Shotgun Wedding is a bare bones action comedy.

Darcy and Tom gather their families for a destination wedding, but the ceremony gets put on hold when gunmen take everyone hostage. Now, they must do everything they can to save their loved ones — if they don’t wind up killing each other first.

Shotgun Wedding was originally going to be released into theaters, in fact it was supposed to come out in June of last year. Amazon Studios bought the rights to the movie from Lionsgate in March 2022 and now here we are today as it released on Amazon Prime Video and it’s not exactly hard to see why.

The positives come from Jennifer Coolidge who despite given not a whole lot to work with still manages to be pretty funny and still have some great comedic charming. Coolidge’s charm really works here and easily steals the show, Jennifer Lopez isn’t too bad here either although I would argue her performance is a step down from last year’s Marry Me. The rest of the cast isn’t too bad either, in fact all of them really try their hardest with such a lacking script that’s heavily restricting them from doing anything memorable.

The major issue here is that Shotgun Wedding is about as dull as you can get with a action comedy, the action scenes are not memorable or aren’t very fun at all. The comedy is mostly restricted to Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel arguing over and over again, which while it might be funny for about 3 minutes it quickly gets very old. If anything the actual comedy comes from the side characters. There’s some genuinely funny bits from the side characters that actually work decently, the other major problem is the script. There’s just not a whole lot here to work with, if the goal was to make an action comedy movie well this sure is an action comedy but it’s missing quite a lot on what makes a good action comedy.

Overall Shotgun Wedding is very forgettable and such a waste of potential with such a great cast.

Shotgun Wedding is available on Amazon Prime Video.

4/10 D+

Sorry About The Demon is a forgettable horror comedy.

A young man struggling with a broken heart learns that his new place is full of restless spirits.

Sorry About The Demon is a horror comedy that exists (yeah I got no intro for this one), the movie attempts to poke fun of a lot of the common haunted house movie tropes we see a lot. Does it do that well? Yes and no this one is definitely a mixed bag.

The cast is decent enough which is probably the best thing going for the movie, there’s some genuine attempts at humor some of which are pretty funny at times mainly during the first half that does seem like it’s committing to making fun of a lot of tropes. When the second half rolls around that’s when things start to fall apart, it just sort of becomes exactly like the type of movies it’s poking fun of. Which is a bit disappointing because the whole set up for the movie is quite hilarious, I also do think the movie focusing on being way too lighthearted a lot of the time really hurt the movie. I get it was clearly trying to appeal to wider audiences but sacrificing humor that could have worked so much better, writing and character moments that needed much more time to develop wasn’t exactly a great choice.

As I said at the beginning Sorry For The Demon sort of exists, outside of some decent acting, a promising first half and a few jokes there really isn’t much to offer here.

Sorry For The Demon is available on Shudder.

4/10 D+

Candy Land is a fun trashy 70s slasher film throwback.

A seemingly naïve and devout young woman finds her way in the underground world of truck stop sex workers.

Honestly the most surprising thing about Candy Land is that it wasn’t another very typical bad straight to VOD slasher movie, while it is very heavily flawed there is a plenty amount to enjoy here.

Candy Land sort of plays out as a 70s slasher film both in it’s plot and presentation, there some very neat moments here that do work. The writing is trashy the good kind at least, combine that with the performances being all over the map and you got yourself a fun little movie. I have to say for slasher film characters these ones are developed actually decently, there’s some strong moments towards the beginning that really sets up the characters and the movie itself quite well. The second half of the movie is when the slasher part comes in and while it is a bit weaker than the first half that doesn’t stop it from being entertaining, the kills are actually pretty decent and the movie wraps up pretty decently.

Honestly there isn’t much more to say about Candy Land it’s a trashy little slasher movie that’s enjoyable for it is, this is something I definitely think I won’t ever go back to but I’m at least glad I gave it watch.

Candy Land is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

Sundance Review: Fair Play

An unexpected promotion at a cutthroat hedge fund pushes a young couple’s relationship to the brink, threatening to unravel far more than their recent engagement.

Fair Play was my favorite film of the Sundance Film Festival, to be quite honest I did not expect this at all. Given the film’s premise you would think it would just be another romantic thriller but this film goes quite a few steps beyond to make this one thrilling experience.

For starters Phoebe Dynevor and Aiden Ehrenreich are both quite incredible, they give the best performances from a film I saw at the festival. From the opening act of them coming off as a normal couple, to the downright chaotic moments in the final act were things evolve into a nightmare. There’s a huge range of emotions and depth the two display in the film, there’s so many striking moments between the two that really capture the film’s atmosphere to the point where it’s just unbelievable. Chloe Domont did such a wonderful job in the director’s chair, she starts the film off as you would expect a relationship thriller but like I said before quickly evolves into chaos.

