Hi friends! I hope you are all doing well and surviving this heat. I’m excited because I finally broke my rough patch and enjoyed some movies for a change! I did a live stream where I talked about what I’ve been watching both stage and screen you might enjoy.

But here are some mini reviews of what I’ve been watching

FLY ME TO THE MOON

Lately it seems like we are getting a lot of movies that are sold as rom-coms and look like rom-coms but when I actually watch them they are at best rom-com adjacent. Such is the case with Fly Me to the Moon which is more historical fiction drama than it is a romantic comedy. That said, I still found it charming and in the tradition of October Sky and Hidden Figures this was entertaining NASA story (although both of those are more accurate where this is more whimsical.)

Nevertheless, it’s all very slick and well made with 2 stars selling the material quite well (even if they don’t have incredible chemistry together but it’s not really a rom-com so that’s fine.) Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson are both charismatic leads and Woody Harrelson, Ray Romano and Jim Rash give strong supporting work. The script could definitely be tighter but it was all charming enough for me to stay engaged and recommend the film.

Smile Worthy

TOUCH-

New from Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur is an endearing little film called Touch, which many will compare to last year’s popular Past Lives. This tells the story of an older man that tries to find his lost love in Japan after the two were separated after meeting in London years ago. We see the reunion happen at the start of the pandemic in March of 2020 (which added an interesting layer to everything) and also see the younger versions of the characters meet and fall in love. Kōki and Palmi Kormakur are stunning as Young Miko and Kristófer and they have excellent chemistry but Egill Ólafsson is also good as the older Kristófer.

This is essentially a character piece so it’s the performances that matter most but like I said the atmosphere of the pandemic added a layer of uncertainty and urgency to everything that is happening. I also appreciate it didn’t have the cheating (or fear of cheating) element that made me so nervous watching Past Lives. This is simply about 2 good people falling in love when they are young and reconnecting when they are older. It’s simple and yet quite profound. A definite recommendation.

Smile Worthy

DESCENDANTS: THE RISE OF RED-

If you have been following me for a while you know I’m a big of a defender of the DCOM or Disney Channel Original Movie. In fact you could say I’m a defender of TV Movies in general but especially when they involve music I’m usually pretty easy to please. In fact, recently the DCOMS or Disney Original Movies as they are now being named have been some of the best films Disney has been producing. Prom Pact was one of my favorite movies of 2023 and The Slumber Party, The Naughty Nine, and World’s Best were all really solid little movies from last year. You can listen to Stanford and myself rank all the Disney movies of 2023 here.

Anyway, it is with this unique experience I was actually pretty excited for the latest Descendants movie to come out Descendants: The Rise of Red and it ended up being a mixed bag. Overall I did enjoy it and fans of the series will be satisfied but it was a definite step down in quality from the previous 3 and one could feel the loss of previous director and choreographer Kenny Ortega. You can’t replace a legend like him easily and all the musical sequences felt by-the-numbers and bland (the highlight of the series is the water dance from the second film. It has never been topped!) This one also has a mostly new cast with Kylie Cantrall and Malia Baker as Queen of Hearts and Cinderella’s daughters respectively. It’s nice we get Brandy and Paolo Montalban back as Cinderella and Charming and Rita Ora giving a dishy performance as the evil Queen of Hearts.

The plot in Descendants 4 does get convoluted as all time travel stories do but I appreciate that both girls came to understand their mothers better and feel more humanity towards them. I also loved a moment where they paid tribute to Cameron Boyce’s character Carlos that was very sweet. All in all this was fun enough but definitely the weakest of the franchise.

Mild Smile Worthy

SOUND OF HOPE: THE STORY OF POSSUM TROT-

Similar to the DCOM I have also been more positive than many critics of the films distributed by Angel Studios. In fact, I’ve recommended all of them to varying degrees.  Of course, this does not mean I agree with all of their positions politically or think the films are perfect but they have all entertained me enough to recommend. Now they have their latest Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot and it might be the best one yet. In fact, it ended up as one of my favorite films of the year so far.

