Reminders of Him

Posted on March 12, 2026 at 12:21 pm

B-

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 sexual content, strong language, drug content, some violent content, and brief partial nudity
Profanity:	Some strong language including f-word
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Alcohol and drugs
Violence/ Scariness:	Fatal car crash, brief scuffle with a couple of punches
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	March 13, 2026

Before it was eclipsed by the superior guide to movies by Leonard Maltin, the late Steven H. Scheuer’s 1970s Movies on TV, dismissively referred to some romantic dramas as “for the ladies.” If he was still writing, the third firm based on a popular Colleen Hoover novel, this one co-written and co-produced by Hoover, would likely merit that description, along with “weepie” and possibly “syrupy.” It’s a story of redemption, reunion, healing, and romance, glossily filmed, with talented and attractive performers, which almost makes up for the fact that it may be watchable but it is not very good.

It stars Maika Monroe, more recently known for horror films like “Longlegs,” but worth checking out her earlier romantic drama, “After Everything,” opposite pre-“Bear” Jeremy Allen White. She plays Kenna, who returns to her home town after being released early for good behavior from a seven-year prison sentence. She asks the cab driver to stop at a. makeshift roadside memorial and takes the cross, telling us “Scotty hated memorials.”

She has returned home because she wants to see the daughter who was taken from her minutes after birth, now almost six years old and being raised by her grandparents, Grace (Lauren Graham) and Patrick (Bradley Whitford).

As Kenna starts from scratch, moving into a seedy apartment building. The landlord (“Schitt’s Creek’s Jocelyn, Jennifer Robertson), insists that Kenna take a kitten. No one wants to hire a felon. But a kind-hearted assistant manager at a grocery store played by country star Laney Wilson gives her a chance as a bagger.

Kenna stops by what used to be a bookstore/cafe that she loved. It is now a bar owned by Ledger (Tariq Withers). He is drawn to her but she is not ready to make a friend. And then it turns out there is a connection. Scotty, whose memorial Kenna destroyed, was Ledger’s lifelong best friend. He is a former NFL player, now living in his childhood home, across the street from Grace, Patrick, and the daughter Kenna is desperate to see, Diem (Zoe Kosovic). Ledger is devoted to Diem and she adores him.

When Ledger finds out that Kenna is the one who was convicted of vehicular manslaughter after the car accident that killed Scotty (played in flashbacks by Rudy Pankow, who even seen briefly is able to make us understand why everyone misses Scotty so much), he is furious, and he prevents her from seeing Diem. But he is still drawn to her. As he realizes how vulnerable and devastated she is, he offers her a part-time job at the bar. They begin to warm to each other.

It’s very soapy. As often happens with an adaptation of a book with an army of fans, there are details and characters that seem barely sketched in because a film script won’t have the time to develop them that an author has in a novel and a reader has the opportunity to fill in as she pictures the story in her mind. The situations and attempts at humor are contrived and the dialogue is clunky except when it is said by Diem or by Kenna’s neighbor and fellow bagger, a spunky young woman with Down syndrome named Lady Diana (the appealing Monika Myers), when it is just sugary. It ham-handedly signals Kenna’s increasing confidence by having her start combing her hair and go from tiny cut-offs to pants. The scene with Scotty and Ledger laughing when high as teenagers is not nearly as endearing as it tries to be. The story feels like Temu Nicholas Sparks. But Monroe and Withers give strong performances, doing much more than the script to make us feel the conflicts and chemistry of Kenna and Ledger. That plus the inherent belief in the themes of second chances make it watchable, if pleasantly forgettable.

Parents should know that this film includes mature material including a fatal car crash, a guilty plea to vehicular homicide while under the influence of drugs, custody issues, alcohol and drug use, sexual references and non-explicit situations, and some strong language.

Family discussion: Was Kenna’s sentence fair? What made Ledger change his mind about her?

If you like this, try: the book by Colleen Hoover as well as “The Lucky One,” “An Unfinished Life,” “Gifted,” and “What Maisie Knew”

“Wuthering Heights”

Posted on February 11, 2026 at 2:40 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	ated R for sexual content, some violent content and language
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking and drunkenness
Violence/ Scariness:	Some peril and violence, a hanging, medical crisis, sad deaths
Diversity Issues:	Class diversity
Date Released to Theaters:	February 13, 2026

Emerald Fennell’s new film is more of a a sexy perfume commercial than a version of the classic Emily Bronte novel. The title and character names are from the book as are the windswept moors that act as setting and metaphor. But the book is not a romance; it is a story of obsession, repression, grief, and generational trauma. This version changes some of the relationships and, significantly, backstories to center the passionate love affair between Catherine Earnshaw (Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi).

