time now movie review

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Time now - movie review.

Sometimes a homecoming can only lead to heartbreak.  This is the truth in the spilled guts of Time Now , which is being released by Dark Star Pictures and Uncork’d Entertainment , and it will leave you trembling.

Jenny ( Eleanor Lambert ) is coming home to Detroit.  Unfortunately, it is not for good reasons.  Her twin brother has died suddenly.  There is a mystery tangled in his death and it languishes  somewhere within his group of friends.  Jenny just knows it.  Unfortunately, the family drama from past scars haunts her every move in this return trip as she begins a search which might be in vain.

But somewhere within this dark urban playground the truth is dangled in front of her.  His death is not what it seems.  Full of shadows and even longer question marks, Time Now is a slow burn of strained family dynamics as the thriller aspect gets less attention in the hunt for the truth.

Jenny’s used to it; however, she’s at a loss of what to do about the latest passing, so she dives in and discovers that she barely knew him at all.  Nothing she's done has been enough.  She knows it and so, too, does her Aunt Joan ( Claudia Black ), who takes her to her brother’s apartment.  It is there where Jenny turns her grief into a sort of solution and attempts to get to know her brother through the remnants that can be found in all the mess.

And it leads to a curious group of friends, who know far more than they are willing to share to an outsider. 

Unfortunately, the mystery in the movie comes second to the daughter and mother relationship which makes Time Now feel a bit slower than it needs to be, especially when Jenny is compelled by her sense of being the oldest to try and solve the mystery surrounding his death.  The drama trumps her sense of duty.

Co-starring Xxavier Polk, Paige Kendrick, Dwele, Sebastian Beacon, Jeannine Thompson, Peter Knox, Aaron Matthew Atkisson, Asher Atkisson, Dominique Alexander , and Ashley Sheri and featuring incredible R&B jams from Dwele, Time Now is subtle in its roll-out which will make some audiences lose interest in the mystery surrounding the death of Jenny’s brother.  The drama isn't hard to ignore, but it is far less involving.

Dark Star Pictures and Uncork’d Entertainment are premiering Time Now , writer/director Spencer King ’s new mystery-thriller starring Eleanor Lambert (daughter of acclaimed actors Diane Lane and Christopher Lambert ) and Claudia Black ( Farscape, The Nevers ), at this year’s Austin Film Festival.  The film will then play theaters and release on On-Demand platforms in North America on the 26th of October.

Half a truth is often one great lie. 

MPAA Rating: Unrated. Runtime: 90 mins Director : Spencer King Writer: Spencer King Cast: Eleanor Lambert; Claudia Black; Xxavier Polk Genre : Thriller Tagline: Half a Truth is Often a Great Lie. Memorable Movie Quote: Theatrical Distributor: Dark Star Pictures and Uncork’d Entertainment Official Site : Release Date : October 26, 2021 DVD/Blu-ray Release Date : Synopsis : Several years after a falling out with her family in Detroit, a young woman returns to the city she grew up in to mourn the sudden death of her twin brother. Upon meeting her brother's eclectic group of friends, stepping into the scene he belonged to, and navigating the urban playground that is Detroit, she soon discovers that his death is not what it seems.

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Directed by Spencer King

Half a truth is often a great lie.

A young mother returns to her estranged hometown of Detroit after the sudden death of her twin brother and immerses herself in his friend group, soon discovering that his death is not what it seems.

Eleanor Lambert Claudia Black Xxavier Polk Paige Kendrick Jeannine Thompson Peter Knox

Director Director

Spencer King

Writer Writer

Disarming Films

Releases by Date

23 oct 2021, releases by country.

90 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by SuzezMovies ★★½

I chose this movie to watch because it was classified as a thriller. I had never heard of it before, but it seemed like one where I could be entertained without having to concentrate too hard. I was wrong. It was a confusing family drama that required my full attention just to try and understand anything that was happening. The mystery element was intriguing enough to keep me watching but I was getting extremely bored and frustrated with the way we were being fed the details of the story. The performances were okay and I thought Eleanor Lambert (daughter of Christopher Lambert and Diane Lane) as the main character Jenny did a convincing enough job portraying the grieving misunderstood daughter/sister…

Review by Brandon Stanwyck ★★★

Long live Claudia Black

Full Review

Review by suttercain ★★

I think the filmmaker has some good instincts on display and the actors are game, the script is just missing the propulsion that it needs. Sometimes slow burn films fizzle out before they reach the powder keg.

Review by Kip Mooney ★★

Appropriately atmospheric, but dull for long stretches and then horribly misguided.

Review by Alexa ★

Maybe one of the most boring movies I've seen. I can appreciate a slow burn but this one is unbearably slow with so little substance to it. The script is mostly reasonable but occasionally there's just some of the worst dialogue I've heard—people saying the most bizarre non sequiturs ever and I don't think it's even done as a way to make weird vibes or something like that. And a lot of sketchy acting in this. Then the ending is just so grim for seemingly no reason. Felt like a waste of my time, honestly.

Review by E. B. Anderson

What is even happening?

Review by LigeiaCorpse ★★★

Its a quiet and slow burn. Sometimes maybe a little too quiet and can be boring at times. I didnt hate it though

Review by ☭mz☭ ★★★

A fairly well done first outing from a new director that’s just lacking some of the meat that you get in similar flicks like Blue Ruin . Looking forward to seeing a more developed style moving forward.

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Time Now: Review

Jenny ( Eleanor Lambert ) has been estranged from her family for some time. When her twin brother, Gonzo ( Sebastian Beacon ) unexpectedly dies though, Jenny has to go home to be reacquainted with the family.