In the film they tell the story of a congregation in Possum Trot, Texas that decide to adopt and foster all the needy children around them, which ends up being 77 children in total. What I loved about this movie is how messy it was. There were no miracles from God making the kids angelic or the parents perfect because of what they are trying to do. In fact, it’s more a faith-based film in the sense of a community more than it is actually about God or Jesus in any way. These are flawed people who are trying and often failing to do the right thing for these children. I found the whole thing to be incredibly moving and absorbing. The acting is also excellent with Nika King leading as the reverend’s wife who starts adopting the children and Demetirus Grosse as her husband. Elizabeth Mitchell is also excellent as the world-weary social worker.

I know some will avoid Sound of Hope because of the involvement of the Daily Wire and I think that is a real shame because the filmmaking team have made a quality film that deserves to be seen. I balled my eyes out!

Smile Worthy

KILL-

Any follower of my reviews knows I have been a big fan of Indian cinema for a long time so when I heard the buzz about Kill coming out of festivals I knew I had to see it. I thought it would be similar Jawan that I saw last year and enjoyed (both are Indian action movies set on a train) but this proved to be quite different and one of the more memorable movie-viewing experiences of 2024. It definitely won’t be for everyone but if you love raw visceral action you need to see Kill.

The film has a thin plot of Amrit (Lakshya) going after his fiancé Tulika (Tanya Maniktala) who is being forced into a marriage from a rival gang. Then the 2 gangs fight it out over the course of 105 minutes creating quite the bloody gruesome experience. One of the most effective parts of the action is the sound mix that heightens every kick and blow. You feel every rib crack and knuckle break making everything all the more brutal.

Kill might be the most violent movie I’ve ever seen and I honestly did feel exhausted by it after a while but I can’t deny that it does what it is trying to do extremely well. Every fight is an experience and it never lets up for a minute. If you like action have to see it!

Smile Worthy

SORRY/NOT SORRY-

When I heard about the new documentary Sorry/Not Sorry I knew I had to check it out. Having interviewed one of its subjects before, Jen Kirkman, I knew a little bit about her story and wanted to learn more. She is one of a group of women (3 profiled in the film) that spoke out against comedian Louis C.K. in 2017 and the documentary explores the failure of the #metoo movement to actually do anything to help women or punish erroring men as long as they have the most modicum amount of introspection. It’s pretty pathetic really.

In fact, Louis C.K. is now viewed as some kind of martyr to cancel culture by some which is crazy because he was barely canceled at all. As soon as 2022 he won a Grammy and recently sold out arenas like Madison Square Garden. Meanwhile it is the women who called out his behavior that have been effectively canceled. What money and power will get you is scary in 2024…

Anyway, Sorry/Not Sorry is an eye opening condemnation of the #metoo movement and an insightful look at all we as a culture are willing to excuse if it sold the right way.

Smile Worthy

Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. Find out more here.

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a nice summer and I certainly hope you are enjoying summer movies more than I am. I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately but I have just not been enjoying what Hollywood has been offering. I liked Inside Out 2, Hit Man and a few indies but not much more than that. Hopefully July will be better but sometimes we as critics go through rough patches but they are usually followed by good stretches where we like everything. Fingers crossed.

Today I have 5 reviews and all 5 I didn’t enjoy much 🙁  Like I said it happens sometimes. All I can do is be honest and hope you understand.

THE BIKERIDERS-

Probably my favorite of the 5 is The Bikeriders from director Jeff Nichols. He has a lot of style in his filmmaking and brings out mostly good performances from his actors. I just wish the screenplay was on that level. Austin Butler and Tom Hardy put in compelling work as members of a motorcycle gang in 1960s Illinois. Mike Faist is completely wasted as a journalist writing about the gang but it’s more a movie about a series of incidents than an actual story. Various rivalries are revealed and bloody fights happen but there’s no narrative thrust to the events so it all feels taxing and repetitive after a while.

Also I thought Jodie Comer was miscast in the role. You can tell that she is British trying to do midwestern and the whole performance felt like a caricature not an authentic woman I was interested in. This was especially obvious when compared to Butler and because she was the narrator of the piece. The Bikeriders is nicely shot and like I said, there are some good performances but it all feels forgettable in the end.

