Title: Voicemails for Isabelle
Actors: Zoey Deutch, Nick Robinson
Director: Leah McKendrick
Writer: Leah McKendrick
Genre: Romance
Length: 1 hour and 58 minutes
My Rating:

Watch Voicemails for Isabelle on Netflix

Voicemails for Isabelle

Jill has always been very close to her sister, Isabelle. When Isabelle passed away, Jill struggled to let go of the bond they shared. She used to tell her sister everything, and even now she leaves voicemails for Isabelle, updating her on the events of her life.

What Jill doesn’t know is that Isabelle’s old phone number no longer belongs to her. The number now belongs to Wes, who has been receiving all of Jill’s messages. Rather than telling her, he finds himself looking forward to each voicemail. Through her stories, humor, and honesty, he becomes fascinated by the woman on the other end of the line.

Determined to meet her, Wes travels to San Francisco. As they get to know each other, they slowly fall in love. But there’s one thing Wes hasn’t told Jill: he’s the one who has been listening to all of the voicemails she thought she was leaving for her sister.

Review

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Title: Office Romance
Actors: Jennifer Lopez, Brett Goldstein, Betty Gilpin
Director: Ol Packer
Writers: Brett Goldstein, Joe Kelly
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Length: 1 hour and 54 minutes
My Rating:

Office Romance

Jackie is the CEO of Air Cruz, and she runs a tight ship. One day, her best lawyer gets into an accident involving a burrito, and Daniel Blanchflower has just started working for Air Cruz. He immediately has to step up. As a lawyer, Daniel has to work closely with Jackie, and he doesn’t mind that at all. From the moment he first saw her, he fell in love. As they spend more time together, they grow closer and closer, but they try to keep their distance. Dating a coworker is against company policy, and this isn’t exactly the right time to start a relationship anyway because of the lawsuit against Jackie and Air Cruz.

Review

I was sort of excited when I saw a new rom-com coming to Netflix. I mean, the movie starred Jennifer Lopez, and in the early 2000s, I was obsessed with her rom-coms. I loved watching them. At the same time, though, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this one. I watched the trailer and got some weird vibes from it. I wasn’t convinced it was going to be a great movie.

After watching it, I’m still not sure how I feel about it. There were some parts I genuinely liked, but there were also quite a few cringeworthy moments.

Let’s start with the positives. It wasn’t all bad, and I still enjoy seeing Jennifer Lopez in rom-coms. Honestly, I loved her outfits and overall style in this movie. I think Jennifer Lopez looks good in anything. The acting was pretty solid from both the main cast and most of the supporting characters.

I especially loved Sidney Bloom (Betty Gilpin), Jackie’s right-hand woman. She was funny most of the time, and her facial expressions were fantastic. George Dudek from HR (Tony Hale) had very little screen time, but he did an amazing job as well. I also loved Daniel’s sister, who is in jail. I think she was the funniest character in the entire movie. I enjoyed the cultural differences between the USA and England, too. At times, the movie even gave me some good early-2000s rom-com vibes. There were definitely a few scenes that worked really well.

Now for the things I liked less. Right from the beginning, I got a Hallmark movie feeling. Some scenes felt a bit cheap. I don’t really know how to explain it, but if you’ve ever watched Hallmark movies, you’ll probably understand what I mean. There’s a difference between a polished movie and a typical Hallmark movie. I’m not saying Hallmark movies are bad, but the production quality often feels lower. I got that feeling from this movie every now and then, although there were also some scenes that looked much higher quality.

Then there were the jokes, and this is the biggest reason I gave the movie only 3/5 hearts. It was all a bit over the top. The movie felt like a constant stream of jokes. I read another review that said this movie was made for people with a terrible attention span, and I kind of agree. Jokes are important in a rom-com, but not every single minute. Sometimes it felt like the movie was trying too hard to keep the audience’s attention.

My least favorite part was probably the childbirth scene. Was it really necessary to make it so explicit? I would have deleted that scene entirely, along with the jokes they made while Sidney was giving birth.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this movie. There were moments I genuinely liked and enjoyed, but there were also scenes that weren’t very funny and were sometimes even a little cringe-worthy.

Rating: 3/5 hearts.

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Title: Remarkably Bright Creatures
Actors: Sally Field, Lewis Pullman, Colm Meaney
Director: Olivia Newman
Writers: Shelby van Pelt, Olivia Newman
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Length: 1 hour and 50 minutes
Rating:

Watch this movie on Netflix

Remarkably Bright Creatures

Tova, an elderly woman who cleans the local aquarium, needs extra help after an accident makes her job more difficult. Meanwhile, Cameron Cassmore is searching for his father, but with little success. In the meantime, he takes a cleaning job at the aquarium.