When she does get home, her mother Helen ( Jeannie Thompson ), isn’t exactly thrilled to see her. However, Jenny’s aunt Joan ( Claudia Black ) is more than happy to pick up where they left off, especially when she meets Jenny’s son.

Time Now is a drama about grief, loss and family which takes its time in telling its story. The pacing and the setting for Time Now does make its audience wait, but it also makes it feel more real. As Jenny starts to meet more people that were in her brother’s life, she realises that she could always rely on her brother to do the right thing.

Although as the story of the last few days of his life are told, Jenny comes to realise that that can’t be said for everybody else.

The story for Time Now has many avenues it could have gone down. It could have been a heart-warming drama about getting back with family and healing old wounds. It could have been a crime thriller where Jenny’s hunt for her brother’s killer could have ended in a dramatic and satisfying showdown. It could have also been about the emotional journey that Jenny takes as she grieves for the person that she was the closest to in her life.

Unfortunately, although Time Now goes for a realistic portrayal of life and doesn’t try to go the melodramatic route to play on audience’s emotions, it does feel like the characters are at an arm’s length. The audience gets to know Jenny through her interactions with people and the stories they tell told in flashbacks help to round out a character that they didn’t get to know. However, when it comes down to Jenny’s motivations and her feelings, it feels like the filmmakers want the audience to have to assume without saying.

This may have worked in some films, but the ending may leave people feeling a bit cold. This is because although some may have guessed where it was going, there never really is a connection that gives the audience a reason to understand her.

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FilmSnobReviews

Review: Time Now

Title:  Time Now Director:  Spencer King Starring:  Eleanor Lambert, Xxavier Polk, Claudia Black MPAA Rating:  R Runtime:  1 hr 30 mins

What It Is:  A young mother returns to her estranged hometown of Detroit after the sudden death of her twin brother and immerses herself in his friend group, soon discovering that his death is not what it seems.

What We Think: While being a fairly well put together picture,  Time Now  is missing something. All the performances are great here, and the cinematography is excellent – but therein lies the main gripe I had with the film. There’s simply no core to this story. The entirely of the film’s runtime is filled with gloom and doom, which might sound suitable for the film’s story, but it really drags the 90 minute runtime into something that feels like 150.

Again, the film is well-shot (although in some instances I felt like the coloring felt a bit too on the nose with the mood), and everyone here does a good job acting-wise. Eleanor Lambert delivers a subtle yet conflicted performance, and is interesting to watch as the lead character here. The supporting cast… supports in the best way they can. I’m going to be quite frank, besides the presentation and acting, Time Now  didn’t grab me at all. Perhaps it might just be my film snob self here, but the buildup towards the film’s climax wasn’t all that interesting, and by the final 15 minutes I experienced but a twinge of emotion. That’s quite a subjective opinion, I know, but when a film presents like a slow burn within a 90 minute runtime, I find myself to be less invested when there’s nothing left from the flames.

I will mention this though – the film builds its atmosphere quite well, with Evan Bishton’s score somberly echoing through this tragic, cold landscape of a story. There are images in here that will draw you into the film’s world for a moment, but it also makes you feel like you don’t want to stay – if you know what I mean.

Our Grade:  C+;  A well made film technically with good performances,  Time Now  never really reached the center mark of its slowly ticking narrative. If you like ambiance and calm sadness, I’d say check this one out.

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Spencer King’s Time Now tracks the grief-driven descent of Jenny (Eleanor Lambert, the daughter of Diane Lane & Christopher Lambert), a young mother forced to reopen old family wounds after a tragedy brings her home. Eleanor’s family is Detroit-born and -bred, but she left them all behind when, wanting nothing to do with them, she and her husband moved north. Unfortunately, Eleanor’s husband cheats, and she’s miserable, secluded and alone. It’s a lousy life she leads, lousier when she gets the call that Victor (Sebastian Beacon), her twin brother, died in a car accident.

Back in the city, Jenny reconnects with her family to mixed results. Her mother, Joan (Claudia Black), resents her. Her father, Geoff (Peter Knox), is less harsh. Her aunt Helen (Jeannine Thompson) does her best to help Jenny and watch her son, Andrew, while Jenny tries to piece herself together. She finds herself connecting with Victor’s friends and coming to learn he had a thriving life in the local arts scene under the pseudonym Gonzo. Victor’s friend Kash (Xxavier Polk) and a girl named Tanja (Paige Kendrick) help Jenny more deeply understand her brother’s world. Soon, though, she starts to suspect the car accident might not have been the whole story behind her brother’s untimely demise.

Time Now is billed as a thriller. There’s a gun introduced at the start that does eventually go off, a murder-mystery and some psychedelia to make the audience questions Jenny’s mental state. However, there’s not much that’s thrilling for most of the running time. It’s a dirge of sorts, a bleak and unsparing look a woman at the end of her ability to handle everything life is throwing at her. She wants to find a purpose in Victor’s death partly because she doesn’t want to believe he’s gone, but mostly because she feels she failed him. Where the story goes is, admittedly, shocking and fresh. But to call it thrilling? I don’t know if that’s the right word. “Compelling” would be more accurate for its high points.

That said, there’s a lot of Time Now that doesn’t quite sing — well-meaning monologues in the front seats of cars, church sermons, sudden lapses into spoken poetry performances. There’s a lot going on and it doesn’t all gel from moment to moment. Despite the best efforts of the cast, it’s a fairly thin story without much in the way of B-plot to accompany Jenny’s downward spiral. It’s her show — and Lambert does a good job in the role — but by the end, my emotional state was closer to exhaustion than anything else.