The movie begins with a crude joke. We hear what sounds like a sexual situation, with bedsprings squeaking and increasingly heavy breathing. And then we see that the source of the sounds is….the last strangled breaths of a man who is being hanged. The crowd is watching it as great entertainment. And a young girl (Charlotte Mellington as young Catherine) is mesmerized.

Catherine lives with her dissolute, brutish father (Martin Clunes) in an isolated, once-grand home. There are a few shabby servants and a between-classes woman named Nelly (Hong Chau), the out-of-wedlock daughter of a nobleman, who serves as Cathy’s caretaker. Mr. Earnshaw impulsively brings home a boy he rescued from being beaten. He has no name, so Catherine dubs him Heathcliff (Owen Cooper of “Adolescence” as young Heathcliff), after her late brother.

Catherine and Heathcliff have an instant, deep connection, but it is not entirely reciprocal. They are a lesser version of Buttercup and Wesley; she takes advantage of him and teases him, he is never anything but devoted and sincere, and they never have any kind of honest conversation about their feelings or prospects. She sulks and flounces. When she makes them late for dinner, he takes a beating from Mr. Earnshaw by lying that he was responsible.

The tiny population of the home that gives the book and the movie its name is all the people in this isolated area of the moors until the wealthy Edgar Linton moves five miles away with his ward, Isabella. Fennell is always superb at giving us striking, spectacular images that tell us a great deal about the characters, and the Linton home is one of Production Designer Suzie Davies’ most stunning achievements. Catherine (now played by Robbie) looks almost feral as she goes through a garden wall to enter the Linton’s exquisitely civilized space.

Soon, Heathcliff leaves and Catherine is married to Edgar. She now has magnificent jewels and a series of fabulous gowns in gorgeous settings, a sharp contrast to the wildness of the moors. Just in case we don’t get the point, Isabella makes a doll version of herself and Catherine and puts them in a dollhouse version of the Linton mansion, which itself, like an infinite regression, has a miniature version so the dolls can play with their own dollhouse. Oh, and the Catherine doll has Catherine’s own hair, taken from her hairbrush.

Fennell has some wild details, including Edgar having Catherine’s bedroom painted the color of her complexion, down to her freckle, and Catherine peeking through the floorboards to watch her servants have sex in the stable, using the horse’s bridle as a sex toy. And, again, a departure from the book, when Heathcliff returns, years later, he and Catherine have an affair. Perhaps the most significant departure is eliminating several characters and the multi-generational elements of the story. Or maybe it is when characters in a sexual relationship of domination and humiliation, and the one who is dominated end up chained like a dog and forced to communicate by barking. There’s no reason to believe these people care about each other beyond the fact that there are literally no other people around.

Pretty people in beautiful settings yearning, hurting each other, having sex — eye candy, titillation, but very superficial. At least a perfume commercial is over quickly.

Parents should know that this movie has very explicit sexual situations and references including domination and bondage, an alcoholic and abusive parent, sad deaths, strong language, drinking and smoking.

Family discussion:

If you like this, try: the book and the other movie versions, especially the one starring Sir Laurence Olivier.

Solo Mio

Posted on February 5, 2026 at 6:01 pm

B-

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for some suggestive material, brief language, violence and smoking
Profanity:	Mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking and drunkenness, smoking
Violence/ Scariness:	Scuffle with no injuries
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	February 6, 2026

Kevin James and Angel Studios got together to make a PG-rated romantic comedy that you could easily mistake for a Hallmark movie. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; there’s a reason Hallmark movies are so beloved. They are the comfort food of movies. We know where they are going and we like them not in spite of that but because of that. This is in that category.

James, who produced, co-wrote, and stars, plays a cuddly but shy 50-something 4th grade art teacher who goes to Rome to marry his fiancee, Heather (Julie Ann Emery of “Better Call Saul”). The church is ready, the guests are seated. He waits for her at the altar, only to learn that she has run away, leaving him a letter with a non-explanation explanation.

Since he can’t get a refund on the “two become one” honeymoon tourist package, he is stuck exploring the Eternal City with newlywed couples, riding a tandem bicycle with an empty back seat.

Two men from the honeymoon couples in the group befriend him. Julian (Kim Coates of “Sons of Anarchy”), is not exactly a newlywed. He has just married the same woman (Alyson Hannigan as Meghan) for the third time. He urges Matt to go out drinking and in PG language cheer himself up by getting together with another woman.

