Reflexive pronouns are used differently in the UK. In the US, we mostly use “himself” and “herself” to emphasize achievement: “He learned to ride his bicycle himself!” But in the UK those words are colloquially used as subjects, to refer to individuals. So, in “Herself,” a film co-written by and starring Irish actress Clare Dunne, a man who is helping her character with a big project hands her a tool to take the first step, saying, “We’ll let herself do the honors.” The title refers to both uses of the word, indicating agency and independence.

Dunne plays Sandra, who tells her daughters in the opening scene that the birthmark under her eye was God’s way of making sure he can always find her, because “there are a lot of Sandras in Dublin.” We can see immediately what a patient, loving mother she is, and then again as she dances with her daughters to Sia in their kitchen. But when her husband Gary (Ian Lloyd Anderson) comes home, the mood shifts subtly but unmistakably. In what is obviously a pattern, he sends the girls outside and begins to beat Sandra brutally. But this time is different. She has made a plan and whispered the code word to her older daughter. Soon they are in shelter space in a hotel.

Sandra sees a video of a man explaining how anyone can build a tiny house. Without any help from the social service agencies, she decides to do it — by herself.

But what that means is getting the help of other people, including a local builder named Aido (Conleth Hill), neighbors, and the disabled doctor she works for as a cleaning lady (the always-marvelous Harriet Walter, mistress of the dry delivery). Like all abusers, Gary had cut her off from other people. But learning to trust and to reach out is as healing as the house itself.

Little details add a lot of richness to the story, showing us instead of telling us. Sandra meets Aido when he rebukes a sales clerk for being rude to her. And we see Aido change his mind about saying no to her when his son Francis (Daniel Ryan), who has Down syndrome, quietly hands Sandra his old work boots to help her get started. Gary’s mother has a poignant confession. A sympathetic social worker (Cathy Belton) helps Sandra when Gary sues her for custody. And the scenes with the neighbors, many of them immigrants, who help build the house are charming and engaging. Dunne’s performance is deeply moving and the story is genuinely heartwarming.

Parents should know that this film includes domestic abuse. Adults and children are injured. There is some strong and crude language.

Family discussion: Why did Sandra tell the judge she was asking the wrong questions? What can we do to provide better support for people like Sandra?

If you like this, try: “Still Mine” and “Places in the Heart”

Meagan Good and Tamara Bass co-produced, co-directed, and star in “If Not Now, When?” with a screenplay by Bass. It is the story of four friends who come together as one of them is facing a crisis, and then support each other as each of them faces difficult decisions about life, work, parenting, and romance. Sound soapy? It is, but not because those issues should be dismissed as, in the words of Stephen H. Scheuer’s 1958-1993 guide to movies, “for the ladies.” Plenty of films make clear that those are foundational life questions that everyone struggles with. But the script is the weak point in this film, with exposition-heavy dialogue that too often tells instead of shows.

As we might expect, the strong point of the movie is the performances. Bass and Good understand actors, starting with the casting, and they give them the space to bring more life and emotion to the script than it merits.

In a brief prologue, we see the four friends in high school, working up an elaborate dance routine for a promposal — which is quickly declined. But they’re not bothered. It is clear that they are just as happy going with each other. Tyra (played as a teenager by Li Eubanks), asks them to wait while she goes to the bathroom. It turns out she is in labor. She has not told anyone she is pregnant, not even her friends. They stay with her and promise their support.

Fifteen years later, Tyra (Good) is being discharged from a hospital following an accidental drug overdose. Her friends and her husband, Max (Kyle Schmid) stage an intervention, telling her she needs to go to rehab because she is dependent on opioids. She refuses until she sees her 14-year-old daughter Jillian (Lexi Underwood), who found her unconscious and had to call 911. She reluctantly agrees to go, though at first insists that she does not have a problem.

While she is in rehab, we spend time with the three friends. Suzanne (Mekia Cox) is married to a bitter, unfaithful, alcoholic former football player. She loves another man but won’t leave her husband because she is pregnant, and, more important, because she wants everyone to think her life is perfect. Patrice (Bass), a nurse, is drawn to a doctor at her hospital, but is afraid he will reject her when he learns more about her. Jillian thinks of Patrice as a second mother, and is living with her while Tyra is away.

And Diedre (Meagan Holder), a gifted dancer, is weighing two offers, a dream job choreographing a pop star’s tour and a chance to reconcile with her ex (McKinley Freeman as Jackson), the father of her son. Other than the football player, the men are all gorgeous and pretty much fully devoted to supporting the ladies they adore. With over four different stories and ten characters, including children, there is not enough time to give enough depth to most of them to make us invest in their stories. Much of the film has no score other than some on-the-nose needle drops. Oddly, the lyrics of one say “you are what you choose to be” but another says, “I’ll be different for you, baby.”

Trya’s story gets the most attention, and the most interesting relationship in the film is between Tyra and her counselor at rehab, an exquisite performance by Valarie Pettiford. But the movie really comes to life only when the women are talking to each other, renewing their connections and providing the support that only those ride-or-die friends for decades can give. Good and Bass clearly share that connection, but it is only intermittently that it comes across in the film.

