Larry Oliver Film Reviews

  Pictured : Kenna ( Maika Monroe ) and Ledger ( Tyriq Withers ) in a scene from the second chance at happiness romance, ' Reminders of Him ', adapted from Colleen Hoover 's novel by the author in collaboration with Lauren Levine , and directed by Vanessa Caswill . Still courtesy of Universal Pictures Dear Scotty, I just watched the movie, Reminders of Him , based on the novel by Colleen Hoover, and it features letters written to you by the protagonist, Kenna (Maika Monroe) in two or more exercise books, which you won’t get a chance to read because you died in an automobile accident. I figured I do the same. Not die in a car accident, the writing. The letters help Kenna explain herself to other people far better than looking them in the eye and inviting tricky questions. Those who publish their thoughts online know this all too well. Kenna literally carries her history with her. She might leave it at a bar by accident, but only because she wants to, subconsciously, especi...

  Contains spoilers Watcher is a serial killer thriller with the exploitation taken out. Reworking a script by Zack Ford, writer-director Chloe Okuno delivers suspense, the obligatory dream sequence, a false shock or two before working towards a climax that doesn’t make a heap of narrative sense. The film’s most radical element is not to allow the viewer any vicarious pleasure as the killer attacks their victims. The drama portrays a wider societal anxiety, that women who speak out about menacing male behaviour aren’t believed. It also offers tourist views of the Romanian city of Bucharest, where the film is set. Beyond that and a sympathetic central performance from Maika Monroe as Julia, a former actress in transition who has followed her Romanian-speaking boyfriend, Francis (Karl Glusman) to Bucharest, it doesn’t offer much pleasure to audiences. To damn it with faint praise, it is a horror film you can watch without getting too irritated. It begins with street sounds befor...