get it out of my head. A dream of seven years. Everyday I have this. And sometimes I wake up and I don’t know where I am. I don’t talk to anybody. Sometimes a day – a week. I can’t put it out of my mind.”

If you haven’t seen this first Rambo movie, First Blood, I highly recommend it. It’s one of the bigger surprises I’ve had with Blind Spot for some time. A really good movie and I think our discussion was insightful. Would love your thoughts.

April we have the very long Cleopatra which should be an adventure to watch. I’m excited.

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.

Ranking all 15 movies I saw at SXSW virtual film festival

| Rachel's Reviews

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great weekend and enjoying spring weather wherever you might be. So I have had quite the March 2026. As many of you know I had been substituting over at KSL Movie Show since last July. It would have been my dream to be hired as a regular for the show and I sincerely think I would have done a great job for them but they decided to go elsewhere. This was completely devastating and I’m still getting over it to be honest. Well, this news came the week before I was going to go to Austin for SXSW Film Festival. Not that the job paid much anyways but it didn’t seem like the responsible thing to take a trip (as minimal as it was going to be) during such an uncertain time.

(I have since started my own show for my weekly reviews and I’m super proud of it. It is also available on all the podcast apps)

With this change I had to pivot to a virtual experience for the festival and considering the circumstances I’m proud of myself for still watching 15 movies. I’m not sure how many I watched last year when attending but 15 is pretty good and took some hustle on my part! The downside is I ended up with a lot of similar films- particularly young female slasher movies and the repetition can be deadening after a while. That said I only outright disliked one of the 15 films so that’s nice. If you get to see any of these films let me know what you think:

  1. Love Language- This rom-com starring Chloë Grace Moretz tells the story of a young woman who starts writing couples vows after her own failed engagement. It kind of reminded me of a darker version of The Wedding Singer where this bitter person is still surrounded by weddings. She’s a pretty unlikable character but everything around her is so charming and Anthony Ramos and Manny Jacinto are so swoony I really enjoyed the love story. Definitely my kind of film.
  2. Sparks- this is an interesting little indie about a group of teens who may have a time travelling pond in their town. Cleo played by Elsie Fisher dreams of going back to the 1960s to be with Jean-Luc Godard and see the filming of his movie Breathless. This is unpredictable and sweet coming of age story that avoids a lot of the pitfalls in that genre I don’t enjoy.
  3. Basic- this film follows Ashley Park’s character as she is plagued with insecurities over her boyfriend played by Taylor John Smith. He is loyal to her but she doesn’t believe it could be real. She is particularly sensitive about his ex-girlfriend (Leighton Meester) who she judges and stalks at a comedy club. This movie is about the labels we put on each other, how social media exacerbates those labels and how if we can’t love ourselves why should anyone else? I liked it a little more before she met Meester’s character but still enjoyable.
  4. Pretty Lethal- this was the last of my campy female slasher movies of the festival so it is possible it might have been higher than it was after seeing 5 of them in 10 days. Still if bloody gruesome killer ballerinas sounds like your jam than you should give this movie a shot. It’s not trying to be realistic or gritty but that’s part of the fun of it. I especially liked the way it used stereotypically ballet items to kill and maim like nutcrackers and ballet shoes. Grisly but creative. It stars Maddie Ziegler and Lana Condor with Uma Thurman running the ballet.
  5. Mike & Alice & Nick & Alice- this film starts off with an incredible high with Ben Schwartz singing ‘Why Should I Worry’ from Oliver and Company, which was so exciting and unexpected. Unfortunately it is my favorite part of the movie although the rest of it is still fun. Like Sparks this also involves a time machine and Vince Vaughn playing 2 versions of himself as a gangster. James Marsden is charismatic in it and Eiza González is gorgeous. It’s a fun time and a shame it went straight to streaming.
  6. Forbidden Fruits- next up in our female slasher movies we have Forbidden Fruits about a group of teenage girls who form a coven of witches in the local mall. Each of these girls is named after a fruit like Apple, Cherry and Fig. It’s all very bloody with some of the gnarliest kills I’ve seen in a while but if that’s your jam you’ll love this film. It’s campy and I can see it becoming a midnight movie favorite in coming years. It reminded me a lot of Heathers.
  7. They Will Kill You- continuing on female slashers we have this film. It stars Zazie Beetz as a woman coming into a devil cult to try and save her sister. The first half of this movie I was really digging. It is unpredictable and creative. I genuinely did not know what was going to happen to this woman around every turn. The problem is once the antagonists reveal they are immortal the stakes in the fighting are nonexistent. Things become very repetitive and  the ending with the giant pig devil was a little much. Still fun enough for what it is
  8. Are we Still Married?- next up we have a short I had the privilige to watch and interview the director/creator Kit Steinkellner (see above.) It’s more a proof of concept than an actual short but I liked the idea and it was neat to talk to someone at this early stage of the project. The short is about a woman who’s husband has been turned by a bat into a vampire but she doesn’t know if she should let him back in the house or not. It stars Justin Milligan and Taylor Misiak and it has potential to go somewhere either series or feature film if they wanted to.
  9. Los Lobos Native Sons- I don’t follow music unless it is on Broadway that much these days so I’d never heard of Los Lobos who originated out of Southern California. It follows their story and has a lot o great music. It would make a terrific companion to American Pachuco which premiered at Sundance this year.
  10. The Ascent- this film tells the inspiring true story of bilateral-amputee climber who has a dream to climb Mt Kilimanjaro with only knees instead of full legs. I like that they don’t portray Mandy Horvath, the climber, as a perfect person. She feels like a real complex person rather than an inspirational story. One feels badly as they look into how she lost her legs and the mystery is intriguing.
  11. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come- I watched both of the Ready or Not movies this week to get ready for it. It does pick up where the last one leaves off and has most of the same antics from the first film. The main difference is her sister is a character now and ends up being involved. It’s fun enough with some gruesome kills and entertaining supporting performances from people like David Cronenberg and Sarah Michelle Gellar.  The problem is it also feels like a rinse and repeat of the first movie which left me uninspired. Just Ok.
  12. Summer of 94- I vaguely recall hearing about soccer and the World Cup back in 1994. It had come to the United States for the first time and the team had a bit of an underdog run. This documentary tells that story and it is entertaining. I’m sure it will be picked up for 30 for 30 or some other sports documentary program. It’s pretty basic but if you’re a sports fan you’ll enjoy this one.
  13. Quince- I admit with this film I might have been at my tipping point for female slashers. It’s not a bad film but the pacing was slow building up to a big bloody finale. It will definitely have its audience and I like the way it tells a story from a Mexican perspective an culture. The teen girls are good but it felt almost too derivative of movies like Carrie and Heathers but if it sounds like your thing you might enjoy it.
  14. Your Attention Please- this is a solid documentary about the quest to achieve online safety for teens and children. A grieving mother Kristin Bride is leading the charge and everything is as difficult to find any progress as you’d expect. I often find these kind of issues documentaries I’d rather read a quick article on the topic than a repetitive film like this but it’s fine and informative.
  15. The Snake- this is the only film from the festival I outright disliked. It stars Susan Kent as a woman who is unhinged and a burden for all around her including her Mother who is deranged herself. I get movies can have unlikable heroines but they shouldn’t be as annoying as this childish woman is. More often than not I was on the side of the mother which I don’t think the filmmakers intended. If she was in her 20s that would be one thing but seeing a 40 year old behave this way is off-putting.

So there you have it. Everything I saw at SXSW 2026. What about you? Did you get to attend the festival? Have you seen any of these movies? Let me know!

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.

Has ‘Reminders of Him’ made me a Colleen Hoover believer? (Review)

| Rachel's Reviews

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 Whitford 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.

Blind Spot 121: Brown Sugar

| Rachel's Reviews

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.

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.