Parents should know that this film includes drug addiction and alcoholism, infidelity, some violence, sexual references and situations, and some strong language.

Family discussion: Why was it so difficult for these women to admit their problems? What made Tyra change her mind about cooperating with treatment?

If you like this, try: “Waiting to Exhale” and “Now and Then”

The Critics Choice Awards are my favorite awards show, and not just because I get to vote and sometimes attend! It is because it is the only awards show where the choices are made by the professionals who see just about everything and report our reactions to readers. We aren’t part of the industry like the Oscars and the SAG Awards. We aren’t a tiny group of international journalists based in LA like the Golden Globes voters. We are the people who see everything and we review movies for a living because ticket-buyers want to know whether we think a movie is worth seeing.

And a movie doesn’t have to be a prestige film for us to love it. That’s why we now have this special show to honor popcorn movies, the movies that are just plain fun.

So the Critics Choice SUPER Awards honor the finest movies and series in the wildly popular but often under-appreciated Superhero/Comic Book, Action, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror and Animation genres. The inaugural Critics Choice SUPER Awards show makes its debut Sunday night on The CW Television Network (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). It is hosted by Kevin Smith and Dani Fernandez and features a Special Legacy Award presented to the entire Star Trek Universe.

Every one of the 32 winners will appear on the show to accept their awards. There are also celebrity presenters galore and some of the most memorable packages of clips from the nominated movies, series and performances that you have ever seen.

Follow the Critics Choice Super Awards on Twitter and Instagram @CriticsChoice and on Facebook/CriticsChoiceAwards. Join the conversation using #CriticsChoice and #SuperAwards.

Happy new year! I wish all of you a year of health, happiness, and maybe some un-socially distant activities like going to the theater and giving some hugs.

2021 looks like a good year for movies, even at home. Right now, the Warner Brothers movies originally scheduled for theaters are going to be released streaming on HBOMax with no additional charge for subscribers. That may change, if everyone gets vaccinated and COVID-19 numbers go down fast enough, but right now, the films we can expect to see at home include:

The Little Things: Oscar winners Denzel Washington, Jared Leto, and Rami Malek star in this mystery about a search for a serial killer.

Judas and the Black Messiah: Those of you who saw “The Trial of the Chicago 7” or the documentary “Nationtime” got a glimpse of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, killed by police at age 21. This is his story, with a powerful cast including Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, Martin Sheen, and Jesse Plemons.

The Many Saints of Newark: This prequel to “The Sopranos” has Michael Gandolfini as Tony, the role played by his late father in the HBO series.

Godzilla v. Kong: You know the monsters. Now watch them fight. The human characters are played by Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Eiza González.

In the Heights: Before “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda won his first Tony for this lively musical about life in Washington Heights.

Dune: The first try at filming this classic sci-fi novel was an expensive failure. This time Denis Villenueve directs, starring Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Stellan Skarsgard, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Chang Chen, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.

Plus: Sequels to “Space Jam” and “The Matrix,” a “Mortal Combat” movie, and a live action “Tom and Jerry.”

Also coming this year:

Series, sequels, remakes, and prequels!

We will see a prequel to “Kingsmen” called “The King’s Man,” with Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Daniel Brühl and Djimon Hounsou, another James Bond film, “No Time to Die,” with Rami Malek as the villain, and Eddie Murphy returns as Prince Akeem (and a bunch of other characters” in “Coming 2 America.” The ultra-scary “A Quiet Place” gets a sequel (An Even Quieter Place?) and the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) will finally come out, co-starring Florence Pugh and Rachel Weisz. Dom’s “I don’t have friends; I have family” crew is back in “F9” and the original cast returns for a new “Ghostbusters” movie. Mav still feels the need for speed in “Top Gun: Maverick.” And Hercule Poirot still feels the need to solve murders, again played by Kenneth Branagh in “Death on the Nile.”

Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story” is coming out in 2021, and Chloé Zhao, director of this year’s small-scale awards favorite “Nomadland,” has also directed a superhero movie, “The Eternals,” with Angelina Jolie. Richard Madden, Salma Hayek and Kumail Nanjiani.

We’re also getting Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in a medieval story called “The Last Duel.”

As always, I end the list of upcoming films by looking forward to what we cannot anticipate now. Every year, there is some performer or filmmaker who surprises us and becomes an instant favorite. That’s what I look forward to most.

Happy New Year! Wishing you and your families a happy and healthy and less stressful 2021.

If you’re home tonight, try one of these:

Garry Marshall’s “New Year’s Eve” shows us a variety of happy, poignant, and romantic encounters on the night of December 31.

“When Harry Met Sally” has a memorable New Year’s Eve dance.

In “Holiday,” Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn “step into a waltz as the old year dies” while the fancy society engagement party for him and her sister goes on downstairs.

Other movies with New Year’s Eve scenes: “About Time,” “The Holiday,” “The Godfather Part II,” “Rent,” and “The Apartment” — plus the completely bonkers Madam Satan. Here’s a glimpse: