5 New Movies to Watch Right Now

And a few to avoid

In my last post I did a deep dive on my favorite new release from the month of May, Blackberry, directed by Matt Johnson. As an update, the film is now on VOD! So if you missed it in theaters, you can now rent or buy it on Apple, Amazon, VUDU, or Youtube!

Today I am going to highlight 11 films from May via bite sized reviews. After some great feedback from my recent post highlighting 9 films you may have missed from the first quarter of 2023, I decided I will make this a monthly tradition at the end of each month! After all, most people don’t have the time or desire to wade through all of the average films to find the good stuff. So, without further ado, here we go!

The Artifice Girl

• What the Film is About - “Special agents discover a revolutionary computer program that uses a digital child to catch online predators. However, they soon learn that the AI's inevitable advancement is far more rapid and incalculable than they ever could have imagined, posing unforeseen challenges and unsettling consequences for the future of technology and mankind.”

• My Thoughts - Probably the least talked about great film from 2023 so far, this one absolutely blew me away. There are few films in this day and age that draw you in during the opening minutes and captivate you all the way through to the end. While the movie falters in the final act, I would put the first 2/3 of this up with the best of this year. I am sure that hundreds of movies about AI will be made in the next few years, but few will be as great as this.

• Rating - 4/5

• Watch or Skip? - Watch!

Hypnotic

• What the Film is About - “Determined to find his missing daughter, Detective Danny Rourke finds himself spiraling down a rabbit hole while investigating a series of reality-bending crimes. Aided by Diana Cruz, a gifted psychic, Rourke simultaneously pursues and is pursued by a lethal specter, the one man he believes holds the key to finding the girl.”

• My Thoughts - Any filmmaker that tries to pull of a high concept sci-fi thriller on a low budget is a brave soul. Similarly, anyone that attempts to make a Nolan-esque sci-fi film is just as gutsy. Rodriguez tries to do both in Hypnotic, & it goes as poorly as you would expect. You can just feel the seams on this one from the moment it starts

• Rating - 1.5/5

• Watch or Skip? - Skip

The Little Mermaid (2023 Remake)

• What the Film is About - A live action remake of 1989 animated Disney classic film.

• My Thoughts - If the abysmal CGI isn’t enough to frustrate you, then the 52 minutes of unnecessary fluff added should do the trick. Halle Berry is breathtaking & Daveed Diggs is electrifying - both perfectly cast as Ariel and Sebastian, respectively. At times they (and the enduring score) are the only thing that keeps you in it.

• Rating - 2/5

• Watch or Skip? - Skip

You Hurt My Feelings

• What the Film is About - “A novelist's long-standing marriage is suddenly upended when she overhears her husband give his honest reaction to her latest book.”

• My Thoughts - Director Nicole Holofcener takes one moment at the beginning of this film & expands it into a rich text with more questions than answers. As those questions stew in your subconscious, you realize how special the film actually is. The stakes are low, but so are most days in life. Delightful way to spend 90 minutes!

• Rating - 3.5/5

• Watch or Skip ? - Watch

Bama Rush

• What the Film is About - HBO follows a group of girls as they prepare to participate to rush the sorority system at the University of Alabama.

• My Thoughts - When I saw the trailer for this film, I immediately added it to my watchlist. The trailer conveyed that the documentary would get unprecedented access to the rush process and teased the exploration of “The Machine” and to expose the sexism and racism that has persisted for decades on the sorority scene. In reality, the documentary did none of that. The access they got was limited to a couple girls preparing to go through the rush process while many unconventional and confusing creative choices were made. The most bizarre of those creative choices was the filmmaker turning the camera on herself every 15-20 minutes to talk about her struggles with alopecia. No, you didn’t read that wrong. A documentary about Alabama sorority rush gives significant screen time to a lady in her 40s talking about her struggles with being bald. It was one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen. Apparently many people agree with me, as my review on Letterboxd is the most liked review currently.

  

• Rating - 1/5

• Watch or Skip? - Skip

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

• What the Film is About - A documentary following the life of international movie star, Michael J. Fox.

• My Thoughts - Whether you grew up watching his movies or if his persona just makes you smile, Michael J. Fox is one of the most beloved celebrities on the planet. While the documentary is a bit over produced, it still ultimately does Fox and his story justice.

• Rating - 3.5/5

• Watch or Skip? - Watch

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

• What the Film is About - “Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill must rally his team to defend the universe and protect one of their own. If the mission is not completely successful, it could possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.”

• My Thoughts - Thought this was a fitting end to the trilogy though. Sure it has it’s fair share of flaws and emotional manipulation, but it’s got some great sequences, needle drops, and a great finish to each character’s arc. It’s beyond comical to me that much of the narrative around this film is “the MCU is back”. No guys, the guy that made this is going to run the competitor (DC Films). Excited to see what Gunn does with DC!

• Rating - 3.5/5

• Watch or Skip? - Watch, if you enjoy Marvel films

Longest Third Date

• What the Film is About - “When Matt and Khani meet on a dating app, sparks fly; on impulse, they fly to Costa Rica for their third date and get stuck there as the world shuts down in March 2020; an extended stay in paradise becomes the ultimate test of compatibility.”

• My Thoughts - Honestly, this is nothing more than a glorified Youtube vlog. Netflix calling it a movie is pretty disrespectful to everyone that makes actual movies. Aside from that, both Matt and Khani are just not enjoyable people to spend an hour and 15 minutes with.

• Rating - 1/5

• Watch or Skip? - Skip

Out And About

• What the Film is About - “A middle-aged man attempts to come to terms with his life over the course of an afternoon walk through his hometown.”

• My Thoughts - Excellent script and concept for a for a low budget indie film. However, to make a script like this work, the execution has to be there, particularly with the lead. If we are going to spend the entirety of the film in someone’s head, it better be someone that is enjoyable to be around. By the end of the film, Jeff’s voice is grating to hear and the stock music used between scenes makes less sense as the film goes on. On the positive side, I loved how the complexity of private thoughts and relationships with your younger self/friends were shown on screen.

• Rating - 2.5/5

• Watch or Skip? - Skip

Victim/Suspect

• What the Film is About - “Investigative journalist Rae de Leon uncovers and examines the pattern of young women being ignored by authorities after reporting sexual assaults.”

• My Thoughts - The premise for the documentary itself is a fascinating one, but the execution makes it no better than most middle of the road documentaries. There is some good stuff in here that people can learn from if they are ever talking to police, but aside from that it is mostly forgettable. Making a documentary is easy, but making a good one is hard.

• Rating - 2.5/5

• Watch or Skip? - Skip

Reality

• What the Film is About - “On a Saturday afternoon, in June 2017, Reality Winner, a 25-year-old in cut-off jeans, is confronted at her Georgia home by the FBI. A cryptic conversation begins & Reality's life begins to unravel.”

• My Thoughts - Reality is very unique because the script is based on the actual FBI transcripts of this interrogation. As cool as that is, it actually distracts from the movie because of how many times the filmmakers go out of their way to make sure the audience knows that what they are seeing on screen is based on a real audio recording. Although that is distracting, the tension and tautness of this film makes it a fun watch. Towards the end, the politics of all of it got in the way of the story, which detracted from the success of the film. In a scenario such as this, I prefer ambiguity from the filmmaker in how we should interpret things, but still worth the watch!

• Rating - 3.5/5

• Watch or Skip? - Watch