Sweethearts
NetworkMax,
Similar2046 (2004), American Graffiti (1973), An Education (2009), Beautiful Thing (1996), Big (1988), Billy Elliot (2000), Blue Velvet (1986), Chicken Little (2005), Chocolat (2000), Closely Watched Trains (1966), Clueless (1995), D.E.B.S. (2005), Dazed and Confused (1993),
Desert Hearts (1985) Dirty Dancing (1987),
Edward Scissorhands (1990) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), He's Just Not That Into You (2009), High Fidelity (2000), High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008), Little Children (2006), Lolita (1962), Maurice (1987), My First Summer (2020), Nowhere (1997), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), Summer Storm (2004), Superbad (2007), The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995), The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005),
StudioNew Line Cinema,
There’s something to be said for an opening title sequence that eliminates the need for in-dialogue exposition. Over a collage of images and items, Sweethearts rapidly lays out its setup. Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) and Ben (Nico Hiraga) are longtime best friends attending their first semester of college at the same school. They both decided to remain with their respective significant others, effectively killing their on-campus social life. Their other best friend is Palmer (Caleb Hearon) who skipped college to live and work in Paris for a year.
The setup dealt with before a word is spoken, Sweethearts is free to dive into the specifics of the case immediately. Jamie’s beau, Simon (Charlie Hall), is a football hero who parlayed high school glory into admission to Harvard despite having the lowest entrance GPA in Crimson’s history. He and Jamie mostly communicate through sexting and phone sex, neither of which genuinely excites Jamie. Ben and his girlfriend Claire (Ava DeMary), on the other hand, seem to have the sex thing down pat. It’s everything that’s suffocating Ben. Together, the best friends decide to dump Claire and Simon when they’ll all be together again during Thanksgiving break. Only then can the duo be happy and fully experience college life. They enlist Palmer to help them make it happen. He’s game despite it complicating his own return-to-town plan: revealing to his former classmates that he’s gay.
This image of Charlie Hall, Ava DeMary, and Caleb Hearon screams the day after Thanksgiving Freshman year. (MAX)
From the moment the best friends make the decision following a disastrous attempt at attending a stereotypical college party, nothing goes right. Each bump in the road reveals that perhaps it isn’t just their romances in need of a reevaluation. Continue Reading →
Strays
SimilarArmageddon (1998), Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Bring It On (2000), Brother Bear (2003), Cars (2006), Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009), Dogma (1999), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009),
From Russia with Love (1963) Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), Goldfinger (1964), Good Luck Chuck (2007), Madagascar (2005), Night at the Museum (2006), Ocean's Eleven (1960), Rush Hour (1998),
Shrek the Third (2007) Snakes on a Plane (2006), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), The Nutty Professor (1996), The Simpsons Movie (2007), Toy Story 2 (1999), Transformers (2007), Underdog (2007),
Watch afterBarbie (2023) Blue Beetle (2023), Elemental (2023), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), Meg 2: The Trench (2023),
Oppenheimer (2023) Talk to Me (2023), The Nun II (2023),
Talking animals have been an entertainment staple for practically as long as movies have been around. Most classics of the genre, like 1993’s Homeward Bound, aim squarely at children in the audience. Director Josh Greenbaum’s Strays seeks to subvert that approach by weaving dirty jokes and curse words into familiar genre tropes. The result is considerably more grating and unpleasant to watch. Continue Reading →
Theater Camp
SimilarBend It Like Beckham (2002) Billy Elliot (2000), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Italian for Beginners (2000), Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997), Kolya (1996), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Lolita (1962), Muriel's Wedding (1994), My Own Private Idaho (1991), Notting Hill (1999), Paris Can Wait (2016), Pretty Woman (1990),
Shrek (2001) Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Stranger Than Paradise (1984), Toy Story 2 (1999),
Watch afterPsycho (1960), Shortcomings (2023),
StarringDavid Rasche,
For decades, the great American institution of summer camp has been fodder for cinema, and for good reason. A group of hormonal teenagers put together in an artificial environment is the perfect recipe for drama, with the gorgeous backdrop of the outdoors. Continue Reading →
Sharper
Watch afterBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022),
StarringSebastian Stan,
We love movies about con artists, because they’re always glamorous, with attractive, elegantly dressed people slickly seducing their marks. It’s far sexier and intriguing than the sad reality of con artistry, which mostly seems to involve catfishing lonely people on dating sites, or swindling them out of cash on behalf of a made-up charity. No one likes to think about how easy it is to be fooled by someone who’s simply a good liar, it makes more sense that these things happen as part of an elaborate scheme created by a network of seasoned professionals alternately working together and stabbing each other in the back. Apple TV+’s Sharper scratches that particular itch, and looks good doing it, but ultimately feels a bit hollow, and has twists that are far more transparent than they should be. Continue Reading →
Am I Ok?
SimilarA Real Young Girl (1976), Copying Beethoven (2006), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), The Holiday (2006),
(This review is part of our coverage of the 2022 Sundance Festival) Continue Reading →
Borderlands
SimilarFinal Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005), Hitman (2007), Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004),
StudioLionsgate,
Samarth Mahajan’s documentary about life on India's borders is engaging, involving, and dense.
Too often, filmmakers think they can make a documentary simply by picking a good subject. But the mark of a good documentary is not the importance or controversy of its subject, but the way that its filmmaker convinces their audience that the subject is worth exploring. Samarth Mahajan’s Borderlands accomplishes just this, and does so by pulling off the difficult task of spinning what could be disjointed or arbitrary subjects into a compelling thread that speaks to the history and dynamics of a region.
Borderlands focuses on the communities of people who live near the different national borders of India. India is currently bordered by seven different countries – Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. The history of these borders is vast and dense, consisting of major wars, invasions, imperialist conquest, and political turmoil. Continue Reading →