Tova teaches Cameron everything he needs to know, including the fact that he should keep an eye on Marcellus, the octopus who enjoys sneaking out of his tank for nighttime adventures.

Marcellus is old, and he knows the end of his life is approaching. After witnessing Tova’s accident, the octopus becomes determined to do one last thing before he dies: help heal Tova. And the new cleaning guy might just be the key to making that happen.

Review

This movie is based on the book by Shelby Van Pelt, which had been on my wishlist for a while. At the same time, I wasn’t entirely sure if it would be my kind of story, even though I had heard nothing but positive reviews and knew it had an amazing rating on Goodreads. So instead, I decided to watch the movie adaptation first.

And honestly… I don’t even know where to begin. This might be one of the best Netflix Originals I’ve seen in a long time. I usually check out most of Netflix’s new releases, but they often end up being average or sometimes just bad. Then, on rare occasions like this, you come across something truly special.

The cast was wonderful. Sally Field was phenomenal, and I also really loved Lewis Pullman’s performance. Honestly, everyone in this movie did an amazing job. The casting felt perfect.

The story itself was beautiful and emotional. I had expected it to be a slow-paced movie, which was actually one of the reasons I hesitated to read the book in the first place, but it never felt slow to me. From the very beginning, I was completely invested in the story.

I especially loved how Marcellus, the octopus, tried to heal Tova and fill the emptiness in her heart. Tova has been through so much, and Marcellus makes it his final mission to help her find a little happiness again. The bond between Tova and Marcellus was truly special and one of the most heartwarming parts of the movie.

The ending made me cry. Honestly, I think I saw it coming, but that didn’t stop me from crying hard. I’m not even going to deny it. I also don’t want to explain exactly why it made me emotional because I don’t want to spoil too much, but the ending beautifully combines sadness, love, and family.

If you’re looking for a movie to watch during your next movie night, I highly recommend this one. It’s a beautiful, heartwarming drama, and I genuinely loved everything about it. I honestly couldn’t find a single thing I disliked. The acting was amazing, the story was amazing, and the emotional moments felt incredibly real.

We definitely need more movies and stories like this.

Even though I watched the movie before reading the book, and therefore can’t compare the two, I still absolutely want to read the book someday.

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Title: Roommates
Actors: Sadie Sandler, Chloe East, Aidan Langford
Director: Chandler Levack
Writers: Jimmy Fowlie, Ceara O’Sullivan
Producers: Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler
Genre: Comedy
Length: 1 hour and 47 minutes
My Rating:

Roommates

Devon has just graduated and is about to start college. She’s hopeful about this new chapter; maybe now she can finally make real friends. Devon has never felt like she truly belonged in a friend group, and she hopes that will change.

At an introduction event to meet other students, she tries really hard to make a new friend, but people think she’s a bit weird. Then she meets Celeste, and they have a good time together. They even decide to become roommates.

But the friendship Devon imagined turns out to be nothing as she expected; it slowly turns into a war of passive aggression.

Review

I’m not even sure how to start this review. I was just bored and wanted to watch a movie, so I picked this one. I had zero expectations, although the trailer looked decent. But I ended up having a lot to say about it.

Let’s start with the positives. I think Roommates definitely had potential. I didn’t hate it, and some of the actors were good. The actress who plays Celeste did a solid job. I mean, the character is terrible, but she portrayed that really well.

However, Celeste isn’t the only main character; there’s also Devon. She’s the shy, “weird” girl who has never really had friends, which was somewhat relatable. But I felt like Sadie Sandler (who plays Devon) was missing something. At first, her facial expressions felt a bit off, like she was in pain or something and for the rest of the movie, her performance was just… meh. I think what was missing was charisma.

And that brings me to my next point. I’m okay with a “nepo baby” if they can actually act, but right now, I’m not convinced Sadie Sandler is a strong actress. Especially when you realize that her father, Adam Sandler, produced this movie, it kind of feels like this project exists because she wants to act, and he’s helping her. That said, I hope she proves me wrong. I usually give actors (and authors) several chances before I completely give up on them. Maybe it was the wrong movie or she just needs a little bit more experience.

Devon also develops a romantic interest in her TA, Michael, but there’s basically zero chemistry between them. Honestly, it felt like she had more chemistry with her brother than with Michael.

Now, about the story. According to IMDb, this is supposed to be a comedy… but where? I didn’t laugh once. I would describe it more as a coming-of-age story. The delivery robots felt completely pointless, and overall, the execution could have been much better.