Jonathan Roumie (Jesus in “The Chosen”), has just married Donna (Julee Cerda), who was his therapist. The jokes in the film about whether that is appropriate or even legal are not funny. But they don’t really get in the way because Julian and Jonathan are just there like the devil and angel on the shoulders of characters in old Saturday morning cartoons, one to urge Matt to go wild, one to advise him to sit with his feelings. While Matt does not appreciate their advice, he does appreciate their interest and support.

What he appreciates more is Gia (a radiant Nicole Grimaudo), owner of a local cafe. For some reason, possibly because he is played by the movie’s producer, co-writer, and star and has James’ imperishable likability, Matt appeals to her. Even though he is sad and hurt and lost, she wants to help him. As I said, we know where this is going, but it’s where we want to see it go, thanks to a couple of great pleasures.

The first is the lovingly filmed and inexpressibly gorgeous Italian scenery, from the Spanish Steps to the Tuscan countryside. We even get a glimpse of the legendary annual horse-race in Siena. The second is the superb selection of needle drops and diagenetic music in the film, a delicious assortment of pop and classical, English and Italian. The movie begins with Ed Sheeren’s “Perfect” behind the opening montage, and Matt is such a fan he wears a Sheeren t-shirt. Matt loves music and when Gia asks him to pick something for them to listen to as they share a late-night pastry in her cafe, it is the one moment in the film where we see him utterly confident and at home. The jazz record he selects is just right.

The story developments are not as well chosen, and there’s pentimento indicating some last-minute re-cuts, perhaps the reason Hannigan is criminally underused, and the Neil/Donna relationship is so clumsily handled. This is a don’t think too hard, enjoy the scenery and wait for a happy ending movie. In other words, wait for screening at home.

Parents should know that this movie has some drinking, with characters getting tipsy, mild sexual references, and a scuffle with no injuries.

Family discussion: What didn’t Matt see in his relationship with Heather? What part of Italy would you like to visit?

If you like this, try: “Under the Tuscan Sun,’ “Made in Italy,” “Letters to Juliet” and Hallmark movies set in Italy like “Villa Amore” and “The Groomsmen: Last Dance”

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

Posted on September 16, 2025 at 3:35 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for language
Profanity:	F word used many times
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Alcohol
Violence/ Scariness:	Sad off-screen death of a parent, medical issue for an infant
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	September 19, 2025

Two strangers meet at a wedding, and the next day find themselves — in both senses of the term — on a car trip, guided by a mysterious GPS, through apparently endless unoccupied rural landscapes, stopping at doors that appear unconnected to any structure but turn out to be portals to the past. The journey, with a script by “The Menu’s” Seth Reiss and directed by Kogonada is romantic in the dictionary meaning of the term, “characterized by themes of love, emotion, imagination, and nature.”

Margot Robbie plays Sarah, and Colin Farrell, who starred in Kogonada’s “After Yang,” plays David. They both arrive at the wedding unaccompanied. And, as we will learn, they both arrive in vehicles provided by a very quirky firm simply called The Car Rental Agency, “specializing in emergencies.” The agency, which operates in a gigantic warehouse with just two cars, 1990s Saturns. Its two proprietors (Kevin Kline and Phoebe Waller-Bridge) sit behind a table and, when David shows up having found his car with a boot for unpaid tickets, a flier for the rental company conveniently nearby, they have a file on him. He initially turns down their GPS, insisting that he can just use his phone. But they warn him that phones can fail, and it is clear they won’t let him go without the GPS, so he takes it.

The GPS works normally on the way to the wedding, where David and Sarah meet, drawn to one another but hesitant. It seems like a missed connection. The next morning, the GPS (voiced by Jodie Turner-Smith, Farrell’s co-star in “After Yang”) invites David on an adventure and then directs him to get a “fast food cheeseburger.” Sarah is there, also eating a cheeseburger. As they leave, her car won’t start and the GPS tells him to give her a ride. The big, bold, beautiful journey begins.

The first doorway is mostly to get them used to the idea, and then each successive doorway takes them to more complicated and painful memories. Two of particular impact show us separate past encounters that intersect in meaningful ways. Others allow David and Sarah to understand their parents (sensitive performances by real-life couple Lily Rabe as Sarah’s mother and Hamish Linklater as David’s father). They get to glimpse how their time at the wedding could have been different. The one audience may respond to the most viscerally, because it’s high school, takes David back to his performance at age 15 in the lead role of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” The details of these encounters are wisely chosen and performed with the delicacy and authenticity of Kogonada’s previous films. The affection for theater kids (notice the posters in Sarah’s high school bedroom and the song David sings in the car) underscores the importance of finding the truth in stories.