On balance, the willingness in King’s script to take Time Now in an unconventional direction in its final moments makes the more frustrating moments of the film worthwhile. It’s certainly well-cast, mostly well-shot and, in its best moments, not what you expect.

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Eleanor Lambert (Jenny) Claudia Black (Joan) Xxavier Polk (Kash) Paige Kendrick (Tanja) Sebastian Beacon (Gonzo) Jeannine Thompson (Helen) Peter Knox (Geoff) Dwele Ashley Sheri (Breonna) Aaron Matthew Atkisson (Mark)

Spencer King

A young mother returns to her estranged hometown of Detroit after the sudden death of her twin brother and immerses herself in his friend group, soon discovering that his death is not what it seems.

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The American site for cinema, TV and Netflix | Today is : July 6, 2024

Eleanor Lambert is all poise in the slow-brewed thriller “TIME NOW” | OUR MOVIE REVIEW

The past. Guilt, tragedy, regret, what we wish we could leave behind stays with us, sometimes becoming our life’s burden.

In the new film “Time Now,” Jenny (Eleanor Lambert) returns home to Detroit years after a falling-out with her family, when her brother Victor (Sebastian Beacon) dies in a car accident.

To make sense of her brother’s life in the city, Jenny interacts with his inner circle of friends and discovers that the circumstances regarding his death may not be as clear cut as they seem.

As Jenny gets deeper into her brother’s world, her life and the mystery of her brother’s death begin to take a darker turn.

Coming home in a time of grief is when we need our family the most. Jenny’s homecoming is less than comforting. Her mother (Jeannine Thompson) still resents her and does not even try to know her grandson, Jenny’s boy.

Writer/director Spencer King has directed a film around the crippling effect of grief on family. For Jenny, there is no relief, no solace and no escape from her pain. As she gets closer to the reason for her brother’s demise, King coaxes Jenny’s woes out of muted takes and wide shots that take full advantage of the frame.

Sean Mouton’s cinematography captures the cold bleakness of Detroit. His camera snakes through the shadowy streets, neighborhoods, and back-alley nightlife, giving the film a modern Noir feel.

Once Jenny begins to unravel the mystery, King’s screenplay goes even darker, wrapping the story in danger and an unrelenting dread.

Evan Bishton’s score, one of the film’s biggest strengths, is eerie and lingering. The ambient queues carry the darkness of the film’s drama while bringing out the melancholy that blankets Jenny’s life.

The character of Jenny has an inner tension that seems fueled by regret and anger. She is far from a normal protagonist. Jenny is strange and unable to properly communicate her pain. Lambert, in a strong performance that reveals the poise and desperation in her charac captures this broken soul, allowing her performance to bring about compassion for Jenny and an understanding of her trauma.

Xxavier Polk’s Kash enters the film as Jenny’s brother’s friend who is an emerging musician. His character is important to the emotion of the piece. The actor’s performance is measured and calm and finds a dramatic symmetry with Lambert’s.

“Time Now” is a dark, dramatic, and seriously-involving thriller that bleeds internal pain. Spencer King has directed it with a sure hand and anchors his work with a striking lead performance from Eleanor Lambert.

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'Time Now,' indie drama set and shot in Detroit, explores mystery of young artist's death

In "Time Now," a young woman's search for answers about her brother's death sheds light on his life as a promising Detroit artist.

"Your brother found inspiration in every corner of this city," says Tanja (Paige Kendrick), the girlfriend of Victor (Sebastian Beacon), whose death in a car accident draws Jenny (Eleanor Lambert) back home in this pensive 90-minute indie.

The same holds true for Spencer King, the 24-year-old director and screenwriter who recently premiered his debut feature at the Austin Film Festival.

”Having spent five years in Detroit, every second of every day, I felt inspired by the people around me," he says.

Shot in 15 days across the Motor City region in April 2019 with a small cast and a local crew, "Time Now" arrived this week on video on demand. It takes a subtle approach to revealing a mystery that's also a tragedy on a very human scale. With its unhurried pace and moody tone, it harkens back to a time when experiencing a movie didn't involve competing distractions.

”We’re in such a world of when you’re watching movies, people are on their phones and they’re checking Instagram. You’re not going to like this film if you’re doing that,” says King with candor.

Paying attention, however, will give audiences a chance to absorb this quietly absorbing family drama that features an intriguing performance by Lambert, the daughter of well-known actors Diane Lane ("Under the Tuscan Sun") and Christopher Lambert ("Highlander").

In the movie, Lambert's Jenny returns home several years after becoming estranged from her family. As she learns more about her brother's life in an arts community, she faces truths that may not fit her preconceptions.

More: Metro Detroit native's new novel 'The Pessimists' considered fall must-read

More: Outdoor film festival in Detroit focuses on array of global independent movies

The Russell Industrial Center was the site for the vibrant art gallery and bar where Victor's paintings are used as a backdrop for a performance by Kash (Xxavier Polk), a  friend of his and a rising music star who's about to sign a record deal.

Kash's label executive is played by Dwele, the noted Detroit singer-songwriter and producer whose casting was a bit of serendipity.

"We were looking for an Airbnb to rent to shoot in (for Victor's home). We found one. We went and saw it.  And guess who was the owner of it? It was Dwele," recalls King. "Of course, we started talking. He’s so cool. I was like, 'Man, there’s a role in my film I would love for you to play'. He read the script and he was into it. I don’t think there’s (another) city in the world … that that would happen in."

King grew up in Los Angeles and is the son of Amy Berg, a documentary filmmaker whose work includes 2006's Oscar-nominated "Deliver Us from Evil." He originally came to Detroit to attend the College for Creative Studies, where he studied painting, sculpting and filmmaking for two years.

