As a new Film Independent member, I get the scoop on movies now! Independent ones anyways, but those are my favorite kind! So you’ll see one of those, a documentary (unheard of!), and some other oddball new and old releases. This is also probably the last of the Christmas movies you’ll see me reviewing, so enjoy it while you can. Ha!
Sylvie’s Love – Film Independent presented me with the opportunity to stream this film a little ahead of the rest of the world, so for that reason I will be brief. We meet Sylvie in a record shop where she is extremely likeable, carefree, but also very hardworking. She crosses paths with jazz musician, Robert, and pretty soon they fall head over heels in love with each other…a few times, actually. A series of good fortune separates them each a few times, but their love for each other helps smooth the way. Set in the late 1950s, this movie had a fantastic color pallet and overall tone. Very enjoyable and worth the stream when it hits Amazon Prime on the 23rd.
People – Since my fascination with Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry isn’t dying down any, it is only natural that I checked out this unique musical documentary of sorts. The film showcases the process that went behind the People Festival, which featured over 200 different artists that created in 30 studios for a week before performing on eight different stages over a weekend. A large part of what was played wasn’t totally my speed, but I will forever bow down to musicians. Something I don’t think I could ever do (unless you need a triangle player).
Love and Monsters – I never planned on giving this fantasy action adventure film a chance when it first came to theaters and VOD a few months ago, but the obscene amount of good reviews and Dylan O’Brien finally convinced me otherwise. Was it as good as those reviews led me to believe? No. Was it a bit relatable. Sadly, yes. Joel is a young twenty-something who’s spent the last seven years in an underground bunker after the world’s organisms started dangerously mutating. One day, Joel decides he doesn’t fear the world enough to not see his high school sweetheart ever again, so he heads out into the great unknown. Sure he comes across some deadly creatures, but he also finds a dog and a couple friends who help him achieve the impossible. Hopefully we don’t get stuck in our homes for the next seven years like Joel.
The Christmas Setup – I let the hokey Christmas movies lure me in again. However, the lure for this one was pretty decent, Fran Drescher and a real life married couple getting fictionally set-up? I’ll take it! Yes, it’s a Lifetime movie, so there were obviously some eyeroll worthy moments, but it’s also a Christmas movie, so I was at least a little bit expecting that. I did enjoy that the conflict had nothing to do with anyone hiding their sexuality and more to do with every day issues that literally anyone could run into. Cute enough.
Me Him Her – This movie was pretty darn strange. Seeing Dustin Milligan in something other than Schitt’s Creek was the draw, but having Luke Bracey along for the ride wasn’t a bad call either. Milligan plays Cory who goes to visit his best friend Brendan, who’s just had his gay awakening. The two don’t really see a whole lot of each other as Brendan gets hounded by paparazzi and Cory has just hooked up and deeply connected with a recently dumped lesbian. I mean, friendship wins out in the end, but this is totally not worth your time. I promise.
Dashing in December – Perhaps the last Christmas movie I will watch this year stared Fuller House’s Juan Pablo Di Pace and Baby Daddy’s Peter Porte, so I absolutely had to watch. Porte plays a big-time finance guy, Wyatt who goes back to his mother’s ranch in Colorado to convince her to sell the place. He also suffers from sad memories of his deceased father, but his wall is slowly broken down by one of the ranch’s employees, Heath, who has a deep connection to the ranch from his childhood. I will say, as this film went on the commercials came quicker and at somewhat odd times, and it made the movie seem a little choppy. A lot of the background stuff felt like it took forever to pass and the development of the relationship felt like it rushed by a bit. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it.
Welcome the Stranger – This is the oddest pair of siblings I’ve seen on screen in quite some time. Although, the movie itself was equally as odd. Alice shows up at a large house to visit her estranged brother, Ethan, when a series of mysterious events start taking place. When Ethan’s ex-girlfriend shows up, things start getting even weirder. I enjoyed this because it was hard to tell what was reality and what wasn’t. At first, it’s not clear if something is wrong with Alice, if she’s being possessed, or if she is maybe trying to get back at her brother. This was my kind of strange!