I was a bit worried how Fair Play was going to end but luckily Chloe Domont ended the film right on a very high note that really leaves the viewer in shock and with a lot of raw power oozing out of it. Fair Play is the very definition of a powerhouse film, every chance it gets it hits the viewer hard, with incredible performances from Dynevor, Ehrenreich or any of the rest of the cast, the script which is a whole other beast with very grounded moments and striking dialogue. There’s also the closeup shots that really put into the conversation of the characters, it helps that these conversations are very well grounded and get pretty personal between the characters.

Overall Fair Play is a fantastic film and a truly masterfully crafted film that I’m seriously glad I saw, if you are going to put a select few films from the Sundance film festival on your radar make sure one of them is Fair Play.

Fair Play currently has no release date.

10/10 A+

Sundance Review: Sometimes I Think About Dying

Fran, who likes to think about dying, makes the new guy at work laugh, which leads to dating and more, now the only thing standing in their way is Fran herself.

Sometimes I Think About Dying was one of the films at the festival that got the most buzz and rightfully so, while this movie most definitely won’t work for everyone it absolutely worked for me.

Sometimes I Think About Dying is a film that is about loneliness, we follow a young woman who’s name is Fran who works at an office and is very lonely. We also see her small interaction’s with people and eventually she starts to open up as the film goes on, Daisy Ridley gives quite possibly her best performance to date. It’s something completely different from what she usually does and it’s truly fantastic. She really captures the feeling of loneliness and how hard it is to open up, Dave Merheje is also quite fantastic here as well, the blend of Merheje’s and Ridley’s personalities truly go well together, there’s some beautiful moments between the two and really capture the type of bond of someone wanting to help another open up.

The filmmaking is also quite interesting as well, between the stylish shots in the office to the wide shots of the small town streets. It’s a very unexpectedly stylish film with a lot of variety, but the thing that I believe makes the film successful is that despite the film being about loneliness and trying to open up there’s so many genuinely sweet and cute moments. It’s not all dark at all which is definitely the most realistic approach, eventually we see Fran open up more and the final shot really solidifies this really strongly. It’s a beautiful ending that really inspires the viewer!

Overall Sometimes I Think About Dying is a very relatable film that really hits you hard, yet is a genuinely sweet film that is quite strong in it’s messaging. Very well acted, written and directed all around!

Sometimes I Think About Dying currently has no release date.

9/10 A

Sundance Review: Mutt

Over the course of a single hectic day in New York City, three people from Feña’s past are thrust back into his life: his foreign father, his straight ex-boyfriend, and his 13-year old half-sister. Having lost touch since transitioning from female to male, Feña must navigate the new dynamics of these old relationships while tackling the day-to-day challenges that come with living a life in-between.

Much like A Little Prayer, Mutt also follows the daily life a certain person or group of people. In this case we follow the daily life of Feña a transmasc person played by Lio Mehiel. Mutt takes the premise of the film a step further and builds on Feña’s relationships which really results into something truly special.

First and foremost it can’t be said enough how fantastic the performances really are here Lio Mehiel as I said before plays the leading role and their performance is just phenomenal especially during the last moments of the film which I’ll get into more in a second. MiMi Ryder plays Zoe, Feña’s sister which results in such a beautiful and very authentic brother and sister bond. It’s one of the best moments of the film and really captures the beauty of the film as well, the interactions between the two are truly beautiful. Finally there’s Alejandro Goic who plays Pablo, Feña’s father although he only appears during the film’s final moments those last moments are truly something special.

Alejandro Goic and Lio Mehiel deliver some of the best acting I’ve seen so far this year during the final act, both display very realistic conversations and emotion that will absolutely tug at your heart strings. There’s this family element of wanting to be accepted and in the end really shines with it’s message, the rest of the film is just as spectacular there’s some attention to detail when it comes to the script. With lots of realistic conversations to the truly beautiful acting and cinematography there’s so much here that really is fascinating.

Mutt currently has no release date.

9/10 A

Most Anticipated Films Of February 2023.

Hello again and happy first of February! I still got a lot of reviews of films I saw in January plus the last three Sundance Reviews to send out. But let’s talk about February for a quick moment….I got to be honest here this month doesn’t look too exciting. I’m not exactly sure how this ended up happening but the lineup is just painfully unimpressive, obviously I’m going to watch as many releases as I can, but where as I always tend to look forward to watching several films a month. This month just isn’t quite there.

Anyway there are a few films that I am excited for, before anyone asks why Ant-Man isn’t on the list it’s because I’m just not huge on the Ant-Man films especially the second one. And I don’t think the third one is going to win me over but who knows surprises can happen and may end up being really great.

Anyway on to the list.

8. Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey – February 15th (Theaters) – Only putting this on here because I’m really hoping it’s one of those “it’s so bad it’s hilarious” movies.

