I'm Your Man (2021)

Alma is a driven professional who, due to her single status, is pressured into taking part in a three-week beta testing. What she's testing is a humanoid that purports to be created with her desires in mind -- the perfect partner. But Alma's sole interest is her work which causes her to resent the intrusion on her time and in her home.

I watched this about a week ago and I've thought about it many times since. My husband and I have had a few conversations about the implications and morality of the study. Mostly, though, we just reflect on the tiny perfect moments, of which there are many. It's a smart story with a winning "couple" at the fore.

A-

Dangerous Lies (2020)

Katie is beyond surprised when the man for whom she's been providing in-home care dies and leaves everything to her. The windfall is especially welcome since she and her husband have been struggling for a while. But she and he can't seem to get on the same page about how to handle their new wealth and, with a detective, her suspicious boss, and an eager realtor sniffing around, the pressure just builds.

This is firmly on the lighter side of thrillers, but it was mostly clever and definitely diverting.

B-

Burnt (2015)

Adam Jones has left a path of destruction in his wake. While in Paris, the two-star Michelin chef's drug habit took several people down with him. But his talent is such that when he shows up in London sober years later, even his most skeptical victims seem willing to give him a chance.

This is a decent movie with some excellent food porn, but the forced love interest distracts.

C+

Bullet Train (2022)

A bunch of assassins are on the same bullet train, looking for the same case full of money, and getting in each other's way. There's a kid in a hospital with a threat hanging over him, a poisonous snake, a bunch of references to Thomas the Tank Engine and... and... and... just too much to keep track of. I wouldn't have minded that so much if the action was interesting or fun, but it's not. I was confused and angry, but mostly bored.

Spared from an "F" rating only because a few of the action scenes were cool (even though they were somehow less believable than those in the Fast & the Furious franchise).

D-

Bathtubs Over Broadway (2018)

Steve Young, a writer on the David Letterman show, stumbled upon an odd LP labeled "for promotional use only" and, from there, an obsession was born. What he'd found was a recording of an "Industrial" show: basically a full-blown musical produced for a convention-type audience. 

Steve's interest is infectious. He has genuine -- not ironic -- affection for these numbers. And, truth be told, the content is quality stuff. That the subjects are appliances or fast food dampens neither the creativity nor the production values. To witness Steve's meetings with the stars and writers behind some of these shows was simply lovely. The participants were proud of the work they'd done and thrilled that someone considered it "art" rather than simply commerce. This is a gentle winner.

B

Delivery by Christmas (2022)

A delivery driver rejects the advances of a co-worker and he retaliates by switching the labels of her 4 Christmas eve deliveries. This confuses recipients and forces her to work late -- with a son waiting at home -- to get the packages to their rightful owners. Along for the ride is a pushy young man who'd expected to receive an engagement ring with which he's planning to propose.

Though I generally dislike American remakes of foreign movies, this one is ripe for Americanization. Everything should be bigger than it is in this Polish film. Push the ridiculousness up to "10" and this could be a truly fun story. As it is, it's just kind of fine. Kind of nice. Mostly boring.

C

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

In a quiet Irish seaside village, Colm -- one half of an inseparable pair of friends -- decides he's done with the friendship. There was no "falling out," he's just ready to be free of the dull conversation and routine. The friend left behind, however, is hurt and confused and just wants to get back to the way things were, which Colm makes threateningly clear will never happen.

There are so many poignant moments here and the acting is fabulous across the board. The story itself, however, starts to tread water about halfway through. The power of Gleeson & Farrell kept me watching, but I'm not sure that a lesser cast could've made this script work.

B

Paddington 2 (2018)

Absolutely wonderful film that outshines the first installment, which was also wonderful.

This time the villain is Felix Buchanan (Hugh Grant), a fading star who steals the pop-up book that Paddington was planning to buy for his Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday. As Felix chases the clues hidden in the book that he knows will lead to a treasure, Paddington is blamed for the theft and sent to prison.

Hilarious and lovely and oh-so-heartwarming. Grant hams it up and fits right in. I don't think I want to know the person who can't enjoy this.

A

Over the Moon (2020)

After Fei Fei loses her mother, she is resistant to her father finding love again -- especially since the new lady comes with a son of her own. Fei Fei decides to build a rocket that can take her up to the moon and its goddess Chang'e, in hopes that she can convince her father that true love can last even past death.

Oof. The mythology isn't accessible to western audiences. Almost all the bits that work were done better in superior films. Want a movie about working through difficult times? Inside Out. How about one with Asian tradition? Mulan. Tell me what you want and I'll tell you a better animated movie to deliver it. 

One last note: the song lyrics are doing so much heavy lifting for the story that they'll never be universally sung. I would've assumed it'd be musical-writing 101 to let dialogue do the story-specific work while sticking with generalities for the songs. 

