Bill & Ted Face the Music: Movie Review

Eternal optimism and humour.

Bill & Ted pick up, not right where we left them, but right where we thought they’d be, 29 years later. They’re married to their princesses, they each have a daughter, and they’re still trying to make a go of the Wyld Stallyns, very unsuccessfully with Ted’s disapproving father and younger brother not missing a beat. This time, they’re expected to save the world with their music, with only an hour or so to do it in.		2020 Directed by: Dean Parisot Screenplay by: Ed Soloman and Chris Matheson Starring: Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter

Emerson Heights: Movie Review

Hallmark-style romance, bad acting, awful message.

Emerson Heights is pure teen romance. It just screams Hallmark, but apparently it’s not. That was my first mistake, thinking if another distributor (Amazon) picked this up, surely there’s something else to this. It can’t just be a soapy, totally unrealistic tale of star-crossed lovers (at the ripe old age of 17) with really bad acting, can it? Yes, it can.		2020 Directed by: Jennifer Hook Screenplay by: Wendi Foy Green, Austin James Starring: Austin James, Gatlin Kate James

I Used to Go Here: Movie Review

Relatable, funny and entertaining.

I Used to Go Here is a funny and clever addition to the not-quite-a-mid-life-crisis, not-quite-a-quarter-life crisis genre. Kate (Gillian Jacobs) is in her mid-30s and the film quickly establishes that things are not going as well for her as she would like. She just got her first novel published – yay! But sales are poor, her book tour is cancelled, and there’s a man she once lived with who is not returning her calls.		2020 Directed by: Kris Rey Screenplay by: Kris Rey Starring: Gillian Jacobs, Josh Wiggins, Jermaine Clement and Hannah Marks

First Cow: Movie Review

A subtle tale of friendship and capitalism.

Eight features in and Kelly Reichardt remains a minimalist filmmaker. This time returning to the scene of Meek’s Cutoff and the Oregon territory in the mid-1800s. First Cow is as subtle a film as one could get with still a coherent narrative, and fortunes at stake for the protagonists. While it is a slow burn, eventually the story that forms is very engaging with legitimate suspense and hope for a better future.		2019 Directed by: Kelly Reichardt Screenplay by: Kelly Reichardt and Jon Raymond Starring: John Magaro and Orion Lee