A Little Prayer (2023): A sensitive and effective drama, A Little Prayer is a well acted movie about the little secrets of family relationships. David Stratharin plays the father, who finds himself compelled to protect his daughter-in-law (Jane Levy) from his son’s indiscretions. This is the kind of set-up that easily lends itself to being corny or crass, or even worse, melodramatic, but ALP eschews all these trappings. Sure, there are a few moments where I felt the interactions were strained, but overall this is a story that makes the most out of simplicity. Written and directed by Angus MacLachlan, who is considerably better known for having penned Junebug (2005), I think this is the kind of movie that usually gets lost on TV, but it has a good deal to offer and should have more light shone upon it. 7
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (2024): I’m a sucker for most Jane Austen adjacent content, so it won’t come as a surprise that I quite enjoyed this faux-Austen story. Camille Rutherford stars as Agathe, a woman working at a bookstore who really hasn’t adapted to modern dating conventions. After Agathe’s co-worker, unbeknownst to her, submits her manuscript to a Jane Austen writer’s retreat, she gets invited to participate – and quickly finds herself having to choose between the affections of two men, while struggling to affirm herself as an aspiring writer. I think this is a calm and set romantic getaway movie, with some moments of real tenderness and poetry, that knows exactly what it sets out to do and does it well. 7
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (2025): Mary Bronstein has been hanging with the good crowd for a while and now she has an impressive movie to back it up. Produced (among others) by Josh Safdie and Rose Byrne, the latter also starring in this, IIHLIKY (haha) is a movie that will be hard to shake off (no haha). Byrne is exceptional in the lead, playing a therapist who is struggling with her vocation as a mother, as her daughter refuses to consume food and needs to be kept on a feeding tube, while her husband is in some military function abroad. There have been some tough movies on this theme in recent years, but this one is perhaps the toughest to sit through. Bizarrely labelled as a comedy, perhaps because there’s a one-note Conan O’Brien making his acting debut, this movie is pretty much pure anxiety. There is little to no respite, with a bleakness that’s hard to digest – I struggled with it, for sure. That said, there’s something to be applauded in the way Bronstein creates this harrowing experience, regardless of (dis)pleasure. 7
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025): While there have been more Bridget Joneses than Freaky Fridays, I also had next to no memory of what came before this one. But we quickly find ourselves into tragedy territory, with Bridget back on the dating scene, except that she’s mostly become a hermit. A Leo Grande-esque experience follows, in a movie that’s unbelievably long for what it is. This slow creep above the two hour mark has been going on throughout the series, but all it achieves is a dilution of whatever entertainment value BJ has. That said, I think this fourth entry is about as enjoyable as the previous one, even if it tests your patience. There’s this good vein of melancholy and nostalgia that the writing team manages to tap into, with Hugh Grant stealing all the scenes he’s in. It doesn’t all go far beyond this, but it’s enough to be entertaining. Mostly. 6
Toxic Avenger (2023): I want to say I am a fan of the original, but there’s proof to the contrary. I was however excited to hear a remake of such a classic was in the works, even as it struggled to get a proper release. Hard to really tell why, because it has a nifty cast, with Peter Dinklage, Kevin Bacon and Elijah Wood and it does give the original substantial amounts of production value. The theming is on the nose, as a corrupt corporation is destroying the lives of locals, with complicity at all levels, but that’s fine for what TA is. That said, Macon Blair’s movie probably doesn’t do enough to make a claim for our collective memory. The original might have been an unsatisfying watch for me, but it is a movie that has defied the test of time and become a cult phenomenon, which this one is unlikely to do. But it did do just about enough to offer me some satisfaction. 6
tributary stu 