While in Detroit, he made some short films and a 30-minute documentary, "Death On Me: The Story of Dex Osama," about the rapper who was shot and killed in Detroit in 2015. Since posting last year, it has received nearly 700,000 hits on YouTube.

King found a supportive film community and some important mentors in Detroit, despite the drastic slowdown in large and medium-sized productions that occurred after Michigan's film incentives were ended in 2015.

King says the low-budget project's short filming window was challenging. "It’s a 90-page script and we had 15 days to shoot it. That’s six pages a day. The hardest thing when you don’t have a big budget is you have to think logistically all the time, and it’s really hard to keep the creative in your mind," he says, describing how he and director of photography Sean Mouton spent months visiting locations and storyboarding every shot. 

CCS alum Stevie Miller provided the paintings that are credited to Victor in the script, and that help bring the gallery setting to life. In a scene that evokes Detroit's tucked-away amazing spaces, Jenny walks down an industrial-looking hallway and opens a plain door into the visually dazzling gallery space hidden behind it.

"It’s such a hard city to visit unless you know the right people. You can’t always see what’s so special about it. You've kind of got to work for it. There is something so special about the random places that communities are formed in," says King.

Just as Jenny is an outsider to her brother’s artistic community, King had to discover Detroit. What he found shaped the film's portrayal of the city.

"As much as I’d love to say I’m a local — and I feel that way, (but) I know that I’m not — there’s something about the way people approach (filming) in Detroit that’s very much either Detroit ruin porn and they’re going to go into the abandoned buildings ... or it’s a sense of, 'We’re back and we’re amazing,'"

King says the real Detroit is "a place (where) people have real lives.” He didn’t want to tell viewers how to feel about the city. Instead, he wants audiences to challenge their own perceptions about the Motor City.

"Time Now" builds tension about Jenny's family secrets without descending into heavy violence and over-the-top dramatics. That was a very conscious choice by King. 

"It’s easy when you’re writing a script, when you’re trying to finish something, to inflate everything," he explains. As a self-admitted fan of subtle films, he admits that not going big can be risky.

"Something that I very much value is subtlety. … It’s also something that makes the film not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s so subtle that if you miss one thing, you might not understand another thing,"

King used several of his favorite spots in Detroit as locations, including John K. King Used & Rare Books and Belle Isle. "There were a hundred different versions of the script and there was not one that did not have Belle Isle in it," he says with a laugh. 

The goal now is to find a streaming home for "Time Now" and also screen it in Detroit.

“I’m so sad that the Main Art closed. I really wanted to show it there," he says, citing the Royal Oak theater that announced in June via its marquee that it was closing "I saw so many amazing movies at that place. It’s such a bummer.”

As King drops the name of another venue that might work, his loyalties are clear. Although he left Detroit about a year ago to begin other journeys, he still considers it s second home.

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at [email protected].

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Movie Review: TIME NOW

Slow, somber family drama.

TIME NOW movie poster | ©2021 Dark Star Pictures/Uncork’d Entertainment

Rating: Not Rated Stars: Eleanor Lambert, Xxavier Polk, Claudia Black, Paige Kay, Sebastian Beacon, Dwele, Jeannine Thompson, Peter Knox, Asher Atkisson, Ashli Sheri, Aaron Matthew Atkisson Writer: Spencer King Director: Spencer King Distributor: Dark Star Pictures/Uncork’d Entertainment Release Date: October 26, 2021

TIME NOW is a slow, somber family drama. At its best, TIME NOW can be said to be a steady build to what can happen when someone is desperate to blame anybody else for their own shortcomings. Director and writer Spencer King illustrates this point well.

Unfortunately, TIME NOW is one of those movies that too often tries to be mysterious at the expense of character insights and even coherence. Consequently, it is not especially fulfilling.

Eleanor Lambert stars as Jenny, who returns to her family home in Detroit for the first time in quite a while (we eventually find out it’s been seven years) with her toddler Andrew (Asher Atkisson) in tow.

The occasion is the death of Jenny’s brother Victor (Sebastian Beacon, seen in flashbacks), who was killed in a car accident with a friend. A third brother, the namesake of Jenny’s son – Jenny, Victor, and Andrew were triplets – is not in the picture. It is indicative of a larger issue with TIME NOW that we eventually find out what happened, but not why.

After spending three minutes with Jenny’s mother Helen (Jeannine Thompson), we easily understand why Jenny fled and has been reluctant to return home. Still, Jenny is guilty about not having been there for Victor. She decides to look into his life, and discovers his work and his friends. Then she discovers something else.

It’s hard to talk about TIME NOW without touching on aspects that the film treats as spoilers. What can be said is that Jenny is not an easy figure to have at the story’s center. Even people who see themselves as not being in the spotlight have needs and wants and preferences, but Jenny is pretty much defined by what she avoids. This isn’t the fault of Lambert, who plays Jenny’s sorrow with conviction.

King seems to be actively pushing against our connection with the characters, often using wide shots and shadows to maintain distance. We understand what’s happening intellectually, but we can’t feel it viscerally.

Claudia Black provides warmth as Jenny’s supportive aunt, and Xxavier Polk and Paige Kay have impact as people who were important to Victor.

There might or might not be a racial component to TIME NOW . Perhaps the ambiguity is intentional. Fair enough, but we still ought to have some kind of emotional reaction to what’s happening, or at least get a sense that we’re encountering a new point of view.

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A young mother returns to her estranged hometown of Detroit after the sudden death of her twin brother and immerses herself in his friend group, soon discovering that his death is not what it seems.