Frown Worthy

HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA-

Kevin Costner’s new project Horizon: An American Saga was always going to be a tough sell for me. I’m not the biggest western fan and multi-part epic saga western didn’t have much to intrigue me. Still, it was filmed here in Utah and when somebody self-finances a project like this I like to at least give it a shot. Unfortunately my misgivings were correct and this feels more self-indulgent than impressive. Despite being 3 hours Horizon feels fractured, stuffed with unlikable characters I didn’t care about or want to know more about and no desire to see what is going to happen in Chapter 2.

It’s too bad because the film starts out strong with a raid on the settlement that is visceral and captivating but it keeps switching stories before the audience can become attached to a narrative or set of characters. I was joking on twitter that this is similar to rom-coms like Valentines Day that tells so many stories but none of them could hold a movie on their own or are interesting to the audience. I guess at least Utah looks nice so there’s that but it’s all surprisingly forgettable for a saga.

Frown Worthy

KINDS OF KINDNESS-

Certain filmmakers make their reputation on being edgy and challenging and if left unchecked can end up producing the most pretentious self-indulgent films that become unbearable. This is certainly the case for supposed auteur Yorgos Lanthimos. I’ve never been a big fan of his style but his latest Kinds of Kindness pushed me over the edge. I can’t think of when I’ve had a more miserable time at the theater and for what? You’ve got me with what he’s trying to say.

The film has 3 featurettes- all 3 with the same cast including Emma Stone and Jesse Plemmons. Lanthimos manages to convince his actors to do anything no matter how ridiculous or exploitative but he forgets to make it matter or palatable. The first short is the best with the third being morally confusing in I guess an attempt at satire. Emma Stone’s character in that one is drugged and raped by her husband and she is made to feel the bad one for abandoning her daughter. It’s a problem when satire is asked to do so much heavy lifting to make a moral work in a story. Also all 3 stories have cannibalism and cults which feels so try-hard if you ask me.

Like I said, the whole experience is unbearable and I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

Frown Worthy

THE IMAGINARY-

In a way I feel sorry for the folks at Studio Ponoc. They started as a follow-up to Studio Ghibli- made from former animators of the illustrious studio. The problem is no animated studio can really compete with Ghibli especially when Miyazaki has started making movies. In fact, he just won an Oscar for his latest The Boy and the Heron. Unfortunately you can feel this rivalry rand failure to compete with in Ponoc’s latest film The Imaginary. While it does have some pleasing animation the story and characters feel completely derivative and lacking in originality.

It’s so strange that there have been 3 movies this year about imaginary friends and none of them have been good. The idea in this one is a young girl has an imaginary friend who get separated from his child and needs to be rescued. We’ve seen this time and again in everything from If to Monsters Inc to Inside Out. It all feels played out and bland. Nobody will remember this movie as it oddly lacks imagination about imaginary friends… Weird how that keeps happening?

Frown Worthy

DESPICABLE ME 4-

Finally we have the latest from Illumination’s money franchise Despicable Me 4. I don’t know if they have just worn me down but I actually liked the last Minions movie Minions: Rise of Gru. In particular a scene where the minions fly a plane is peak minions and may be the best moment of the entire franchise. Now we have the 6th film in the franchise and there are some laughs. I think minions are best when they capture a silent movie comedy- the broader and sillier the better. That’s why the scene when they are flying the plane is so funny- it’s silly where the regular Minions movie tried too hard to be shocking, full of lewd humor. It was not for me.

This latest entry has its moments that made me chuckle. For example a scene where the villain tries to get a credit card reader to accept his card at the gas station is very funny. I also enjoyed a repeated gag where one of the minions is stuck in a vending machine and can’t get out. The girls are also cute as always and this time they have a new baby brother in the mix who was cute and provided some laughs with the awkward Gru trying to watch over him.

Still, the screenplay needs far more of these moments and less of tedious subplots that aren’t funny or engaging. For example, we think we are getting the main villain plot with a cockroach man but the movie moves away from this story for a long section about Poppy and her heist on the school. We also get subplots with Lucy trying to learn how to color hair with disastrous consequences. It’s just all over the place and not consistently funny enough to work.