The movie also has a “story within a story” structure. It follows two roommates who are constantly fighting, while Dr. Schilling tells them a story about Devon and Celeste. In my opinion, it would have been stronger if they had removed that outer storyline entirely. It didn’t add much and just felt unnecessary.

So overall, I’m not the biggest fan of this movie. I’m giving it a 2.5 out of 5. I still think it had a lot of potential, but lately it feels like many movies have great ideas and very poor execution.

I would recommend skipping this one; it was pretty forgettable.

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Title: Reminders of Him
Actors: Maika Monroe, Tyriq Withers
Director: Vanessa Caswill
Writers: Colleen Hoover, Lauren Levine
Genre: Drama, Romance
Length: 1 hour 54 minutes
My Rating:

Reminders of Him

Kenna has just been released from prison after being involved in a car crash with her boyfriend, Scotty, in which he died. She survived the accident. Now, she has returned to the small town where she fell in love with him. But the main reason she’s back is to see her daughter, the child she had with Scotty, who was taken away from her at birth while she was in prison.

Now, Kenna is determined to prove that she can be a good mother.

Review

I had very low expectations for this movie. I’ve watched two other movies based on books by Colleen Hoover (It Ends With Us and Regretting You), and I wasn’t the biggest fan of those stories. Regretting You especially felt a bit boring to me. Still, I wanted to give this one a chance because the trailer looked promising.

And honestly, it wasn’t that bad. I actually think this might be the best story by Colleen Hoover so far. I know we’re also getting Verity this year, but I’ve read that book and wasn’t that impressed—it was just okay for me. Still, I’m curious to see how the movie adaptation will turn out.

Back to this movie called Reminders of Him: I thought it was a beautiful but sad story.

Kenna hasn’t been able to see her daughter because she was in prison after the accident where Scotty died. She left the scene, which is why she went to jail. But, of course, nothing is exactly as it seems—her side of the story is more complicated. She writes letters about what really happened that day and continues to write to Scotty, who was the love of her life.

Now that she’s back in town, people refuse to hire her because of her past. Ledger is one of the people keeping her away from her daughter, but they start spending more time together. He begins to see that she isn’t dangerous, and once he learns what really happened, he starts to help her.

Kenna was a likable character. She respects the boundaries set by others but still holds on to the hope that she’ll one day see her daughter again. The chemistry between Ledger and Kenna was really good, which made the story more engaging. It’s also quite emotional. Imagine losing the love of your life, spending years in prison, and then not being able to see your own child.

So yes, I would say this is my favorite Colleen Hoover story so far. It has romance, drama, and emotional depth. I actually had a pretty good time watching it. It definitely wasn’t as bad as I expected.

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Title: Hoppers
Voice Actors: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan and more
Director: Daniel Chong
Writers: Daniel Chong, Jesse Andrews, and more
Genre: Animation
Length: 1 hour and 44 minutes
My Rating:

Hoppers

Mabel used to struggle with anger issues until her grandmother showed her a special place that brought her a lot of peace. But after her grandmother’s death, the place is no longer filled with animals.

With the help of technology, she transforms into a beaver and sets out to discover why the animals left. She also tries to bring them back before the mayor destroys the area to build a new highway.

Review

I saw the trailer for this movie and got really excited. It looked like a very cute film. I love animated movies, and I knew I wanted to watch this one as well.

If you love animated movies and cute animals, then you’re probably going to enjoy this one too. It’s a beautiful story about a girl trying to save a special place she used to share with her grandmother. Mabel struggles with anger issues, although personally I think it’s more that she deeply cares about animals and nature. When her grandmother shows her this place, it brings her peace. But when the animals start disappearing, she decides to take action and save this place.

Mabel’s biggest enemy is the mayor. I liked how she stands up for what she believes in, even though the mayor doesn’t care at all. He is only focused on building a new highway and expanding the city. He doesn’t care about the animals or nature, and he’s even partly responsible for driving them away.

There’s also a funny side to the movie. At one point, Mabel discovers that her professor has created a mechanical beaver, and with the help of a machine, it’s possible to transfer a human mind into it. Mabel decides to do this because she believes she can save everything by becoming a beaver and bringing the animals back. As a beaver, she can communicate with other animals, which leads to some really fun and cute moments.

Some of the animals were absolutely hilarious. I laughed a lot at Kinga, the Insect Queen’s son. He acts like a villain, but in a very funny way.

The movie also has some emotional moments. At the beginning, you see Mabel with her grandmother, who later passes away. And when Mabel turns into a beaver, she forms a bond with King George, but eventually she has to return to her human body.

