Review by Cole Groth

Dear Zoe tells the story of a young woman who grapples with her unfortunate reality after the death of her half-sister. Despite a serious attempt from director Gren Wells, this film is a continuous failure of a social issue drama. Starring a less-than-stellar Sadie Sink, Dear Zoe tackles mental health issues with the nuance of a Fifty Shades of Grey movie and a similar level of discomfort from a bizarre amount of eroticism. Unfortunately, a film like this with a great premise gets so bogged down in poor production choices because this otherwise could’ve been a powerful and relevant tale.

From the get-go, the problems of this film are apparent. On 9/11, Tess DeNunzio (Sink) isn’t focused on the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center; she’s viewing the attack on a TV at the hospital where her family has rushed off after her little sister was struck and killed by a car. The gravity of her situation feels less emotional for the viewer because the look of the film is so distracting. Every shot has flat lighting, and Sink has been plastered with makeup that seems so unprofessional that it is almost laughable. Tess’s voiceover is so overbearing and sappy that it feels like an angsty teenager wrote it. Well, I suppose that’s the exact perspective we’re supposed to get, but there’s a chasm between realism and this script. While in middle school, I co-wrote, directed, and edited a film about a girl writing to her recently deceased best friend. Since the entire short film was narrated through a letter written by the leading girl, it sounded very similar to the narration given by Tess. The difference between these two films is that two hormonal 13-year-olds wrote one, and professional writers wrote the other with experience in Hollywood.

Sadie Sink has shown incredible promise as an actress in Stranger Things and the Fear Street trilogy, and it seems like she’s most comfortable with acting in period pieces. As is tradition, this outing for her takes us back to 2001 for no real reason. 2000s nostalgia is going to be pretty big soon, and it’s unclear why Wells doesn’t lean into this. This film is centered on 9/11, but… why? Nothing looks like it took place in 2001; The closest indicator is that Tess wants to name a dog she’s trying to sell after the late Colin Powell. It’s endlessly confusing and only adds to my belief that this is one of the weakest scripts of Sink’s career. She’s demonstrated her range previously, which makes her bafflingly bad scenes stand out more than they would for a less talented actress. The rest of the cast is either forgettable enough to escape criticism or similarly weak.

It’s hard to stress just how bad this script was. Marc Lhormer and Melissa Martin’s horrific screenplay jumps around from unconnected family issues to finding love to dealing with grief at an erratic pace; 94 minutes is not enough to explore any of these things, and it’s easy to tell that this was based on a book, which was probably loads better because it had time to develop Tess’s character thoroughly. By the end, there are a lot of unresolved plots, one of them being Tess’s mom (Elly Gladstone) flirting with Tess’s romantic interest. Moments like these are bizarre and uncomfortable, none of which are as painful as the heavily erotic moments between Tess and her later love interest (Kweku Collins).

While trying to find solace in her grief, Tess befriends her bad boy Jimmy Freeze neighbor. Tess is a 16-year-old, which makes her relationship with Jimmy, who’s in his early twenties, all the creepier. Each scene of their budding romance is progressively more uncomfortable to watch, and it all feels unnatural. By the end, Sink and Collins have enough chemistry to bridge the disquieting nature of their relationship, but it’s just a poor decision from everybody involved. Her relationship with her family isn't much better. For some reason, her mom and stepdad aren't focused on at all, and her dad takes the spotlight far too much. None of her interactions are very natural, and once again, it's not in a realistic way. It's just bad.

There’s something that feels so wasted in Dear Zoe. Perhaps it’s the talent of a brilliant up-and-coming actress in Sadie Sink; it could be the lack of actual relevance within the period it takes place; the horrific lighting and cinematography don’t help either. Most of all, the potentially powerful story of how a young woman deals with grief is squandered. Tess DeNunzio’s story was meant for literature because a film doesn’t do it justice, or at least, a movie of this sheer incompetence couldn’t have done it justice. What an unfortunate misfire.

Dear Zoe premieres on VOD starting November 4.

Rating: 1.5/5

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Jennifer Lawrence had the most meteoric rise I've seen of any recent movie star in Hollywood. When she popped on the scene with a gritty and raw performance in Winter's Bone, she caught everyone's eye, including producers and casting directors in Hollywood. She jumped on a couple of big franchises and every good role she could find until, finally, she was burnt out from Hollywood and being a big star. She took some time off and is now back in Causeway, an A24 and Apple Original film.

Lynsey (Jennifer Lawrence) is a US Soldier recovering from a traumatic experience in Afghanistan during her time over there. She returns home to New Orleans, where she grew up, to try to regain her mind and body from what happened to her. She moves in with her mother and finds a job as a pool cleaner. While getting her life back together, she meets a man named James (Brian Tyree Henry, Eternals), who has his own traumatic experience in his past.

This film is a two-hander with the friendship between Lawrence and Henry's characters at the forefront of the movie. There are a couple of supporting roles for Jayne Houdyshell as a caregiver of Lawrence's character at the beginning of the film, Linda Emond as Lawrence's character's mother, and Stephen McKinley as Dr. Lucas, the man who has the future of Lawrence's character in his hands. Most of the cast does a good job in this movie with an important story.

That being said, Lila Neugebauer, the director, doesn't do anything too dramatic with this story or its characters. She keeps the film and story a little too subtle, whereas other movies about a similar subject matter are depicted more dramatically. Lawrence showed in her award-winning performance in Silver Linings Playbook that she is capable of better in her career. She usually brings drama to all the characters she plays. This time, she's just too quiet and generic, and it doesn't do the role much justice. Henry is pretty strong in his role, though.