Also the reunion at the end I suppose is sentimental for fans but it seemed a little much to ask us to wain nostalgia for Scarlet Overkill and  other unmemorable previous villains. Despicable Me 4 isn’t the worst of the franchise but it also isn’t very satisfying or funny enough.

Frown Worthy

Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. Find out more here. 

If you have been following me on social media you know I’ve been having a bit of a rough time with it when it comes to the big releases. There’s been a lot of disappointment for me at the cinemas this year and the latest batch is no exception. I’m still waiting for that 2024 blockbuster that I unabashedly love but until then I have 4 new movies to talk about. Let’s do this:

Garfield: The Movie

In some ways Garfield: The Movie is a tough movie to review because I thought it was just okay. I liked the animation especially the action. It wasn’t on a Puss N Boots: The Last Wish level but it had a flair and movement to it that was pleasing to watch.  I also liked the way his eyes had a 2D look to them with the cgi fur. It looked fantastic. There were enough laughs to be entertaining and the action kept things moving.

That said, the film feels totally generic and unmemorable. In this exciting time for animation can I really give a pass to a ‘just okay’ animated film? I’m also not a die-hard Garfield fan so some elements that might be important to fans are probably lost on me. The voice acting is all predictable but perfectly fine. The messaging about chosen families is always welcome and kids will have a decent time watching this. It’s certainly far better than something like Boss Baby or Trolls.

In the end, Garfield: The Movie is probably one you can wait and rent but I enjoyed the animation just enough to give it a mild recommendation.

Smile Worthy

Hundreds of Beavers

For a movie that embraces slapstick antics much more consistently and effectively than Garfield check out Hundreds of Beavers. While this probably would have worked better as a short or featurette it is refreshingly unique and creative and I had a good time watching it.

Director Mike Cheslik has fashioned an homage to silent movie comedians like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin along with a dose of Looney Tunes but live action. It’s hard to describe but that’s what makes it very creative.

The film has a supposed plot about farmer out for revenge on the beavers that ate the supports for his house but it’s really just an excuse for over-the-top antics by humans and men dressed in beaver outfits.

It’s bizarre but if you are in the mood for something different I’d say give it a try.

Smile Worthy

Sight

It might not be a surprise given my taste for Hallmark movies that I enjoy an inspirational true story on film. Even if it is obviously trying to push my emotional buttons often that button-pushing works on me and I enjoy the film. This year has actually been a pretty good year for inspirational movies with Arthur the King and Ordinary Angels both being wins. Now we have the latest from Angel Studios entitled Sight and it’s another solid little inspirational true story. It also is barely a faith-based film so it avoids most of the pitfalls of that genre (as was the case with Ordinary Angels)

Sight tells the story of Dr Ming Wang who defied the odds to become a doctor in America from his native China and developed a new eye surgery using amniotic contacts to help restore sight to tons of needy patients including a little girl who was purposefully blinded by her stepmother in India.

The cast is uniformly strong in Sight with Terry Chen playing a border-line obsessed doctor Wang who is determined to figure out these problems. We then get a series of flashbacks to younger versions of Wang and these sections include Donald Heng as his father and I had the chance to interview Donald a few years ago. I was very happy to see him getting such a large role. You can listen to the interview here. Greg Kinear also stands out as Wang’s supportive doctor colleague.

There’s nothing game-changing about Sight but it is a solid inspirational true story and sometimes it’s nice to go to the movies and learn about a good person. I left inspired and you will too.

Smile Worthy

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

One of the biggest surprises out of 2015 was the action spectacle that was Mad Max: Fury Road. Believe it or not I had actually not seen any of the other Mad Max movies (and I still haven’t!) but I loved this visceral mixture of escape picture and war movie that we got in that film. Each scene was a carefully constructed battle scene full of memorable sequences and characters.

Now we have a prequel to Fury Road and it centers on Charlize Theron’s character Furiosa and unfortunately I left feeling pretty torn over the experience. While the movie is full of incredible sequences and spectacle it all feels like warmed over versions of what we got with Fury Road. The experience of watching Furiosa reminded me of watching the Disney live action remakes. It hits all the beats of the film we love with loads of Easter eggs and nods to Fury Road but nothing really stands on its own. Chris Hemsworth’s villain Dementus has some fun scenery chewing moments but the frequent presence of Immortan Joe just reminded me of what was better in Fury Road.

