The 4:30 Movie (2024): I never had any strong feelings towards Kevin Smith. Heck, I haven’t even seen Clerks II. But I’m a bit taken with The 4:30, a sweet throwback to the 80s, a nostalgic movie-ride full of references, cameos and the breeze of a summer’s day. The love story between Brian David and Melody Barnegat is a backdrop to this blast from the past, which, while not doing anything brazenly original, has enough charisma to power through. 7
Starve Acre (2023): A bit of Lamb (2019) and a bit of your unsettling folk horror makes for Starve Acre – a movie family, trauma and devil-worship. The first hour or so of the thing goes by a bit slowly, but it has a killer look and two very capable leads in Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark. Then things ramp up in a way that’s easy to foresee, yet effectively put together, making this a satisfying genre fair, even if it doesn’t break any new ground. 7
My Penguin Friend (2024): Based on a true story, this Disney-esque, child-friendly movie tells of the connection between a man and a penguin. After saving the latter and caring for it, the penguin, well-known for its migratory habits, returned for eight years over thousands of kilometers to its once-carer. With Jean Reno putting in a sober and honest performances, it’s a sweet story that’s contrived by formula and only tugs on the largest of hearts. As mine has shrunk to the size of a walnut, there wasn’t much to tug on, but I can appreciate the good nature and positive messaging done in a not-overly-melodramatic way. 6
Salem’s Lot (2024): Stephen King was the first author I really read, not sure if I ever confessed that here. I’ve stopped doing so for a while, but still enjoy the (good) movie adaptations. Salem’s lot has already had two mini-series, the first of which was very decent and the second was very stacked with talent. This movie feels like it’s going through the motions, ticking boxes, and fails to really conjure the appropriate atmosphere to make Salem’s Lot work. The runtime doesn’t allow for much character building and it shows, with stock people doing little to earn our investment. While it may look good and still poses some interesting questions, this adaptation falters. 5
It Ends With Us (2024): Basically Twilight but with domestic abuse…hm, so basically just Twilight, written in the same fantasy style with eerie characters and dialogue, the biggest problem with It Ends With Us is that it is such a cliche for the most part. And a long one at that. Surprisingly, it comes alive towards the end, when the generic fluff makes way for something more complex, but by that point it had already lost me completely. Probably the drama behind the scenes was more interesting that the movie itself. 4
tributary stu 