C-

Adult Swim Yule Log (2022)

A peaceful fire... for a few minutes. But then there's a cleaning woman and a home invasion. And then a couple arrive at an AirBnB only to have a sheriff knock on their door and tell them there's been a murder. Oh, and also? That log in their fire is cursed so they should stop burning it. And it only gets weirder from there.

This movie seemed to encompass all the genres. But it was mostly weird. Even when scary things were happening, the overriding thought was "this is the weirdest." I'm not sure I'd have liked it at all if I'd known anything about it going in -- I'm not sure it could even work if you have expectations.

C+

A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding (2018)

The commoner and the prince are getting married, but there are obstacles! He's super busy because, despite a revitalization program, people are struggling to make ends meet and that means they're pissed at him. Meanwhile, Amber is is also having a hard time because she doesn't have much say in how her wedding's gonna go. 

It's not good. Not good at all.

D

His Girl Friday (1940)

Cary Grant is an editor with an ex-wife who also used to be his best reporter. When she comes back into town with a new fiancée, he does everything he can to neutralize the guy while tempting her back into the fast-paced reporting world.

And wow -- I remembered this as a fast-talking riot. It's fast-talking alright, but the humor really doesn't hold up. Gary and I just sat the couch with confused expressions and zero laughter.

C

While You Were Sleeping (1995)

When Lucy's crush falls on train tracks, she jumps down and rescues him and then is mistaken for his fiancee by his family. While he lies in a coma, she grows to love his family and they accept her with open arms. 

It's incredibly heartwarming and romantic while managing to be more than a little ridiculous. But I will always grade movies that are either for Christmas or children more generously than others. Not that this needs a whole lot of nudging -- it'd be a thumbs-up even if it were set in summer.

B+

The Mole Agent (2020)

In Chile, a Private Investigator is employed to determine whether there are abusive conditions in a nursing home where a client's mother is staying. In order to get an unfiltered view of the home, the P.I. hires Sergio, an elderly widower, to go undercover as a new resident.

There are some fun moments as the spy tries to get his head around the assignment -- including superfluous accounts in his official reports and being too aggressive/obvious in his investigation -- as well as his difficulties with technology. But what this turns out to be is a condemnation of the families who abandon their aged parents to the care of others. As Sergio says near the end of his time there, the worst thing about the place is not the care or the conditions, but the loneliness.

B-

Big Time Adolescence (2020)

Monroe gets along so well with his sister's boyfriend that he continues hanging out with him even after the couple breaks up. The problem is that Monroe is in middle school and at least 7 years younger than the aimless, but definitely entertaining, Zeke.

I remember how it felt, as a kid, to have an older friend. They're just so much cooler than the people of your own age. Their opinions matter more, their lifestyle is more interesting, and everything they do just seems better than anything people of your own age might be doing. And that's also why it's problematic and so easy to exploit these relationships, even unintentionally. This movie captures that dynamic brilliantly.

B

Bros (2022)

Bros wants to be a "different" LGBTQ+ film -- one that doesn't homogenize their lifestyle to be palatable to the masses. And, while that's fine, it still needs to be relatable enough to break through and make a difference. For the first chunk of the film, I thought they were failing miserably and I wondered if I was gonna be one of the wet blankets who just didn't enjoy this film.

Happily, it gets a bit less "niche" and more human as the story progresses. What I saw as the emptiness of hookup culture eventually also gets old for the protagonists.

C+

Spirited (2022)

We had no expectations going in, we simply felt like watching something Christmassy. But what a delight! It looks like it's going to be a modern take on Dickens's Christmas Carol, but that gets thrown out the window by the jaded "perp" selected for haunting this year. He's not only an unredeemable, but is full of questions and observations that wind up throwing a wrench in the proceedings.

This is probably the best Christmas movie since The Family Man. It's terrific fun and will be in our Christmas rotation going forward.

B+

The Broken Circle Breakdown (2013)

Watching this movie was a bit like sifting through a box of unorganized family photos. The scenes are all out of order, but the faces and thread of love are constant. 

I fell for Didier, Elise, and the space they made for each other. Though so different in belief systems and the way in which they deal with life events, it was clear that they were grabbing life and love with both hands. Definitely worth the heartbreak.

B+

All My Friends Are Dead (2021)

I was hooked from the first few moments: a rookie detective and his jaded partner walk into a house in which a few dozen 20-somethings have been massacred. Their repartee coupled with the carnage set an interesting tone and I was looking forward to spending time with them as they unraveled what went down. 

Unfortunately, those few moments were about all we got with the detectives because we're immediately pushed into a flashback which takes up the rest of the movie and shows us exactly what happened. And what happened isn't all that interesting and the people to whom it happened are even less so.

C-

Happiest Season (2020)

Abby is spending Christmas with girlfriend Harper's family, but Harper has yet to come out to them. So Abby winds up feeling neglected, Harper winds up feeling pressured, and the rest of the family (with the exception of one) is less than welcoming. It's like a low-rent "Family Stone," but without any feeling of closeness within the family itself.

Really not worth the time.

C-