"An Easy Girl"

An easy and delightful movie to watch. It's about a young girl's coming of age in a tourist town in southern France. Young Naima is trying trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. Sofia, her glamorous and sophisticated cousin comes to spend the summer with her and the two of them get into some interesting adventures. Sofia befriends a couple of rich playboys and they take advantage of them. It's the rare movie where nothing bad happens. Usually things roll along and you dread it will take a turn for the worse.  But with this film, you can just sit back and enjoy the ride. Great acting and scenery that'll make you want to hop on a plane and head to France! Warning for those who care: there are a couple of tastefully done sex scenes.
4 out of 5 stars

"Project Power"

Check your brain at the door, sit back, and enjoy the two-hour ride. This is just a high-paced, action flick that grabs your attention and doesn't let go until the very end. A drug is being sold in New Orleans that can give you a superpower for exactly five minutes. Who's behind it and why is it being sold? That's what Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are trying to find out. But which one is the good guy?  And will he succeed? If you're looking for a bit of mindless escapism and don't want to think too much, here's your movie.
3 out of 5 stars

"Calibre"

This is one tense drama. Two lifelong friends go on a hunting weekend in northern Scotland. When a hunting accident occurs, they decide to keep it quiet. As the plot unfolds, it's a series of cover ups and you''re left guessing if they'll get away with it, or will the villagers figure out what happened. I won't give away anything else, you'll just have to check it out and find out for yourself. The excellent acting and beautiful scenery make this well worth watching.
4 out of 5 stars

"Cargo"

I'm not a big fan of zombie movies That said, I think this movie only loosely qualifies as one. It's really about survival. It takes place in the near future, where a horrible pandemic has swept across the earth. A dad, played by Martin Freeman, treks across the Australian Outback in search for someone to  care for his infant daughter. The scenery is so beautiful, it makes you want to vacation in Australia ASAP. It's sort of a "Walkabout" set in modern times.
3.5 out of 5 stars

"Only"

This is a pandemic themed movie which makes it pretty timely, considering the weird times we're living through. Not sure why it's listed as a sci-fi film. It stars Freida Pinto and Leslie Odom Jr. who have been self quarantined because of a disease that has wiped out most of the female population. It starts with them hitting the road and then explains what has happened through a series of flashbacks. The two of them are on screen for a majority of the film, which is slow- moving yet quietly beautiful.
3.5 out of 5 stars

"The Night Clerk"

This is the epitome of an indie film. Slow moving. Excellent writing. And great cinematography. Tye Sheridan plays Bart, a twenty something young man who has Asberger Syndrom. He has a job as a receptionist at a motel. He's intelligent but has a hard time communicating normally. Bart has one of the rooms in the motel rigged with surveillance equipment, ostensibly to help him learn how to converse with people. When he witnesses a murder, he rushes to the room where he is caught. Of course, he becomes the key suspect and he's reluctant to let on what he knows. Helen Hunt plays his supportive mother, who tries to make his life as normal as possible. The acting is great and the movie will keep you guessing right till the end.
3.5 out of 5 stars

"The Long Dumb Road"

I love road movies, especially offbeat ones like this. A young, straight-laced kid, played by Tony Revolori, is on his way to L.A. to art school when his car breaks down. A middle-aged drug and alcohol fueled hippie/mechanic (Jason Mantzoukas) comes to the rescue, and joins him on his journey. The two of them encounter all sorts of adventures on their way, and I found it refreshing that nothing that happened was over the top. So many of these movies take things to absurd and unbelievable extremes. In the end, this is just a warm-hearted, comedic romp that I didn't want to end.
4 out of 5 stars