The biggest problem with Furiosa is how bloated and repetitive it becomes. We are supposed to be getting to know Furiosa but we don’t even meet the adult Anya Taylor-Joy version of her for over an hour into the movie. Before that she’s a basic child in peril character we see get moved around and swapped by the various tribal groups. There was almost nothing in the first half of the movie’s story that is compelling or interesting so it all comes down to the action and spectacle. And again while this is impressive it’s not anything new we haven’t already seen done better in Fury Road. So what’s the point?

In the end, it all just felt really long and drawn out and George Miller failed to make me care about this version of Furiosa or what was happening in the various battles. Fans of the franchise will enjoy the spectacle and seeing more mayhem but on a story, character and new action perspective I left underwhelmed.

Frown Worthy

So there you have it! Happy moviegoing

Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. Find out more here. 

Hey everyone! I hope you are doing well. I have some movies to catch you up on and they are all oddly romances (which you’d think that means I love them but I actually only recommend one so go figure.) Anyway, here’s some movie thoughts:

MOTHER OF THE BRIDE- NETFLIX

I was actually pretty intrigued when I saw the poster an trailer for Mother of the Bride. I knew there was  good chance it would be another middling rom-com from Netflix but the Father of the Bride franchise is so good I hoped this would be a fresh take on that formula. Unfortunately it ended up being generic at best and not part of the Father of the Bride franchise at all. So, it in the end was disappointing.

The cast in Mother of the Bride is great with Brooke Shields and Benjamin Bratt taking the leading roles. This is a second chance love story where the former beaus meet again when their children (Miranda Cosgrove and Sean Teale) decide to get married. This could be a nice setup for a rom-com full of family shenanigans but everything feels so played out and bland that it left me underwhelmed. The jokes aren’t funny and the chemistry isn’t there so it just doesn’t work.

5 out of 10

Frown Worthy

THE IDEA OF YOU- AMAZON PRIME

Next up we have another romantic comedy, The Idea of You, that is going to Amazon Prime although I was lucky enough to see it in the theater. This film stars Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine (who I adored in Red White and Royal Blue last year.)and while it not as good as RWARB, it is a solid entertaining little romantic comedy.

Hathaway stuns as Solene who makes an impression on the much younger boy band member Hayes Campbell at Coachella with her daughter and the two begin a sexy yet tender relationship. The chemistry is there despite the age difference and there’s lots of pretty people in pretty places falling in love, which is enough for me these days!

The only real problem with the movie is Hayes is written rather inconsistently. One minute he’s a has-been that a teen girl wants nothing to do with and the next he’s being paparazzi stalked at every turn. The movie couldn’t quite decide. I do, however, like the ending which pushes the characters to a real and meaningful relationship. It’s an enjoyable love story I wish more got to see in the theater like I did.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

BACK TO BLACK- IN THEATERS

Finally we have Back to Black. It’s the latest music biopic about musician Amy Winehouse, which is honestly extremely disappointing. I’m not above enjoying a predictable musician biopic but my main problem with this movie is it tells us so little about Winehouse as a musician. We learn almost nothing about her process or how she comes up with the melodies/lyrics. We don’t get a handle for why she even likes to sing or what she gains from the experience. It is all about her traumatic and tumultuous love affair with her husband Blake. I’m sure this relationship was very important to her but shouldn’t we learn something here about her music?

Marisa Abela gives it her all as Amy and Jack O’Connell is charming as Blake but nothing else stands out or feels beyond a TV movie level of quality (but lacking the fun and camp of a TV movie.) It’s unfortunately a tedious and predictable take on an iconic singer forgetting to actually tell her story. Unfortunately, i’s definitely one of the worst movies of the year.

3 out of 10

Frown Worthy

Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. Find out more here. 

This time of year is always an interesting time for movieogers. It’s a bit too early for summer blockbusters (even though that’s getting earlier and earlier each year) and past the point for Oscar season. Instead it ends up a mishmash of genres and ideas and sometimes some of them end up being some of my favorite movies of the year. Today I have 3 movies to talk about and it ended up being 3 films I enjoyed.