Overall, it’s a beautiful movie with an important message. We should take better care of animals and nature. We are often so focused on building roads and cities that we forget how important nature really is. Without it, we wouldn’t even exist. I would definitely recommend this movie.

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I was born in the ’90s, which means I grew up with VHS tapes and later DVDs and CDs. But as I got older, Netflix suddenly appeared, and not long after that, many other streaming services followed.

Now there are so many streaming platforms to choose from, and honestly, it can feel overwhelming. Even when it comes to music, there are multiple streaming services available.

But while we’re living in this streaming era, I’ve decided I’ve had enough. Today, I’m going to explain why I’m going back to physical media—and I know I’m not the only one. You can find countless videos on TikTok, YouTube, and even discussions on Reddit where people say they’re making the same choice.

Why I Am Going Back To Physical Media

1. Nostalgia
   I grew up in the ’90s, and I loved having a VHS collection of my favorite Disney movies. It was amazing. I remember inviting my friends over to watch movies together. I also remember how much I enjoyed going to stores and browsing through movies and CDs. Most of those stores have disappeared, which makes me sad. I think we only have one or two places left where you can buy vinyl records and CDs. But back in the day, there were so many stores where you could find new DVDs and CDs. I really miss that era. So yes, part of the reason I want to go back to physical media is nostalgia.
   
2. You pay, but you don’t own anything
   When you have a subscription to a streaming service, you pay a monthly fee to get access to a large library of movies, TV shows, or music. That sounds great. But the reality is that even though you pay every single month, you don’t actually own anything. If Spotify or Netflix were to disappear tomorrow, you would be left with nothing. With physical media, on the other hand, you buy something once and own it for the rest of your life. And honestly, I prefer owning the movies and music that I truly love.
   
3. Your favorite movies aren’t always available
   This has happened to me so many times. Imagine it’s a Friday or Saturday night, and you’re planning a movie night. You want to watch your favorite movie, so you open Netflix—only to find out that it’s not available. That’s the downside of streaming. Movies come and go all the time. With physical media, you don’t have this problem. If you own your favorite movie, you can watch it whenever you want. You don’t have to wait for it to become available again on Netflix (or any other streaming service).
   
   Plus, let’s be honest—it’s kind of cool to have your own movie or music collection. Back in the day, I would go to my friends’ houses and look through their music or movie collections. It says a lot about who you are and what you like. It’s just fun.

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Title: Wuthering Heights
Actors: Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi
Director: Emerald Fennell
Writers: Emerald Fennell, Emily Brontë
Genre: Drama
Length: 2 hours and 16 minutes
My Rating:

Wuthering Heights

Catherine lives with her abusive father, and one day he brings home another child. Catherine names him Heathcliff, and over time they become close. Heathcliff often tries to protect her from their father’s abuse. As they grow older, they develop feelings for each other. However, Catherine believes she cannot marry him because of his lower social status. Instead, she marries another man, and Heathcliff disappears. Years later, they meet again, and it becomes clear that they still have strong feelings for each other, feelings they cannot ignore.

Review

Years ago, I bought Wuthering Heights. I wanted to read more classics. Well, guess what? I still haven’t read it. Mostly because I’m a bit scared. English is not my native language, and I’m afraid it will be too difficult to understand. So I decided to watch the movie instead, without reading the book first. I didn’t even know what the story was about.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to watch this movie, if I’m being honest. I had read and heard so many negative reviews. Most people said it was super boring and that they had wasted two hours of their lives they would never get back. So yes, I was a little hesitant. But I still wanted to form my own opinion.

During the first hour or so, I actually thought it was pretty decent. It felt like the perfect movie for a slow Sunday, and I was somewhat invested in the love story. But after that, I started to lose interest. I had no idea how it was going to end, but it felt like something was missing—or maybe the movie was just too long. It’s around two hours, and I feel like it could have been shorter to keep the audience’s attention.

The acting was pretty good, and I enjoyed seeing Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi on screen. They did a great job, and I was rooting for them. However, I didn’t like the choices their characters made (which might mean I really should have read the book years ago). Maybe their decisions make more sense considering the time period they lived in.

Visually, the movie looks amazing. It is beautifully shot, but the story itself didn’t blow me away. It’s not a movie I would watch again or recommend. I will probably forget about it soon—it just wasn’t very memorable.

The only thing I’m wondering now is what the book is like. I mean, it’s a classic for a reason, right? So many people love it. I think I’ll have to read it soon, because after watching this movie, I don’t really understand the hype around this tragic story.

