Messy (2024)

A 30-something navigates hook-up culture in New York, where she seemingly sleeps with everyone who crosses her path while longing for connection, then finds some shallow reason to move on. It's a hollow disheartening experience. You can tell it was written, directed and acted by a woman who is jaded in love, yet it's a much different experience of life than I am accustomed to. More empowering bullshit for those who already hold all the power.

1½ stained pillows out of 5

The Code (2024)

"Sometimes a movie isn't what you think. It can offer a different perspective or the solution to a crisis...as long as you can crack the code." -Orson Welles

You have to give a film credit for trying to do something different, even when its reach extends beyond its grasp. A mockumentary about a couple filming a documentary about their relationship during the height of COVID. The subject matter sounds exceedingly trite and dull, but it manages to be a lot more multilayered than that. As with all "found footage" films, it finds increasingly ludicrous and silly ways to justify how it's all being recorded, but it's all done with tongue firmly planted in cheek. The "code" in this case is manifold, but mainly has to do with sharing your phone's password with your partner and all the many complications that can arise from a breach of privacy and trust.

From the director of Spree, another fun, frequently bonkers mockumentary.

3 escape rooms out of 5