There were some brand new films this week, some insufferable ones, and even some from HBO Max this weekend! Let’s dive in!
Unpregnant – I do believe this was the first film intended for HBO Max back in October. That’s right, it released here on purpose, not because of the pandemic. Crazy. Anyways, it follows the Veronica who manages to recruit former friend Bailey to drive to Albuquerque to get an abortion. While a majority of the film was about mending an old friendship, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the road trip wouldn’t have even happened if there were more clinics who offered the procedure with no parental consent. Alas, it served a greater purpose, and this movie made me smile a lot.
Superintelligence – The latest comedic effort by Melissa McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone was a bit of a dud but had it moments. McCarthy plays Carol, a women who quit her job at a tech company to try and be philanthropic. She also gets randomly chosen by an AI to observe for three days while it decides to help or destroy the planet. Voiced by James Corden, he only puts Carol in slightly awkward situations, but also helps her win back the love of her life. Like I mentioned before, the laughs were few, but McCarthy has a charm that just sucks you into whatever she’s doing.
Permission – This film had me intrigued from the start, specifically because of what I know about all these actors’ personal lives. Starring Rebecca Hall, who is godmother to one of Dan Stevens’ children, and is married to Morgan Spector, who starred in a film alongside Olivia Wilde’s former partner Jason Sudeikis, you just have to think this is a film made of friends and connections. And that’s cool! Hall and Stevens play Anna and Will, who have been in love since they were little. They are content in their love until their friend mentions that they should sleep with other people to see if they’ve been missing out. I think everyone can predict this is the beginning of the end.
Herself – Wow. This Film Independent watch was such a moving piece of cinema, that it had me thinking back to what I was feeling when I watched The Peanut Butter Falcon for the first time. Set in Ireland, single mother Sandra lives a structured and extremely busy life while also trying to stay away from her abusive ex-husband. He’s the reason she and her two daughters are living in a hotel. The housing list is so extensive that it will likely take them three years to find permanent residence. Sandra’s unfailing kindness is met in equal kindness by both friends and strangers as they help her build a house. This movie took a wild turn at the end, but my heartstrings were being tugged from start to finish. Definitely catch this film when it heads to Amazon Prime on January, 8th.
Knock Knock – On the complete opposite end of the spectrum from Herself, my sister and I decided to give this suspense film starring Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas a go. I think we failed to notice that “erotic” came in front of the word thriller. This movie was uncomfortable and stilted from start to finish. My sister found a review that noted this was “Keanu Reeves at his most wooden,” and I couldn’t have said it better myself. Let’s also throw out that the dialogue “free pizza” was used in reference to cheating….I’ll let you be the judge of that. But seriously, do not waste your time.