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Title: Regretting You
Actors: Allison Williams, McKenna Grace, Dave Franco
Director: Josh Boone
Writers: Colleen Hoover, Susan McMartin
Genre: Drama, Romance
Length: 1 hour and 56 minutes
My Rating:

Regretting You

When Morgan was young, she was dating her boyfriend Chris, and she was best friends with Jenny, her sister, and Jonah. Then Morgan got pregnant with Clara, and she and Chris married young. Now, seventeen years later, they look like the perfect, happy family.

But Morgan discovers a huge secret when Chris and Jenny die in a car accident, and it turns her whole life upside down. At the same time, she doesn’t want her daughter Clara to know the truth about her father. Clara adored her father and Jenny—it would ruin her.

Review

I started doing my Saturday night movie nights again, and this time I decided to watch this movie. It has been on my watch list for a long time, and I was curious to finally see it. I hadn’t read the book before watching the movie. In fact, I had no intention of reading the book, but I did want to watch the movie.

First of all, the realization that these actors are now old enough to play the parents of a teenage daughter is mind-blowing and a bit shocking. In my mind, we all stay young, and I sometimes still think that I am too immature to be a parent. But my age says otherwise. The fact that these actors are now playing the role of parents was an eye-opening moment, haha.

I have mixed feelings about the movie. There were some good things, but I also had moments when I thought they could have done it better. But let’s start with the positive things.

The actors were pretty good. I think this is the first movie I’ve seen with Mckenna Grace in it. I’ve heard about her before, but I don’t remember seeing a movie with her in it. The only thing I could think about, though, was how similar she is to Kiernan Shipka. Not just the looks—they have the same kind of energy. And of course, I already knew Dave Franco and Scott Eastwood from other movies, and they didn’t let me down. The acting was good.

The only thing I have some issues with is the story. The story is about Chris and Jenny, and they have a secret that Morgan finds out about pretty quickly. The moment they die, the secret is revealed, and then the rest of the movie is basically about Morgan keeping that secret from her daughter to protect her. But that’s the whole movie. I was expecting a little bit more. Maybe it would have been better if the secret had been revealed later in the story. If a movie revolves around a secret and then reveals it within the first 30 minutes, the rest of the movie can start to feel a bit pointless.

I’m not saying I thought this movie was terrible, but I did keep wondering if that was it. I think I was expecting a little bit more. I also wonder if the book might be a bit more interesting.

Overall, it was just an okay movie for me. The acting was good, but I think the story was lacking something. I hope the next Colleen Hoover book-to-movie adaptation will be better. That movie is called Reminders of Him, and I saw the trailer—it sounded pretty interesting. It’s also on my watchlist, so hopefully you’ll be able to read a review of that movie here on my blog soon.

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Title: Maintenance Required
Actors: Madelaine Petsch, Jacob Scipio
Director: Lacey Uhlemeyer
Writers: Erin Falconer, Lacey Uhlemeyer
Genre: Romance:
Length: 1 hour 42 minutes
My Rating:

Maintenance Required

Charlie took over the auto repair shop after her father passed away. Now she works there with two of her best friends, and they love what they do—although Charlie has bigger dreams. One day, another auto repair shop opens across the street, and they try to figure out how not to lose any customers to the competition.

At the same time, Charlie hasn’t been on a single date in years. She loves spending time with her car, but she’s also been talking to a guy she met on a forum. Her friends think it might be time for her to meet him in real life.

Review

I had literally zero expectations for this movie. I saw the poster and thought I might like it, but I had absolutely no idea what it was going to be about. And honestly, it wasn’t the worst movie I’ve ever seen.

The movie kind of reminded me of the popular film You’ve Got Mail, because that movie is also about owning a business and then having a chain store open up across the street. In that film, the main characters also fall in love with the person they’re talking to online. It’s a classic and one of my favorite movies of all time. Maintenance Required wasn’t as good as that movie, but I still think it wasn’t bad at all.

I liked the main characters. Charlie works at the auto repair shop with her two best friends, and they’re all women — I loved that. I recognized Madison Bailey from Outer Banks and Katy O’Brian from The Rookie, and I really enjoyed them together. Beau was sort of likable, even though he made some stupid mistakes along the way. But I forgive him, because he was pretty good-looking and had great chemistry with Madelaine Petsch (Charlie).

The story was fun, and I really enjoyed it. When a movie is boring, I usually start scrolling on my phone, but that didn’t happen this time. The movie was over before I even realized it. It was a good rom-com — definitely entertaining and easy to watch. The actors were pretty good too.

I don’t have a lot of things to complain about, except that it was very obvious this movie was inspired by You’ve Got Mail. I tried not to compare the two, but I still did. Of course, the original is much better, but I think they did a good job with this movie. It’s the perfect choice for a cozy rom-com night.

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