Flower: Movie Review

Strangely sweet and heartwarmingly funny.

A dark romantic comedy where you never know if sane and normal happiness is just around the corner, or if eternal depravity is closer than you think. Life, as Flower contends, is always a mix of the two. This is writer-director Max Winkler’s second feature; his first, Ceremony, looked more like a traditional romantic comedy but with an acerbic bite as we followed tragic characters around. Sophomore effort Flower looks nothing like a traditional romantic comedy, presenting a more caustic bite and deeply flawed characters heading straight towards a tragedy.		2017 Directed by: Max Winkler Screenplay by: Alex McAulay, Matt Spicer, Max Winkler Starring: Zoey Deutch, Joey Morgan, and Kathryn Hahn

Game Night: Movie Review

Exteme action and some laughs.

These big-styled action comedies have a really tough line to straddle where the difference between larger-than-life fun and over-the-top ridiculousness can be really thin and many just fall off on the wrong side. The most notable recent success is The Horrible Bosses where even when reality is thrown out the window, the audience is willing to go along with it. Game Night is always slipping off the edge – each new action sequence is larger than it should be, but it never completely falls off.		2018 Directed by: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein Screenplay by: Mark Perez Starring: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams

Love, Simon: Movie Review

Heartfelt teen romance to fall for.

The marketing for Love, Simon has been catchy and clever. Their use of simple but cute puns hits the mark in just the right way, and the film doesn’t disappoint. It’s simple but cute and ultimately it’s a film that the world needs right now. A Hollywood romantic comedy for gay teens which feels like it should be a common genre by now, but in reality is hard to find on the big screen (even though the genre is thriving in the indie market, it’s just taken the big studios a bit longer).		2018 Directed by: Greg Berlanti Screenplay by: Elizabeth Berger, Isaac Aptaker Based on the novel by Becky Albertalli Starring: Nick Robinson, Katherine Langford