Love Hurts

My View:  Love Hurts  (2025)  R  In Love Hurts, Marvin (Ke Huy Quan) is a former hitman who has left his violent past for a much quieter life. Rose (Ariana DeBose), a partner Marvin thought was dead, has suddenly turned up and has some news that will turn Marvin’s quiet life into a full out battle to protect his future. I wanted to like this film, and for a while, I did. The action sequences are fun, with plenty of close-quarter flights that are inventive and fun to watch. The problem is the script has no clue what to do between the fights. The romance between Marvin and Rose is almost forgotten, with some horrible and clunky voice-overs telling us what they are thinking about each other, which brings the film to a full stop. I do not know who this film is for, as action fans are going to be bored with all the dialogue, and romance fans will be let down by the non-existent chemistry between the two leads. I wanted a role to give Ke Huy Quan something he could work with, but this film isn’t it.  My Rating; Cable  Love Hurts Website Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Heart Eyes (2025)  R  In Heart Eyes, for the past few years, the “Heart Eyes Killer” has stalked and murdered couples out on the most romantic day of the year...Valentine’s Day. The killer mistakes two coworkers (Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding) for a couple and sets out to make them the next victims. Can they survive this night of romance? Heart Eyes is a hard film to describe. Not as silly as horror comedies like the Scary Movie series and not quite as serious as a film like the first Scream. Heart Eyes combines a slasher film with a rom-com. The thing is that this film works, playing off of both genres. We have all seen the rom-com plots where the two destined lovers don’t like each other at first, as one feels threatened that they could lose their job to the new hotshot that rides into town. However, what makes this different is that there is a serial killer who is targeting romantic couples. Our two coworkers go to a fancy restaurant to discuss the job they need to complete and are mistaken for a couple. Now, our killer decides this couple is the next target, and the game of survival is on. The film is a blast to watch as it plays with the rom-com troupes along with all the slasher gore that goes along with that genre. Holt and Gooding have great chemistry and are helped by some good comedic timing. The plot is fun to follow, and there are a few twists that keep the film moving. Heart Eyes a film that has fun with what it is, and we have a great time watching it all come together in one big, bloody Valentine’s mess.   My Rating: Full Price  Heart Eyes Website  Now playing in theaters.

Indiefest:  I’m Still Here  (2024) PG-13  I’m Still Here takes place in 1971, when Rubens Paiva, a former congressman and critic of the Brazilian military dictatorship, is taken from his home by government officials, never to be heard of again. His wife, Eunice (Fernanda Torres), seeks to find out what happened to her husband while trying to keep her family going. This is the story of a woman and her family who fought for years to discover what happened. Fernanda Torres gives us a magical performance of a woman who won’t quit, no matter the odds or the difficulty. Torres gives us a woman who shows her emotions in her face but has a backbone that is stronger than the forces that try to wear her down. I'm Still Here a film that shows us a family in turmoil kept together by a woman who refuses to give in and is worthy of the multiple Oscar nominations . That the film is based on a true story and we see the photographs of the actual family at the end of the film makes the impact even stronger. My Rating: Full Price  I'm Still Here Website Now playing in select theaters.

My View:  Kinda Pregnant (2025) R  Kinda Pregnant is the story of Lainy (Amy Schumer), who, after seeing how her best friend is getting all the attention, pretends to be pregnant by putting on a fake baby bump. Things are looking up, but wouldn’t you know it? Lainy then meets the man of her dreams. As a fan of comedian Amy Schumer and the fact that I loved her in Trainwreck (2015), I was looking forward to this film. Schumer stars and co-wrote the movie, which is unfunny from start to finish. From the beginning of the film, when Schumer’s Lainy is convinced that her boyfriend of many years will pop the question, only to hit with the fact that he wants to do a threesome, this film falls flat from the beginning. I found the scenes with Schumer as a teacher to be the most uncomfortable and un-funniest, but then again, the scene where she goes to a yoga session for pregnant women, where farts are part of the comedy, might be the low point. Forte and Schumer have a couple of fun moments as a couple interested in each other, but they are few and far between the unfunny comedy of Schumer constantly falling on her stomach with the fake pillow that keeps asking us to laugh at things that just aren’t funny.  My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See It Again  Kinda Pregnant Website Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest:  No Other Land  (2024)   No Other Land is a documentary that follows a young Palestinian activist who has been protesting the displacement of his people by the Israeli military. As the military and settlers keep encroaching near his town, the activist makes friends with an Israeli journalist who is trying to publicize the tearing down of Palestinian homes by Israeli soldiers. No Other Land is a first-hand account of what it is like to be Palestinian in the West Bank as Israeli forces take more and more land from Palestinians, using the excuse that the land is needed for Army maneuvers, all the while, Israeli settlers build homes on the land that the Army has bulldozed. We follow a young activist who makes friends with an Israeli journalist as the two try to document what is going on and show the world. A world that too often turns a blind eye to what is happening. This is a hard film to watch, as we see two times when unarmed Palestinians are shot by the Israeli Army, all because they protest the taking of their land and homes. No Other Land is a moving piece of filmmaking where we see elementary schools being demolished, homes being destroyed without notice, and the taking of way of life by a superior force. Nominated for an Academy Award, No Other Land makes a powerful statement that the world should be paying attention to, no matter what side you are on.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  No Other Land Website  Now playing in select theaters.

Indiefest:  Armand  (2024)  R  In Armand, Elisabeth (Renate Reinsve) is summoned to the school of her six-year-old son Armand over an incident. Elisabeth soon comes to the realization that her son is being accused of something far more serious than just a fight between two schoolboys. Renate Reinsve gives a powerful performance of a woman who feels that the world is against her, and in this case, it is. Elisabeth is not well-liked at the school and doesn’t fit in with the rest of the parents. She is a feisty woman who has to battle a system that seems to be judging before all the facts have been presented. This is a film where things are revealed in drips, where we, along with Elisabeth, have to piece together not only what her son is being accused of but also if the accusations are true. Armand has a few places in the story that slow it down, but Reinsve gives us a performance where we want to see where she is going to take her character and if Elisabeth can figure out everything before the end of the film.  My Rating: Full Price Armand Website  Now playing in select theaters.

Forgotten Film:  Fracture  (2007)  R  Ted (Anthony Hopkins) discovers that his wife is having an affair and shoots her. He signs a confession and then asks the court to represent himself. Willy (Ryan Gosling) is a hotshot lawyer about to go into private practice. Willy is convinced that this case will be a slam dunk, something he can leave the office with his head held high. The slam-dunk case becomes one where Willy knows Ted is guilty, but now the deck is stacked against him as evidence is lost, including the murder weapon. Facture is a fantastic and slick courtroom drama where twists and turns happen every few minutes. Hopkins is great as a man who is convinced he can get out of anything and Gosling is perfect as the lawyer who sees his career hopes slipping away as the trial goes on.   My Rating: Full Price  Fracture Info  The film is available to rent/buy on Amazon and Apple TV+.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Love Hurts:  Lamp Crew

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  The Monkey  (2025)  R  Twin brothers, Hall and Bill, are haunted by a mechanical toy monkey they owned when they were young. When played, the monkey bangs on a drum, and when the drumming stops, it means that someone close by will die. The boys hid the monkey, and now, as adults, the monkey is back. The film is based on a short story by Stephen King and is directed by Osgood Perkins, who gave us last year’s horror hit Longlegs.  The Monkey Website  The film is in theaters on Friday, February 21, 2025. 

Until Next Time!