Spy x Family Code: White

It’s always a tricky thing going into an anime film without having seen the series the movie is based on. However, some of the franchises are more stand-alone than others. Spy x Family Code: White is one of the more accessible entries (My Hero Academia is the gold standard in that department.) It’s a lot of energy for nearly 2 hours but overall I found it to be pretty cute.

It’s basically about a fake family that are living undercover executing a mission called Operation Strix. Through various contrivances they end up on the run from military antagonists who are upset when the little girl Anya eats an important piece of microfilm.

I highly doubt Spy x Family will win over anti-anime skeptics because it is big and loud and doesn’t take much of a second to breathe. That said it’s also funny and especially the last act the action is visceral and exciting. I enjoyed it but I can see that it won’t be for everyone. I could have done without all the toilet humor. That’s something you usually don’t see in anime but I suppose they were trying to entertain the little kids.

If you are looking for chases, races and some energetic animation you’ll have a good time with Spy x Family Code: White.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

I must admit I am not the biggest fan of director Guy Ritchie. Often his stylistic choices get in the way of decent stories and entertaining performances. I particularly haven’t liked his period piece work in films like his Sherlock Holmes movies and his King Arthur movie. No thanks. It is for these reasons I was skeptical going into The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. It’s a period piece in WWII and I anticipated Ritchie’s annoying use of shaky cam and slow motion to make a good story hard to watch.

Well, to my surprise the director held back on those signature touches I don’t care for and actually produced an entertaining and engaging film. While one should not look to this film for historical accuracy it was a good, campy fun time at the cinema.

Loosely based on a true story of an underground operation organized by Winston Churchill that had the mission to stop the supply boats for the German U-boats, which were stopping American ships from getting to Europe to assist England with the war.

I really enjoyed the crew Ritchie assembles for this operation with huge charisma from the likes of Henry Golding, Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson and Alex Pettyfer. Elza Gonzalez is fine as the femme fatale used to tempt the German officers but her scenes at times stopped the fun action which was the highlight of the film.

There isn’t much attempt to be realistic with our band of merry men wiping out Germans like they were playing at target practice but if that doesn’t bother you it’s an entertaining action romp. I liked it way more than I expected.

7.5 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Musica

And now for the new release you probably haven’t heard of but should absolutely watch it’s called Musica. If this isn’t in my top 10 of the year than we have had an amazing year of film. I absolutely loved this creative, whimsical, romantic look into a creative’s mind and heart.

Written, directed and starring Rudy Mancuso he takes you into his experience with synesthesia which is a neurological condition where you are highly aware of your senses. In the case of Rudy everything around him is a rhythm or a music. I am sure this is a highly cinematic version of this condition but it makes for some enchanting scenes of the world coming alive around Rudy through music.

Meanwhile Rudy is trying to figure out his job, his Brazilian culture and his relationship with a woman named Isabella played by Camilla Mendes (they met while filming and are currently dating which explains their endearing chemistry.)

Musica is hopeful, positive and a burst of creativity and at only 91 minutes it doesn’t outstay its welcome. I wish I had seen it at SXSW because it is not getting a theatrical release. Still, I hope you watch it on Amazon prime as it is a truly special experience. I am so excited because I am intervivewing Rudy on Wednesday. Keep an eye on Hallmarkies Podcast for that interview.

9 out of 10

Smile Worthy

So there you have it. What have you been watching? If you’ve seen any of these films let me know what you think. 

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Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I haven’t updated in a bit because I’ve been sick and busy with taxes and other responsibilities. (Also one of these films I really struggled with my thoughts on it so have been procrastinating but I will do my best.)

First up I had a 4 movie day at the Megaplex on April 2nd so I was able to catch up on some of the movies I’d missed while at SXSW and when I was sick. I did a video review on these 4

In summary Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is an overstuffed mess, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a boring entry in the disappointing franchise with very little Godzilla! Challengers is a good sports/competition movie but not as sexy as the trailers are making it seem. Felt a little repetitive after a while but I’m not a sports/tennis person. Lastly, Luca is an underrated delight and I loved getting to see it again on the big screen (I was fortunate to see it once before at Animation is Film Festival.)

