The Practice (2023): An obscure little movie by director Martin Rejtman, The Practice manages to make something out of nothing, in a very particular slice of life kind of adventure. With a quirky set of humans, who seem strangely absent in the way they engage with life, the movie follows a couple in the process of separating, both yoga teachers. Yoga sets the backdrop to the urban craving so many of us have to find connection with some sense of spirituality, but everyone seems pretty much devoid of it here. It stands out and, on occasion, it manages to be very funny. 7
Small Engine Repair (2021): John Pollono’s debut feature, starring himself alongside Jon Bernthal and Shea Whigham, is a movie about childhood friends and parenthood. The story builds up a tad slowly, but it does build up towards a chilling set-up and it’s always enjoyable to watch actors of this quality play ball with each other. There is a moment where it feels like SME is on the edge of something special, but it doesn’t stick the landing, suffering in tone and, honestly, resolution. Still, there’s enough here to keep you engaged and I pretty much enjoyed the most of it. 7
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019): I had given up on HtTYD, after the very family-oriented second part. This isn’t that different and I did end up watching it because, erm, a family-caused affair, but a strong final act gave me the sense that The Hidden World is worth a watch. The third part of the soon to be quadrilogy is about letting go of things and people you love and it works well thanks to beautiful visuals and an emotional story. 7
Craig Ferguson: Tickle Fight (2017): I was hoping this stand-up from a while back would bring some feeling of nostalgia over me. I remembered Craig as a funny late night show host and, indeed, a lot of his charisma is here to be seen. The material, however, isn’t that impressive and even a mere seven years later it gives a sense of being dated. That said, I did chuckle some and that’s not terribly bad, is it? 6
Buzz House: The Movie (2024): It is not often that someone’s filmography so consistently includes movies rated in the 2 to 3 range, yet Selly has achieved that. Does it matter when your movies consistently top cinema revenues? This is the first time I actually see him in something and it is as dire as it seems: a bunch of influencers playing themselves in a mock reality TV shows with the aesthetics of a slasher comedy-horror. It doesn’t know what it is and, for the most part, neither did I. Boilerplate scenes and visual design make Buzz House feel somewhat coherent and familiar, but it’s more a collection of scenes than an actual movie. Still, I find myself in a silly position, because I will rate it harshly, as harshly as I did Teambuilding (2022), but I think Buzz House had more of a sense of self-irony, which made it less obnoxious. 3
tributary stu 