There's Something in the Barn (2023)

A Norwegian horror comedy about an American and his family moving to his ancestral family home in Norway, where they encounter a mischievous barn elf that gives them some trouble. It's a little bit of Gremlins and a little bit of Rare Exports. I thought it was great. Way more silly and fun than I expected, and I found the family dynamics very heartwarming and the Christmas theme very festive. I especially love that white and blue Norwegian landscape set against the red and greens of Christmas. I'm probably giving this one way too much credit, but it's something I'd definitely revisit for the holidays.

3½ lutefisk out of 5

Lousy Carter (2024)

Carter is a failed animator who has settled into a life of boring academia. He goes to his doctor and finds out he has only 6 months to live. What will he do with his time left? Not much, it turns out. David Krumholtz embodies the deeply sardonic deadbeat who is already so indifferent to life that it doesn't really affect him much. The most unsurprising part is that it lives up to its name.

Bob Byington (Somebody Up There Likes Me) is an interesting indie filmmaker who I respect a lot more than most of his output. His films have been labeled "mumblecore" because they're mostly dialogue-driven, but I value the amount of weirdness he imbues in his characters, even when it's not a total success.

2 bowling alley funerals out of 5

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING [2017]

Clown director Jon Watts is curiously given the big order of bringing Spidey fully into the MCU with the John Hughes inspired Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Wasting no time with an origin story, the film dives right into the action with a band of criminals use the alien wreckage from The Avengers' New York battle to become a threat that might be too big for Spidey to handle on his own.
By ignoring the Uncle Ben story there's little tragedy to flesh out the character of Peter Parker and instead it opts to focus more on his struggles a "normal" teenager.  Apart from this major flaw the film is purely entertaining popcorn escapism in fine form with one of the MCU's best villains to date.

3½ Cappy America Public Service Announcements out of 5

DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS. DEAD [2014]

aka Død Snø 2

Norwegian director Tommy Wirkola returns to his Nazi zombie world in Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead, the follow-up to his 2009 cult-hit splatter-fest.
This time the story is bigger & badder, as it takes our sole surviving hero and turns him into a Norwegian version of Evil Dead's Ash going against a Nazi zombie invasion of several countryside villages.  While the original film was bland and predictable, this one steps it up several notches and goes all out with the outrageous humor and keeps you guessing as what the fuck is about to happen next.  It's in bad taste (get it?) and Wirkola knows that, so he makes the best of it with a loony sense of absurdity and hilariously graphic violence, all while breaking all the rules of your usual zombie flick.  It's everything I expected from the first film times a hundred.
...and never before have I felt so sorry for a zombie.  You'll know what I mean.  

3½ little man-pussies out of 5

A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (2011)

A group of 30-something physically attractive friends (and one fat dude) decide to throw one last hurrah before they go off their separate ways and relive something that was missing from our generation: orgies. Kind of reminds me of the more Hollywood-ized version of Humpday (or an updated version of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice). It's that kind of movie that gets you halfway there, but isn't kind enough to let you finish. I think that's really all that needs to be said.

2.5 uncomfortable moments in the bathroom out of 5