Cinematographer Benjamin Loeb (also of “After Yang”) brings a poetic sensibility to the images, enhancing the fantasy element of the story but grounding it (literally) in the landscape. The shape and bright primary colors of the umbrellas are striking, and overhead shots evoke a heroic adventure. The story’s encouragement for those who have the courage to take a risk and change old patterns has a quiet optimism that may send some of us to open a few bold and beautiful doors ourselves.

Parents should know that this movie includes many uses of the f-word, some sexual references, and a brief, non-explicit sexual situation, a sad death of a parent, and a medical issue involving an infant.

Family discussion: How are Sarah and David alike? How are they different? How did what they learn about themselves change the way they thought about each other? What moment in your life would you want to go back to in order to learn from it?

If you like this, try: “9 Days” and “All of Us Strangers”

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

Posted on September 11, 2025 at 5:09 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for smoking, suggestive material, some thematic elements
Profanity:	Mile language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Alcohol and cigarettes, characters get tipsy
Violence/ Scariness:	None
Diversity Issues:	Class issues
Date Released to Theaters:	September 12, 2025

You could have a very successful drinking game if you took a swig every time someone in “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” talks about change, coping with it, changing with it, or trying to ignore or prevent it. But you’d be far too tipsy to enjoy this movie’s many pleasures for those who have watched the characters in the title estate for the past 15 years, through five television seasons and two previous feature films. Beginning with the death of the heir to the estate in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, through world events and domestic developments, the series explored social norms, family dramas, both of the titled family and their servants, and the impact of world events. It was romantic and glamorous. (Those clothes! Those dinners! Those romances!) It had everyone’s favorite, Dame Maggie Smith as Lord Grantham’s mother, the acid-tongued Violet, Dowager Countess. It was often thoughtful and endearing, as characters adapted and matured and relationships reconciled. This film will be of greatest interest to those who have followed the story, though you need not have seen or remembered every detail. But for those who have come to care about these characters, it is a very satisfying conclusion.

This film takes place in 1930, and as it begins the family and some of the servants are attending a glittery performance of Noel Coward’s operetta, Bittersweet. After the show, Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), his wife (Elizabeth McGovern), their daughter, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), and Lady Edith Hexham (Laura Carmichael) and her husband (Harry Hadden-Paton) go backstage to congratulate the play’s star, Guy Dexter (Dominic West), who became a family friend after appearing in a movie filmed on the estate. The Grantham’s former footman, Thomas Barrow, is there as well because he is now Dexter’s companion/manager. As Lord Grantham says, their relationship appears “hearty.” Dexter introduces them to Coward (a louche and very charming Arty Froushan).

Lady Mary is unaccompanied because she and her husband are getting divorced, at the time so scandalous she will become a “social pariah,” thrown out of a fancy party by the hostess (Joely Richardson) because members of the royal family are about to arrive and it would be unthinkable for them to be in the same room with someone who is divorced.

Lord and Lady Grantham have both lost their mothers. The memory of Violet and Smith lofts above the story, with Violet’s portrait in the hall and frequent references, and hopes for the disposition of the American estate of Lady Grantham’s mother because Downton always needs money. Lady Grantham’s brother, Harold (Paul Giamatti) arrives to tell her it is not what she hoped, and he brings with him an associate named Gus Sambrook (the always- excellent Alessandro Nivola).

“Downton Abbey” creator and screenwriter Julian Fellowes has a gift for melding drama with an exquisite sensitivity to social hierarchies. He understands the smallest details and the way they reflect the emotional and social upheavals. When Lady Mary is shunned by even those they thought of as close friends, her sister, Lady Edith, who has perhaps come the longest way of the characters in the show, is wise and sophisticated enough to know that the world has changed (there that word is again) enough so that there is one path to putting her back in the social world, and it is not about the old hierarchies of noble titles but about another kind of social currency.

As always, the lives of the servants are of equal importance. Two of the key figures are retiring, in a parallel to the difficulties Lord Grantham has in letting Mary take control of the estate. That means two others in the downstairs community have new responsibilities, underscored by Lady Merton (Penelope Wilton), whose more populist views come into play as she brings two members of the downstairs staff into a prominent role in community affairs.

And, as always, it is gorgeous to look at and revel in. The tiaras! The Royal Enclosure at the Ascot races! The sumptuousness of the surroundings and the empathy for the characters bring this saga to most a satisfying conclusion. If Fellowes cannot resist a wink at the audience by giving a character a speech about the importance of screenwriters, what can we do but wink back at him?

Parents should know that this movie includes sexual references and non-explicit situations as well as family difficulties.

Family discussion: How do we decide when to change and when to hold on to traditions? Which of the characters is best at adapting?

If you like this, try: the “Downton Abbey” series and earlier films and Fellowes “Belgravia,” “The Gilded Age,” and “Dr. Thorne.”