Causeway wants to say a lot about PTSD, and it falls short of that. It just doesn't bring the heat where it is needed. Lawrence seems like she's going through the paces in this role. She's capable of so much more. The director couldn't get anything out of her in this role. She might as well have stayed on the bench if this is going to be what she gives audiences. This should have been a powerful performance, and it's not, and the film as a whole fails because of that. Even Henry couldn't save it with his performance. Without Lawrence's full commitment, this film failed to hit the dramatic moments it needed to be effective as a good piece of cinema.

Causeway is now in theaters and hits Apple TV+ on November 4.

Rating: 2/5

Review by Sean Boelman

Please Baby Please is one of the two films made this year by Amanda Kramer, and this double feature proves that she clearly has an intriguing voice as a filmmaker. A complex, dense movie that would be served by repeat viewings, Please Baby Please is downright bizarre, but in a way that never ceases to surprise or entertain.

The movie follows two newlyweds who cross paths with an unusual greaser gang that ends up challenging their perception of sexual and gender identity. The film is just as bizarre and idiosyncratic as the premise sounds, but you would be hard-pressed to find a movie that has a more distinctive directorial vision.

The film’s narrative structure is very loose and experimental, which may put off some viewers, but it’s also very surreal and trance-like in a way that is quite alluring. Although all of the scenes are tied together in a thematic sense, the narrative connection can be a bit loose at times in a way that makes it unfriendly to general audiences.

That said, the vibes in this movie are absolutely immaculate. The production design and costume design are on-point, feeling perfectly ‘50s while also feeling minimalistic. It’s the perfect type of retro film — feeling like a perfect homage to the era without ever coming across as cloyingly nostalgic.

Kramer and her co-writer Noel David Taylor certainly are not subtle with the themes they explore, but that doesn’t make the movie any less important. Many films explore the ideas of sexuality and gender, but few manage to be as blunt as Please Baby Please while still being thoroughly effective.

The movie has two powerhouse leads in Amanda Riseborough and Harry Melling, and they both turn in performances that can certainly be considered career-bests. Both have very complex characters who evolve over the course of the film, requiring a great deal of emotion and range. Demi Moore also shows up in the supporting cast, but her presence is not as commanding.

The opening sequence certainly resembles West Side Story, and there are certainly many beats that are reminiscent of the classic musical. In a way, Kramer’s movie almost feels like West Side Story if Anybodys were the lead character. That said, the musical aspects of the film are minimal and it's more a stylistic similarity than anything else.

Please Baby Please is the type of movie that deserves to be seen, if only because it is entirely unique and creative. It offers a distinct take on both its genre and its themes, making it an absolute stand-out.

Please Baby Please is now playing in theaters.

​Rating: 4/5

Review by Joseph Fayed

The film does devote time to those who surround Rahimi and Saeed. In the film's first half, Rahimi's backstory is expanded and sets out her motivations for coming to Mashhad. Her emotional being and questioning of the faulty police investigation surrounding her. This takes the backburner in the second half, which mainly focuses on how Saeed thought his killings were morally cleansing the world. This represents the shift in focus from how Saeed could commit so many murders to why Saeed did so.  

The last third of the film is the messiest part of it all. A lot is on the table in the final 40 minutes that may draw upon the liberty of true events, but it draws upon secondary characters who mostly served as unimportant compared to our two main characters. Thankfully, our attention on Saeed and Rahimi amplifies the message the film is trying to get across: how do we handle deep-rooted misogyny? 

Holy Spider has been described by its director as not a film about a serial killer but about a serial killer society. When told through its two leading perspectives, that feels truthful. This well-paced thriller certainly has chilling moments that will leave you disturbed, just like the true story would. 

Holy Spider is now in theaters.

Rating: 4/5​ ​

Review by Dan Skip Allen

​There have been many films dealing with the illness of a family member or loved one, and Emmanuelle Bercot's Peaceful is another such film. It's a pretty straightforward drama about a sick man, but it's strong enough to be worth your time.

Benjamin (Benoit Magimel) is a 39-year-old acting teacher who tries to get the most out of his students. Unbeknownst to his students, he has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. His mother (Catherine Deneuve) worries that he hasn't taken his diagnosis seriously. She gets him to see a specialist, Dr. Eddie (Gabriel A Sara). He has some unusual methods of doctoring, but in the end, he does his job perfectly regarding how he prepares his terminally ill patients for what they need to be ready for with these types of illnesses.

The director Bercot handles this subject matter very well. What could have been a very melodramatic story turns out to be a very touching film about a sick man, his mother, and the physicians trying to help him get better. The acting she gets from her cast is very good all-around. Cecile De France also turns in a strong performance as a nurse who gives the main character some much-needed comfort during a hard time for him and his mother.

A plot device in this movie that is very well used is that the film spanned a year in time, and as that time went by, so did the seasons. This man's illness scanned this amount of time, and during these months, we, as the viewer, see how his illness digresses. Which in turn makes him look worse and worse. Even when a blood transfusion is needed, he doesn't get better.

Deneuve is a world-renowned actress here and abroad. She can do anything when it comes to acting. Roles in Bel De Jour, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and The Hunger prove she can do it all. She has a difficult task in this film because she is not the main character, but she has to come across as sympathetic to what her son is going through. Deneuve has a lot of heavy lifting in this movie, even though it's not about her. She is the epitome of a concerned mother in this film.

Peaceful is an aptly named film. It has a quietness despite its subject matter. It is a very somber film with a sad score that accompanies it. The director uses kid gloves when she deals with this subject matter. We aren't far removed from a pandemic in which many people died. So if this is going to be done right, you have to be careful, and she is with every aspect of it.

Peaceful is now playing in theaters.

Rating: 3.5/5