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Tv/streaming, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, black writers week, this is me ... now: a love story.

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Fairy tale music swells as an ornate storybook fills the screen. "Have you ever heard the story of Alida and Taroo?," asks star Jennifer Lopez with a compelling earnestness. The storybook’s illustrations come to life as Lopez proceeds to narrate the Puerto Rican myth about star-crossed lovers from warring tribes who are transformed by the gods into a red flower and blue hummingbird. Lopez, who wrote and conceived "This Is Me … Now: A Love Story" a companion film to her first album in a decade (also called This Is Me … Now ), uses this myth to trace the ups and downs of her own life which seems, at last, to have found its own fairy tale ending through her romantic reunion with and marriage to Ben Affleck (who makes a very cheeky cameo reminiscent of his 2008 SNL appearance mocking Keith Olbermann.)

After this magical prelude, the story cuts to J. Lo on the back of a motorcycle, her face pure bliss as she holds tightly to the driver while the two careen down a picturesque mountainous beachscape. That is until the motorcycle crashes, the two separate, and the picture crumbles, leaving Lopez stranded in an apocalyptic steampunk heart factory. Here we get the film’s first musical interlude "Hearts and Flowers," its lyrics as cheesy and earnest as Lopez's narration. "I made it through the rain, the trauma and the pain," she sings as she and the factory workers — styled a la Fritz Lang's "Metropolis” — frenetically work to refill the breaking metal heart with the petals of red flowers, all which seem to have wilted away. 

Although Lopez's vocals have a little too much autotune for my taste, her dance moves are as energetic and crisp as ever. In the sequence set to the song " Rebound ," couples residing in a glass house are bound to each other with pieces of long, colored cloth. When they pull away, the cloth yanks them back together like yo-yos, in choreography in the Tanztheater style pioneered by the late German modern dancer Pina Bausch. Another sequence set in a group therapy session draws inspiration from “Mein Herr” from “ Cabaret ,” with Lopez bringing a stripped-down emotional rawness to the choreography.

The film weaves back and forth between these dreamlike sequences set to tracks from her new album, therapy sessions Lopez has with her good friend Fat Joe , and some truly unhinged moments with a group of astrological stars (played by literal stars Jane Fonda , Post Malone , Keke Palmer , Jennifer Lewis , Kim Petras , Jay Shetty , Sofia Vergara , Neil deGrasse Tyson, Trevor Noah , and Sadhguru) known as the Zodiacal Council. Although each star plays one of the corresponding Zodiac signs, hilariously there is no representation for Aquarius or Capricorn. I'll let the astrology girlies figure that one out. Of these vignettes the ones with Fat Joe work the best due to his calming energy and the strong rapport after decades of professional collaborations and friendship. Oscar-nominee Paul Raci also brings his steadfast presence to one of the more successful vignettes as the leader of a Romantics Anonymous group therapy session.

Along with using the lyrics of her songs and the film's visuals as both a therapy session and confessional about the star's personal life, Lopez also explores how aspects of her filmography were part of her romantic self-expression, for better or for worse. The visuals accompanying the album's first single "Can't Get Enough" not only poke fun at Lopez's three failed marriages, they also play around with her star persona in romantic comedies (especially wedding-set ones like " The Wedding Planner ,” “ Marry Me ,” and " Shotgun Wedding "). Later a cheesy monologue she delivers about believing in soulmates is interrupted by Fat Joe saying time is up for their session and after yet another breakup she's seen watching " The Way We Were " mouthing along to Barbra Streisand's lines. Part of what made her such an alluring romance star came from Lopez being herself a hopeless romantic. She brings an open tenderness to her rom-com roles because she understands them, and she understands fans of them. She never once looks down on the genre as something lesser. 

"This Is Me … Now: A Love Story" is both a therapeutic confessional and a grand, romantic fantasy. Unfortunately, it is often hindered by lackluster CGI visuals, uneven editing, and awkward staging and camera set ups. Director Dave Meyers just doesn't ever quite have a handle on Lopez's vision. In an homage to " Singin' in the Rain " Lopez perfectly matches Gene Kelly's glee in that film’s iconic rain scene, yet the way Meyers frames the star muffles the scene's intended magic. 

Regardless of its technical faults, there is bravery here as Lopez opens up her old wounds for all to see, sharing her biggest mistakes, her deepest scars, and the work she put in to heal herself first, before she could be ready for the love story that she grew up so desperately wishing for. That she keeps her happy ending all to herself might leave some viewers cold, but I think after decades of intense media scrutiny nearly tearing them apart, Bennifer 2.0 have earned their quiet little place in the sun.

On Amazon Prime on Friday.

Marya E. Gates

Marya E. Gates is a freelance film and culture writer based in Los Angeles and Chicago. She studied Comparative Literature at U.C. Berkeley, and also has an overpriced and underused MFA in Film Production. Other bylines include Moviefone, The Playlist, Crooked Marquee, Nerdist, and Vulture. 

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This Is Me…Now: A Love Story (2024)

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By The New York Times

The Wild (and wildly uneven) West.

‘Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1’

The first film in Kevin Costner’s projected four-film cycle collects various depictions of the Old West starting in the Civil War.

From our review:

“Horizon” is wildly uneven, at times exasperating and filled with distracting details that eat away at its period realism. Among other things, no one seems to know how to spit tobacco, and to judge from the women’s perfect updos and tidy eyebrows, everyone on this frontier has a stylist in tow. It’s easy to smirk at these and other miscues; Costner also has a weakness for speeches, like many filmmakers. But he has a feel for the western and the landscapes of the West.

In theaters. Read the full review.

Starring Lupita Nyong’o but also a VIP cat.

