BlackBerry (2023)

1996: Waterloo, Ontario. Mike and Doug are two tech geniuses with an idea who hire the shrewd, aggressive Jim as salesman to whip their business into shape and start churning out results, in what would eventually become the prototype for the smartphone. Normally I find movies about start-ups boring, and I'm not sure how many liberties were taken, but it's a lot more interesting than it has any right to be, mostly due to the charisma of its two main leads. Innovation is the name of the game, and the BlackBerry was advanced for its time, but the world moves quickly and nothing ever stays the same for long.

3½ satisfying clicks out of 5

The Strangers (2008)

Based on "true events" (sorta, not really), a couple return from a bad night out to an even worse night in. These movies are not particularly fun to watch, but at least it came at a time when it still felt novel. If you've seen home invasion horror like Funny Games and Vacancy, then you already know what to expect. It's a lot of tension for very little pay-off. If you enjoy watching people being terrorized by masked assailants for 85 minutes, then this is the film for you.

2½ knocks at the door out of 5

Everything Must Go (2011)

Fired from his job, alcoholic Will Ferrell comes home to find his wife has moved out, left his shit on the lawn, changed the locks and cancelled the credit cards. With nowhere else to go and nothing left to lose, he decides to camp out on his lawn and drink. Tackles serious subject matter much in the same way The Beaver (2011) did, without any real form of resolution or clear-cut answers... just like life (whaddaya know!).

3 S&M neighbors out of 5