Someone Like You

Someone Like You is one of those movies that I didn’t love but  I do think there is an audience for this type of film. It’s what a lot of people think Hallmark movies are like but they actually rarely are (not many dramas on Hallmark.) It’s more along the lines of a Nicholas Sparks type movie which I know can be very popular. My friend Terry and I just did a ranking episode of all the Sparks movies and that was a lot of fun. This looks nice, with beautiful people and it tries to tug at the heartstrings with lots of death and walks by the water.

The thing I didn’t like about Someone Like You is I think it is too long. It really should clock in at the 80-90 minute mark and it goes to nearly 2 hours. Also, the way they treat egg donation as on the same level as a fully birthed adoption was really strange to me. I guess that’s the way some Christians view it but they were acting like she had found her actual parents by finding out who donated the genetic material that her Mom carried and birthed into her. The way they kept talking about egg adoption was just very unfamiliar to me and not how I view the process and kept catching me off guard.

All that said, if you are Christian and like Sparksian type narratives (this is by fellow cheese-provider Karen Kingsbury) give it a try. You’ll probably like it.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Civil War

The new film by Alex Garland, Civil War, is the one I have really struggled on what my feelings with it are. Even as I am writing I’m not entirely sure whether I will go smile or frown worthy on it. I will try to figure it out as I write.

What’s interesting is Garland has made 2 previous films I did not like. Annihilation was ponderous with too many ideas and Men was one of the most unpleasant and heavy-handed movies of recent memory. Going into Civil War I was expecting an annoying and preachy movie that would be more of what I haven’t enjoyed in his previous films.

To my surprise instead I got a rather safe film that has engaging scenes but left me kind of hollow and empty in the end. The weirdest part is in an election year having almost no metaphors to our current politics within the civil war at the head of this movie. It might as well be in the Hunger Games for how dissimilar it is to our current situation.

That said there are some tense scenes with the journalists that are covering this dystopian fake war. All the acting is good especially a bone-chilling scene with Jesse Plemons. I said in my out of theater response that Civil War felt like one of the Olympus Has Fallen movies but with an A24 skin over it and I stand by that.

While I think that is an interesting choice, I don’t know if it is one I can really recommend. If Garland does make another movie maybe next time he can come somewhere in between this and Men and have the perfect film? Good luck to him

5 out of 10

Frown Worthy

One Life

One Life is what I like to call a Sunday movie. It’s the kind of wholesome feel-good movie I could watch with my parents on a Sunday and they’d love. I really enjoyed it and was able to watch it on VOD if you can’t get out to the theater (I was sick.)

The film tells the story of Nicholas Winton who between 1938-1939 saved thousands of children out of  the now Czech Republic from the Nazis. Anthony Hopkins plays an older Winton who was reunited with the now adult children he saved in an episode of That’s Life! in 1988.

Johnny Flynn puts in another dynamic performance (underrated actor!) as the young Winton and Helena Bonham Carter is wonderful as his Mother.

Surprisingly I actually knew about this story because it was part of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas presentation they did with Sir David Suchet which I was grateful to be  able to attend.

It’s nice when Hollywood occasionally makes a movie about an ordinary but good person and that’s the case with One Life. It’s a little dry in spots but I still thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it.

8 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Housekeeping for Beginners

Housekeeping for Beginners is one of those movies that the title can be a bit confusing. I knew nothing about the plot going into it and assumed from the title it was going to be a sweet family story. There’s an air of whimsy to the title but it actually is a very sad gut-wrenching family story. It’s well done but lays on the trauma narrative pretty thickly.

The film is directed and written by Goran Stolevski and was Macedonia’s submission for the 2023 Oscars. It tells the story of a woman who’s girlfriend dies and leaves her with 2 children to raise. There’s a young man that also lives with them and another man who becomes her fake (and also gay) husband to help take care of the children.

There’s lots of drama going on with all these people and personalities but I was mostly engaged. If you are in the mood for a totally different tear jerker than Someone Like You than you might appreciate it. I thought it was just ok.

6 out of 10

Smile Worthy

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