‘a quiet place: day one’.

In Michael Sarnoski’s prequel to the “A Quiet Place” franchise, Samira (Lupita Nyong’o) fights to survive an alien invasion in New York City alongside her cat, Frodo.

Indeed, the action set pieces are fine but also perfunctory, as if they were a nonnegotiable item Sarnoski had to cross off a checklist. “Day One” is on much surer ground when dealing with the quiet that bookends the storms. And it is at its very best whenever Nyong’o’s face fills the screen, like the postapocalyptic heroine of a silent movie. What she can do with relatively little is simply astonishing, and you absolutely believe in both Samira’s despair and her determination.

In theaters. Read the full review .

Great performances, meh drama.

This drama captures the conversations between a cabdriver, Clark (Sean Penn), and the passenger he calls Girlie (Dakota Johnson).

Handicapped by more than a terrible title, Christy Hall’s “Daddio,” set almost entirely inside a New York City taxicab, tries too hard and lasts too long. A synthetic encounter between a gabby cabby and his self-possessed female passenger, the movie is a claustrophobic two-hander oxygenated in part by Phedon Papamichael’s sleekly gorgeous cinematography. The star power of its leads, Sean Penn and Dakota Johnson, doesn’t hurt either.

Two’s company, three’s a crowded rom-com.

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Screen Rant

What went wrong with kevin costner's yellowstone replacement & what happens now.

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Yellowstone's Kevin Costner Exit: Why I'm So Glad We Can Finally End The John Dutton Return Talk

Horizon repeats a multi-million dollar kevin costner gamble for the 15th time in 33 years, every death in horizon: an american saga chapter 1 explained.

• Kevin Costner followed his Yellowstone exit with the costly Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 , which has underperformed at the box office.
• A variety of factors likely went into this lack of commercial success, including poor reviews and a lavish budget.
• Chapter 1 's performance casts doubt on the movie's upcoming three follow-ups.

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 was meant to be Kevin Costner's replacement for the neo-Western series Yellowstone , but it has not quite panned out. The two-time Oscar-winning director and actor has long been associated with the Western genre, having appeared in projects including Wyatt Earp , Dances with Wolves , and Open Range , directing the latter two titles in addition to appearing in them. When he took on the role of John Dutton in the Taylor Sheridan show, he made his triumphant return to the genre.

The Kevin Costner Western proved to be quite popular, gathering an ever-growing audience that allowed the season 5 premiere to break the record for the most-watched series premiere of 2022 (as of that November) with 12.1 million viewers tuning in. The show has also spawned a variety of spinoffs, including the prequels 1883 and 1923 , an upcoming sequel show, and more. However, Costner departed the series after appearing in season 5 part 1 , and it was also announced that the upcoming part 2 will be the flagship show's final episodes.

Kevin Costner will officially not be reprising his role as John Dutton in Yellowstone season 5, part 2, which is fantastic news for the show.

Kevin Costner's Yellowstone Exit & How Horizon Was Supposed To Replace It

Costner departed the neo-western series amid backstage drama.

Kevin Costner's Yellowstone exit came amid a flurry of rumors about a rift between the star and creator Taylor Sheridan. While the exact nature of those claims remains unclear, Costner himself told The Hollywood Reporter that the reason he left was that " After this long year and a half of working on Horizon... I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue season 5B or into the future. " Thus, his new movie saga became positioned as more or less a direct replacement for the series , whether that was intentional or not.

Why Horizon Received Negative Reviews

The kevin costner movie has 46% on rotten tomatoes.

While Costner's status as a Western star seemed secure after Yellowstone , the Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 reviews put the first dent in the saga's prospects after its Cannes premiere in May 2024. At the time of writing, the movie has a score of 46% aggregated from 114 critics' reviews on Rotten Tomatoes . While audiences have ranked it higher with a 71% Rotten Tomatoes user score and a somewhat less grim B- CinemaScore, much criticism has been leveled against the project.

At the time of writing, more than 1,000 verified user ratings of Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 have been submitted to Rotten Tomatoes.

While many critics have expressed appreciation for Costner's earnest approach to the material and the way the story builds as it goes along, it has drawn heavy criticism for its initial haphazard presentation of many scattered characters and storylines as well as its drawn-out run time, which clocks in at 3 hours and 1 minute. Many have also compared it to a smaller-scale television Western rather than the cinematic epic that was promised by the movie's publicity campaign.

Why Horizon Chapter 1 Didn't Perform Well At The Box Office

Many factors could prevent the movie from breaking even theatrically.

In addition to being a critical disappointment, Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 has so far suffered at the box office. It opened at No. 3 with an $11 million weekend, which puts it on track to fall significantly short of its break-even point . The first two chapters of the intended four-part saga reportedly cost a whopping $100 million together. Presuming this indicates that Chapter 1 cost roughly $50 million, it likely means that the movie would need to earn at least $100 million worldwide in order to turn a profit.

Theaters typically keep half of ticket sales, which makes most movies' break-even points roughly double their production budgets, but that number doesn't include marketing costs.

There are quite a few likely reasons that the movie's box office has so far fallen short of that $100 million marker. The first is the negative reviews, as the Cannes premiere took place a full month before its theatrical release, giving prospective viewers plenty of time to feel nervous about the prospect of committing three hours - and potentially an additional nine hours down the road, given the fact that this is only chapter one - to watching the project. Yellowstone audiences used to watching Costner's Western material at home may also be waiting to view the movie on VOD.

