Rescued by Ruby: Movie Review

A dog movie about positivity and optimism.

While Disney is busy churning out Marvel content, here’s Netflix releasing a really enjoyable family-friendly dog movie. It’s very similar to Disney’s Eight Below, perhaps not as much of an adventure, but the same pull of emotions. Led by former teen heartthrob Scott Wolf and recent teen heartthrob Grant Gustin, all the characters are easy to like. Even the mean (but not really mean) sergeants are likable.		2022 Directed by: Katt Shea Screenplay by: Karen Janszen Starring: Grant Gustin, Scott Wolf

The Hater: Movie Review

A political movie trying to present a balanced message.

Political movies are always going to be divisive, that’s just the nature of the genre. The Hater with that title, it’s liberal and libertarian politics and a lead character that seems to be built off of Twitter, probably has an even tougher hill to climb. But The Hater is legitimately funny has surprisingly well written characters and makes an obvious attempt to not talk down to or insult Republicans.		2022 Directed by: Joey Ally Screenplay by: Joey Ally Starring: Joey Ally, Meredith Hagner, Ian Harding, Bruce Dern

The Hyperions: Movie Review

Lacklustre superheroes.

The Hyperions is a superhero unlike any superhero movie. A mix of a low-budget 60s action-comedy plus superheroes plus dysfunctional family drama. An odd mix to be sure. I get why people might gravitate towards this. It looks familiar but is actually very different and unique, and filmgoers are generally starved for uniqueness especially when superheroes are involved.		2022 Directed by: Jon McDonald Screenplay by: Jon McDonald, Mike Timm Starring: Cary Elwes, Penelope Mitchell

Exploited: Movie Review

A sex-filled horror slasher.

The one-sentence premise of Exploited, a college freshman finding a video of a possible murder and wanting to unravel the mystery, could go a number of different ways. I was not expecting a psycho-sexual horror film that verges on pornography and pure evilness. Horror fans are probably less surprised by the directions this film took, but for those that are horror-averse, this is not a fun watch.		2022 Directed by: Jon Abrahams Screenplay by: Carl Moellenberg, Anthony Del Negro Starring: Jordan Ver Hoeve, and Will Peltz

The Mystery of Her: Movie Review

Sweet and uncomplicated.

The Mystery of Her has a great premise for a finding yourself coming-of-age movie. Ali (Andrea Figliomeni) was in a car accident and loses her memory. She literally doesn’t know who she was and as she starts piecing together moments of her life, she questions whether or not she was happy and what she wants. Standard fare for a teenager feeling lonely and confused and the premise serves as a great hook.		2022 Directed by: Nicholas DiBella Screenplay by: Nicholas DiBella, Paul Root Starring: Andrea Figliomeni, Winter Andrews

Meskina: Movie Review

Universal rom-com theme that over does it in every aspect.

There’s a universal appeal to Meskina, a Moroccan-Dutch rom-com, that takes the common sit-com-like premise of a 30-year-old woman unlucky in love and her family takes it upon themselves to fix her life. The potential humour is obvious – but at least the film knows that and plays up its very playful and broad style. The film also knows the obviousness of its storyline, such that the comedy is highlighted and no time is wasted in set-ups we can all see coming.		2021 Directed by: Daria Bukvic Screenplay by: Fadua El Akchaoui, Daria Bukvic, and Ernst Gonlag Starring: Maryam Hassouni

American Girl: Movie Review

Slow and distressing, but also well-made, compelling and tender.

Fen, a 13-year-old Taiwanese girl living in America, is forced to move back home when her mother gets cancer. American Girl can be hard to get into since it’s a slow drama about death, dying, grief, depression and anger. A lot of unpleasant, negative emotions with no reprieve, except it’s such a well-made movie, and the more you watch, the more powerful and tender it gets.		2021 Directed by: Feng-I Fiona Roan Screenplay by: Bing Li, Feng-I Fiona Roan Starring: Caitlin Fang, Kaiser Chuang

The Weekend Away: Movie Review

Campy thriller told as a serious drama.

I feel more disappointed by The Weekend Away than I did by Netflix’s last popular murder mystery-thriller Brazen. The Weekend Away isn’t as trashy or quite as low-budget and presents a much more serious dramatic air, but that’s kind of the problem. If I have to take this seriously, then I’m disappointed by the weak acting, the bad dialogue, and the weird editing which minimizes all the supporting characters.		2022 Directed by: Kim Farrant Screenplay by: Sarah Alderson Starring: Leighton Meester, Christina Wolfe