Bros arrived in theaters this weekend with a rom-com unlike any we have seen before. Bros represents a giant step forward for the LBGTQ + community as there is a gay couple at the heart of the story. However, it was never going to matter unless the movie was funny and the story was strong. Fortunately for Bros, it is both funny and strong.

Bobby (Billy Eichner) was a sardonic, sarcastic podcaster who was alone. Billy claimed to enjoy being on his own and resisted any sort of real connection in a relationship, preferring the shallow and unsatisfying ones. Things began to change when he met Aaron (Luke Macfarlane) at a club and became intrigued by the handsome lawyer.

The film then dealt with a series of conflicts between the pairing that threatened to break apart the relationship that had the potential to be great for both of them.

I am going to be fully transparent here. There were some scenes early on in this movie that made me uncomfortable while watching it in the theater. However, as the movie moved on, I was charmed by the two actors and what they were doing with their characters’ relationship. They were remarkably easy to root for and the chemistry between them easily carried chunks of the film.

Eichner and Macfarlane exchanged fire dialogue in both the fun, flirty manner as well as the sharp, biting tone that the second half of the film adopted. The film was extremely well written and gave us two characters who were real people and who exceeded the gay stereotypes that are used in many entertainment projects.

Not only did they avoid the stereotypes, the film had the conflicts that threatened the relationship come from within the two damaged characters instead of leaving it up to some contrived plot point. There was an authentic feel to the story and the characters living in it.

There were some funny moments in the movie, but I did not think it was the funniest movie of the summer, which was a comment that I heard about it. I did laugh several times though and it was an enjoyable watch. It definitely fell into the style of film from Judd Apatow, who was a producer on this. It’s more of a dramedy than anything else. The humor though is very natural and works in the style.

While the first act had some uncomfortable moments for me, it was worth it to get to the second and third acts where these people showed us that romance can be for anyone.

3.7 stars

How scary can a smile really be?

Really damn scary, it turns out.

The new horror/thriller film Smile, the debut from director Parker Finn, came out this weekend and it is one of the most disturbing and scary horror films in quite a while.

Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) worked at an emergency psychiatric hospital dealing with patients suffering from all sorts of trauma. When a new patient arrived who had recently witnessed her professor killing himself, she started seeing things she could not explain. When Rose responded with the same doubt from her story, something seemed to change and she slit her throat in front of her.

The woman had told Rose that something mysterious was tormenting her and that it took the form of smiling people, a smile that was horrifying. After the patient’s death, Rose began experiencing the same kind of symptoms.

This movie is owned by Sosie Bacon. She absolutely killed it as Rose Cotter. She created a character dealing with so much trauma, not only from the potential supernatural entity, but also from none of the people in her life believing her story and a lingering childhood event that has colored the rest of her life since. Bacon ruled this character and provided the audience with a character to root for while also being someone who you were never sure if she was actually experiencing what she was or if it were all in her head.

Besides Bacon, the star of this movie was Parker Finn. He developed so many mannerisms during the movie to keep the audience off-balance or unnerved. He was constantly using transition shots, everything from God’s Eye to inverted shots to Dutch angle, designed to create a mood in the crowd and to echo the uncertainty that the characters are feeling.

The sound design is also a sensational piece used to build a sinister feel. There was a totally disturbing use of the score several times throughout the movie that keep me on the edge of my seat.

The film does use a bunch of jump scares, but many of them are excellently constructed and fall into places where you would not expect them to be. I was caught off guard by several of them as the movie progressed, which tells me that the jump scares were effective. Were there too many of them used? Probably, but you can’t deny that Finn tried to do something creative with them instead of just throwing them into the obvious places.

I found the experience of Smile to be very unsettling and scary in many parts of the film. There was a lot to deal with here and, while the last section of the movie may not have been as awesome as the first part, the movie certainly succeeded in creating the mood and tone that it intended to create. The imagery of the smile as a signal for the evil was extremely creepy and very effective. This is a great way to start off the Halloween season.

4 stars

Hocus Pocus was a guilty pleasure for me when it first came out back in the 90s. I was a fan of Eerie, Indiana, a Saturday morning live-action program starring Omri Katz. Katz played Max in the original and that led me to see the movie. In fact, I remember Hocus Pocus being the last film I had seen at our local drive-in theater.

When I heard about a sequel coming on Disney +, some 30 years later, I was iffy about it. I have seen way too many sequels that have come decades later that were failures and horrendous movies. However, the summer of the success of Top Gun: Maverick potentially changed the narrative of long time sequels.

Hocus Pocus 2 was released this weekend on Disney + with the Sanderson sisters all returning for the movie. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy made it back for the sequel, finding the sisters returning to Salem once again.

The basic story was similar to the original. The Sanderson sisters were accidentally resurrected by the lighting of the dark flame candle. In this case, two sixteen teens, Becca (Whitney Peak) and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo), who would perform rituals in the forest, were tricked into lighting the candle by magic shop owner Gilbert (Sam Richardson). The Sanderson sisters came back and began to try and cast a spell to save themselves from being destroyed at sunrise.

The film was absolutely full of cheese. There were silly moments and moments of full nostalgia. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy were so dedicated to their characters that the cheesy nature of many of the scenes worked. If this was not a Hocus Pocus sequel, I’m not sure this would have been as entertaining as I thought it was.

It started off showing the young versions of the Sandersons and how they became witches. It was an interesting opening that paid off well in the finale. There were two songs used in the film, one a parody of Elton John’s “The Bitch is Back” which was altered into “The Witches are Back” and two, “One Way or Another” by Blondie. It was silly that these characters knew the songs, but that is the campy factor that can be overlooked because it was so entertaining.

I have to say, I really loved the ending of the movie. Of course, no spoilers, but I thought the resolution of the story was both original and unexpected. And it worked with what we saw in the opening.

If you are a fan of the first Hocus Pocus, Hocus Pocus 2 will be a lot of fun and a neat throwback to a cult classic. If you do not enjoy the first film, the sequel will not be your cup of tea. For me, I enjoyed the film and had a great time watching it. Sure, it is not an Oscar winner, but a double feature with the original would be a great way to spend some Halloween fests.

3.5 stars