Additionally, despite Yellowstone 's popularity, the show hasn't necessarily boosted Costner's status as a movie star since it premiered in 2018. Of the eight movies featuring Costner in a prominent role released since 2010, only two earned back more than twice their budget, both of which were released before Yellowstone . Plus, none earned more than $52.6 million, a number that falls considerably short of Horizon 's break-even point. This indicates that the marketplace may not have been receptive to such an ambitious project from the filmmaker. Below, see a breakdown of how Costner-led or co-led theatrical movies performed from 2010 to 2023:

Has Kevin Costner Earned His Money Back For Horizon?

Costner partially self-financed the new western.

In addition to the movie's financial prospects determining its worth as a replacement for Yellowstone , Costner has a large personal stake in the movie , having self-financed a large portion of its hefty budget. This is in keeping with a long-term pattern of behavior for the star, who has partially self-financed more than a dozen of his own projects, many of which have then flopped in theaters.

Set for a 2024 release, the two-part Horizon is one of Kevin Costner's most ambitious risks yet—and he's no stranger to multi-million dollar gambles.

It is unclear if Kevin Costner's Horizon gamble paid off, because while it has been confirmed that he spent at least $38 million of his own money on the production, the exact degree to which he is supporting the movie's release is unknown. A recent Business Insider report suggests that, if Costner also had a hand in the marketing costs, the movie would have to gross $65 million at the domestic box office in order for Costner to recoup his investment. At the time of writing, this does not seem like a possibility.

Will Horizon 2, 3 & 4 Still Happen?

Horizon is meant to be the first chapter of an epic saga.

It remains to be seen if the critical and commercial reception of Chapter 1 will alter the plan for the upcoming Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2 and beyond. Chapter 2 is already completed and dated to premiere in theaters on August 16. It seems probable that this release will continue as planned, though it could potentially be delayed to allow VOD audiences to find Chapter 1 . Its release will likely not be compromised, given the fact that some ticketbuyers have already purchased a bundle that allows them to see both the first and second movies in theaters.

It seems possible that the ending could be truncated and included in Chapter 3...

However, the future of the saga seems like it could be in jeopardy. Chapter 3 is already in production, so it's possible that it could be completed. However, the ultimate fate of Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 and its sequel could very well result in the outright cancellation of the planned Chapter 4 . Should that be the case, it seems possible that the ending could be truncated and included in Chapter 3 in order to deliver a more or less complete story without the fourth chapter.

Source: Business Insider & THR

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 is a Western film directed by Kevin Costner, and sees him in the starring role. The film explores multiple generations surrounding the expansion of the American West before and after the Civil War. Horizon is the first in a series of four films, all of which were greenlit by Warner Bros. Pictures.

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• User reviews

Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot

The true story of Donna and Reverend WC Martin and their church in East Texas, in which 22 families adopted 77 children from the local foster system, igniting a movement for vulnerable child... Read all The true story of Donna and Reverend WC Martin and their church in East Texas, in which 22 families adopted 77 children from the local foster system, igniting a movement for vulnerable children everywhere. The true story of Donna and Reverend WC Martin and their church in East Texas, in which 22 families adopted 77 children from the local foster system, igniting a movement for vulnerable children everywhere.

• Joshua Weigel
• Rebekah Weigel
• Demetrius Grosse
• Elizabeth Mitchell
• 37 User reviews
• 19 Critic reviews

• Donna Martin

• Reverend WC Martin

• Susan Ramsey

• (as Aria Pulliam)

• (as Asher Clay)

• Pastor Mark
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia According to executive producer Letitia Wright , the film's message was to make the audience ask itself, "How do we as a community, not only the church, but how do we rally everyone to step in for the kids, because they are our future."
• Connections Featured in Townhall: DailyWire+ and Angel Studios Team Up (2024)

User reviews 37

• Jun 17, 2024
• When was Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot released? Powered by Alexa
• July 4, 2024 (United States)
• United States
• Peacetree Productions
• 3.16 Productions
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 7 minutes

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Controversial Donald Sutherland Movie Becomes Streaming Hit Over 50 Years Later

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A Donald Sutherland-led film that's over five decades old has resurfaced as a streaming hit. Originally released in 1973, the film found a new audience on streaming shortly after the passing of Sutherland .

Per Screen Rant , Reelgood's streaming data shows Don't Look Now ranking in the No. 8 spot on the list of the most popular films on streaming in the United States for the week of June 20 - 26. This renewed interest in the film comes more than five decades after Don't Look Now was originally released in theaters. The film, which is also free to stream on Pluto TV , follows the passing of lead star Donald Sutherland, who died on June 20 at the age of 88.

Donald Sutherland's Best Movies, Ranked

Donald Sutherland was a champion of the silver screen for decades and movies like The Dirty Dozen and Don't Look Now helped define his career.

The 51-year-old film is partly known for a controversial sex scene. The scene in question, featuring Sutherland and co-star Julie Christie, was graphic enough to warrant Don't Look Now getting an X rating in the UK, though it was barely able to get by with an R rating in the United States. Because of its perceived realism, there were rumors that persisted for years that the actors were legitimately intimate, but Sutherland and others involved with the production have claimed that's not true.

Donald Sutherland Denied Allegations of Unsimulated Sex on the Set

"Not true. None of it. Not the sex," a statement from Sutherland noted in part following claims that the sex in the film was unsimulated. "From beginning to end, there were four people in that room. [Director] Nic Roeg, [DP] Tony Richmond, Julie Christie and me. No one else. Wires under the locked door led outside, and this was 20 years before video monitors.”

This Classic Donald Sutherland Movie Remains One of the Best Remakes of All Time

1956's Invasion of the Body Snatchers is one of the greatest horror movies ever made, but the 1978 remake tops it, thanks to Sutherland's lead.