7. Viking Wolf – February 3rd (Netflix)

6. Cocaine Bear – February 24th (Theaters) – What is it with bears and weird as hell movies this month?

5. Daughter – February 10th (VOD)

4. Sharper – February 17th (Apple TV+)

3. Return To Seoul – February 17th (Theaters)

2. Emily – February 17th (Theaters and VOD)

1. Knock At The Cabin – February 3rd (Theaters)

And that’s the list! Will there be any hidden gems I didn’t mention? Guess we will find out.

Sundance Review: Theater Camp

As summer rolls around again, kids are gathering from all over to attend AdirondACTS, a scrappy theater camp in upstate New York that’s a haven for budding performers. After its indomitable founder Joan (Amy Sedaris) falls into a coma, her clueless “crypto-bro” son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) is tasked with keeping the thespian paradise running. With financial ruin looming, Troy must join forces with Amos (Ben Platt), Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon), and their band of eccentric teachers to come up with a solution before the curtain rises on opening night.

Theater Camp is a mockumentary style film that pokes fun of theater camps but at the same time brings this nostalgia factor into the mix, which is mainly the reason why the film succeeds.

If Theater Camp were just another mockumentary it would still be great due to other factors but I don’t think it would stand out anywhere near as much, luckily directors Nick Lieberman and Molly Gordon put in a little bit of everything that everyone can relate to. Sure a lot of it is things theater kids will most definitely remember from their early years, but even if you were just in one play for the middle school or elementary school you went to you can definitely relate to this film.

The performances are truly fantastic here, Ben Platt, Molly Gordon and the kids give tremendous performances that really capture the spirit of the film and the spirit of theater in general, there’s a lot of in jokes that Gordon and Lieberman make sure to put in. Even if you did one play in your life you will get these jokes, the singing voices are fantastic with each of the songs complimenting the film quite well especially the last one which really wraps the film up very nicely.

Lastly the film is just genuinely really fun, there’s truly so much love and effort put into the film that really puts a smile on your face by the end of the film. It captures the fun and chaotic nature of theater so well and makes it a blast, this is one I highly recommend!

Theater Camp has no release date.

9/10 A

Sundance Review: Slow

Dancer Elena and sign language interpreter Dovydas meet and form a beautiful bond. As they dive into a new relationship, they must navigate how to build their own kind of intimacy.

Slow is a film that really caught my attention mainly due to the plot of the film and the rest of the film really backs that up quite well.

The performances are all absolutely well done and really bring the film to another level, the film having a nuanced conversation about asexuality is absolutely well done. It’s some of the most raw and tender approaches to the topic I’ve seen in a film, due to this the film has tons of beautiful moments that each compliment each other really well. If there’s one word to describe Slow it’s “intimate” the film shows one of the most intimate relationships I’ve seen in awhile, it takes time to build and really ends with such beautiful results. The writing is very down to earth, with tons of interactions that completely make the mood of the film and bring the viewer along, the characters are beautifully written and well developed.

The film is such a beautiful case of intimacy and why it’s important, how it’s such a comforting feeling and filled to the brim with love. Slow is such an honest film that I really can’t wait to watch again once it releases.

Slow currently doesn’t have a release date.

9/10 A

Sundance Review: Divinity

Set in an otherworldly human existence, scientist Sterling Pierce dedicated his life to the quest for immortality, slowly creating the building blocks of a groundbreaking serum named “Divinity.” Jaxxon Pierce, his son, now controls and manufactures his father’s once-benevolent dream.

Not going to lie I watched Divinity five days ago (at the time this was written) and I still don’t quite know what to think of it, Divinity was a last minute addition to my Sundance schedule. I added it mainly due to hearing some talk about it being a very “out there film” and that description doesn’t even begin to describe this film.

Divinity is if you took Mad Max and Tetsuo: The Iron Man, mixed with 16mm black and white cinematography and then made it like taking a psychedelic drug, there’s so much creativity here that it’s truly insane. The use of the 16mm black and white cinematography heavily reminds you of those very strange experimental films you come across every now and then only in film form. It also does remind you a bit of the universal monster movies as well, there’s some really spectacular use of stop motion and live action during the final battle of the film that gives it such a unique look to it.

The cast is quite great as well, Stephen Dorff is quite great but the one who steals it is Moises Arias who really gives such a interesting performance that matches the tone the film is going for, the direction from Eddie Alcazar is quite a strong one it puts you in this world where just about anything can happen. The viewer is immediately taken into this world through the visuals and cinematography that does a lot of the talking, there’s so much creativity and imagination here that is truly exciting.

Divinity is definitely not going to be for everyone, having that said if it sounds like your type of thing I do recommend checking this one out once it releases.

Divinity currently has no release date.

8/10 B+