March 4, 2022 “Welcome To Mama’s” (** out of four) was a treacly confection about a determined career woman (Melanie Scofano) who finds she inherits an Italian restaurant from a famous chef (Lorraine Bracco) and hires a blacklisted master chef (Daniel di Tomasso) looking for a second chance and soon finds that the sparks of love start to fly. Shimmering cinematography and lots of delicious-looking food to be sure but it’s made with an awful lot of flour and sugar and empty calories. Restaurant owners/food lovers might savor this more but even they’d likely be best re-watching “Big Night”, “Chef”, or “Like Water For Chocolate.” Continue reading →
March 4, 2022 “Beneath The Surface” (*1/2 out of four) was a grimly inert psychological thriller about a young woman (Georgie Banks) who survives a shark attack in which her mother and sister die and she begins to meet with a counselor to come to terms with all of her symptoms of anxiety as she prepares to jump back into the waters and confront her fears once and for all. Superficial story of PTSD and trauma is more exploitative than exploratory and some of the shark scenes look like they were shot in someone’s swimming pool. Banks does what she can with a thinly written role. Continue reading →
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