Don't Look Now is a very acclaimed film. It holds a Certified Fresh score of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, marking one of the highest of Sutherland's career . The score matches those garnered by Sutherland's Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Klute , though the prolific actor also appeared in the perfectly-scored films Path to War and Dr. Terror's House of Horrors.

Don't Look Now was directed by Nicolas Roeg and written by the team of Allan Scott and Chris Bryant; it was based on the short story of the same name by Daphne du Maurier. Sutherland and Christie portray a married couple reeling from the unexpected passing of their daughter. When the two travel to Venice, they are told by someone claiming to be clairvoyant that their daughter is trying to warn them of incoming danger from beyond the grave . The film also stars Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania, Massimo Serato, Renato Scarpa, and Giorgio Trestini.

Don't Look Now is streaming on Pluto TV .

Source: Screen Rant

Don't Look Now

This movie follows a grieving couple, John and Laura Baxter, who travel to Venice after the tragic death of their daughter. Amidst the city's eerie canals, they encounter a psychic claiming to have a message from their daughter.

‘Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot’ Review: Inspirational Drama Looks to Faith as a Healing Force for Foster Care

A Christian-themed drama produced by Letitia Wright’s company focuses on the efforts of a Texas minister, his first lady and their church that changed the lives of foster kids.

By Lisa Kennedy

Lisa Kennedy

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The East Texas town of Possum Trot received national notice in 2008 when ABC News, followed by “Oprah” and a slew of television shows that knew a heart-warmer when they saw it, sang the deserved praises of Rev. W.C. Martin and Donna Martin. The couple are the real-life basis of the faith-infused drama “ Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot ,” opening July 4 after a Juneteenth sneak nationwide.

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Nika King portrays the dynamic Donna, who is more force than mere helpmate. King’s honeyed voiceover begins the film with a kind of sentimentalism about childhood and its innocence. A camera flies low over the rust-colored dirt roads, green hills and woods of “Deep East Texas 1996.” If that label doesn’t make a claim on the southern roots of the people, the opening gospel song will.

“You shine with something you will never have again: innocence,” says the narrator. This line turns out to be more complicated than it sounds because the children who figure so prominently in this tale of rescue never got to claim a sense of innocence. And Donna, the owner of those halcyon reminiscences, will have her own naiveté about childhood tested.

After her mother, a matriarch to so many, passes, Donna falls into despair. “My anchor was gone,” she says. For a spell she is unmoored. When it comes, her epiphany unfolds somewhat hurriedly. A teary beseeching is disrupted by children playing in a field. That vision leads her to straighten her backbone with a determination wrought of faith. King and Grosse bring a believable warmth to their characters’ spirit-led marriage. Still, the beautiful work of adoption can be challenging under far easier conditions.

Through the character of Susan (Elizabeth Mitchell), a stalwart champion working in the state’s child protective agency, the film makes clear what upheaval the children have experienced in their young lives. That violence — hinted at and depicted — trends toward the harder edge of the movie’s PG-13 rating. There is no splatter, but domestic terror unfolds during a 6-year-old girl’s 911 call to report her mother in danger. Mercedes (Aria Pullam) and brother Tyler (Asher Clay) are in the house as the harrowing confrontation unfolds with the operator trying her best to grasp the situation while keeping Mercedes safe.

It’s Donna’s sibling Diann (Jillian Reeves) who adopts a child first. Then Donna and W.C. make a home for Tyler and Mercedes. Other families follow. The way Donna welcomes her sister’s son is not entirely comfortable: “Our God is a good god,” she says, making an object of the little guy. Is it spectacle, a bold gesture of deep gratitude or both?

There were 22 families who made homes for 77 kids in Possum Trot. And though we don’t see all the families, the early adopters in this melodrama understand the stakes. When the Martins begin adopting children, they already have two. Princeton (Taj Johnson) has a learning disability due to lack of oxygen, while daughter Ladonna (Kaysi J. Bradley) increasingly struggles with the arrival of these new siblings who demand her parents’ attention.

The most demanding of the new arrivals is Teri (Diaana Babnicova). Susan is initially wary of placing the 12-year-old with the Martins. She doesn’t want to set them up to fail. And the tween has behavioral issues that include pretending to be a cat, as well as a vexed relationship to intimacy due to sexual assault. Babnicova gives a thoughtfully quiet performance as a girl who is emotionally shut down but also bristling with need.

The scenes of W.C. calling Teri out on her feline impersonation may satisfy moviegoers seeking quick, seemingly sensible interventions: If she’s going be a cat, then she’ll be fed like a cat. But these scenes, which add a kind of levity to the situation, also elide the deeply traumatized handful Teri is. To the filmmakers’ credit, the movie delves more deeply into her confusion, recoil and unhealthy decisions.

The director cast himself as the white pastor of a well-heeled church amid its $1 million capital campaign. He has little time for the kind of compassion-led ministry the Martins and the Bennett congregation are engaged in. It’s a telling dig at megachurches and their gospel of prosperity that often leaves behind not just those in dire need, but also those most willing to walk the walk.

Reviewed online, June 27, 2024. MPA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 129 MIN.

• Production: An Angel Studios, Peachtree production, in association with 3:16 Prods. Producers: Joshua Weigel, Rebekah Weigel. Executive producers: Letitia Wright, Joe Knittig, Jordan Harmon, Jared Geesey, Nika King, Don Mandrick, Tiffany Fitzhenry.
• Crew: Director: Joshua Weigel. Screenplay: Joshua Weigel & Rebekah Weigel. Camera: Benji Bakshi, Sean Patrick Kirby. Editor: David Andalman. Music: Sean Philip Johnson.

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