Here: Movie Review

Uninteresting and lacks focus.

One house over the years. One camera in place to watch the people come and go in their lives. I’m not a fan of the digitally de-aged Tom Hanks and Robin Wright trailer, but what sold me on seeing this was a critic that described it as covering centuries. There is definitely a good idea in that concept, a single space as it has evolved over centuries, over human life. Here is not it.		2024 Directed by: Robert Zemeckis Screenplay by: Eric Roth, Robert Zemeckis, Richard McGuire Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright

Time Cut: Movie Review

Starts slow, gets increasingly stupid.

Maybe it’s just me, but time travel serial killer movies really need to have a comedic edge to them. Why are we trying to take this genre seriously? It’s not built for seriousness. There is a very noticeable lack of comedy in Time Cut. The first third of the movie is basically pure depression. A sister, and her parents, and a town, mourning a group of teens killed twenty years ago.		2024 Directed by: Hannah Macpherson Screenplay by: Michael Kennedy, Hannah Macpherson Starring: Madison Bailey, Antonia Gentry

The 5-Year Christmas Party: Movie Review

Let down by underplaying its premise.

The 5-Year Christmas Party has the same premise as See You Next Christmas. And I don’t mean they’re the same in the general sense that all Christmas rom-coms are the same (which is a lame criticism), I mean they literally have the exact same premise. The 5-Year Christmas Party features Alice and Max who meet up at Christmas parties every year for a 5-year period as they evolve apart and grow closer together.		2024 Directed by: Peter Benson Screenplay by: Zac Hug Starring: Katie Findlay, Jordan Fisher

The Christmas Charade: Movie Review

The usual Christmas romance fare, bundled in an FBI sting operation.

Normally, Hallmark should stay in their own lane and not try to do a movie about FBI agents going undercover in a sting operation, but admittedly, The Christmas Charade is light and fun and arguably better suited to the genre than all the big budget movies that go way too big and way too far. There’s still a degree of suspension of disbelief required, but Hallmark makes it more about the romance than the FBI.		2024 Directed by: Corey Sevier Screenplay by: Kate Pragnell Starring: Rachel Skarsten, Corey Sevier

Hangdog: Movie Review

A well-made movie filled with depression.

Hangdog is a drama about a lost dog that is actually about a lost person trying to find himself again. Starring Desmin Borges who is best known for playing roommate Edgar in You’re the Worst, a war vet suffering from PTSD who is constantly down on himself; he’s playing the exact same type here. Walt is in a serious relationship with Wendy, but her dog gets priority and Walt has spent the better part of the relationship in a downward depressive spiral.		2024 Directed by: Matt Cascella Screenplay by: Matt Cascella, Jen Cordery Starring: Desmin Borges, Kelly O'Sullivan

Woman of the Hour: Movie Review

Captivating and smart portrayal of a true crime thriller.

Woman of the Hour can be an uncomfortable watch, a movie that doesn’t really all come together until the end when you realize how succinctly it has told a true crime story with real implications from the sexism of the 1970s. How women weren’t believed and how easily people can present themselves differently. It's a measured and careful movie, a smart blend of what's needed to tell both a small story of one game show and an epic tale of misogyny.		2024 Directed by: Anna Kendrick Screenplay by: Ian McDonald Starring: Daniel Zovatto, Anna Kendrick

Chosen Family: Movie Review

The messiness of adult relationships.

Chosen Family takes place in a beautiful and affluent community in Rhode Island, and it's about how hard life is. Yes, you read that right, it's primarily about rich people who can afford to live in one of the nicest coastal towns in the country struggle through life's ups and downs. It is better than that, but be prepared.		2024 Directed by: Heather Graham Screenplay by: Heather Graham Starring: Heather Graham, John Brotherton

Advanced Chemistry: Movie Review

Funny, stupid, ridiculous.

Advanced Chemistry is a romantic comedy / comedy of errors. The premise suggests science fiction, a genre that typically can’t be done well with a miniscule budget. While the film does do well with its limited means, the biochemistry plot is too stupid for the movie to overcome. The resulting side effects of the experimental drugs lead to hilarity for some but only if you fall on the right side of ridiculous, which it does not for me.		2023 Directed by: Etana Jacobson Screenplay by: Alec Moore Starring: Samba Schutte, Chaunte Wayans

My Old Ass: Movie Review

A perfect mix of genres, characters and choices in life.

Let me just get one thing off my chest: I don’t like the title. I think it cheapens the movie; it may fit the characters in the beginning, but it grows so far beyond that. My Old Ass presents a few different themes but it evolves into something so sweet, uplifting and relatable (minus the parts that ignore the laws of time).		2024 Directed by: Megan Park Screenplay by: Megan Park Starring: Maisy Stella, Aubrey Plaza

The Problem with People: Movie Review

A tale of Irish quirkiness.

Local Hero meets Wild Mountain Thyme when a centuries old land dispute comes to ahead when a successful businessman from America travels to Ireland and quickly makes friends and enemies alike in the small Irish town. The Problem with People perhaps isn’t quite as weird as that mix would suggest but quirkiness takes over after a simplistic set-up. Fergus is dying and it’s his final wish that two separate halves of an estranged family reunite.		2024 Directed by: Chris Cottam Screenplay by: Wally Marzano-Lesnevich, Paul Reiser Starring: Colm Meaney and Paul Reiser

This Time Next Year: Movie Review

A mess of a not-a-romantic-comedy.

There’s a basic premise in This Time Next Year that is so simple but also creative and original. One moment of the year which most people think about exactly once a year and then never again, unless the odds have deemed you to be that one person it affects. Every year on New Year’s Eve there is a race in maternity wards to have the first baby born in the new year as it often comes with cash awards and prizes.		2024 Directed by: Nick Moore Screenplay by: Sophie Cousens Starring: Sophie Cookson, Lucien Laviscount