Upon relocating from Arizona to their new residence in California, a past negative energy – spirit haunts Francis (Josh Rivera) and his new age hippie girlfriend Olivia (Anna Jacoby-Heron), which tests their approach into finding a solution for putting the agitated spirit to rest.

Francis receives a home warming package from his mother containing religious artifacts – rosaries, crucifixes, a painting of Jesus and a spiritual postcard. Although he admits that it is something he no longer practices, it seems to upset Olivia who is an alternative healer – using crystals, rocks and mystic emblems.

Francis begins to witness strange occurrences from seeing a silhouette of a man, gas line bursting, to even possibly being possessed. Perhaps Francis mood stabilizers are causing psychosis?

Olivia does some digging into Francis’s past and discovers some disturbing events that happened at a Christian retreat for troubled boys and believes that his ministry director Vernon (Todd Robert Anderson) might be the entity haunting them, for she also begins to witness strange phenomena. Could Olivia be also experiencing psychosis?

Francis explains to Olivia the events that led up to Vernon’s tent catching on fire and to his death, which coincides with the earlier scenes in the movie. Francis blames himself for what happened to Vernon. He visibly is overwhelmed with guilt and sees himself as a sinner – It could be the most logical sense that resulted in his radical emotional outbursts.

Olivia’s solution is to take Francis to see Denny (Kevin Nealon), her boss at the crystal healing shop, to help with banishing the negative spirit. Conflicted with his religious faith to healing crystals Francis decides to reach out to his mother Lillian (Ana Author) for help, which will only invite tension amongst them as Lillian is a devoted Christian who does not approve of her unmarried son living with his girlfriend. Francis overcomes with anxiety and decides to resolve his own issues by taking drastic measures putting his and Olivia’s life at risk. Will faith and, or the power of healing crystals save them from the haunting of Vernon?

Director Matt McClung did a fantastic job on presenting a serious condition that many people struggle with and the challenges they face to live a normal life. Josh Rivera and Anna Jacoby-Heron showed to have great chemistry and delivered a natural performance. I liked that Kevin Nealon brings that soothing zen vibe to the scene. This psychological thriller film will have you pondering if there really was a haunting or was it simply the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Inhabitants releases on February 14, 2025.

Paddington in Peru delivers heartfelt warmth and kindness and sends the message of embracing risk and change, especially when family is involved. This is the third film in the Paddington franchise that sends our cuddly marmalade eating bear, along with his British family, off in search of his Aunt Lucy who has gone missing from the Home of Retired Bears that is managed by Reverend Mother.

With the support from his family by his side, the adventure takes Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) back to his roots trekking the dangerous Amazon jungle. During the quest, they encounter a river boat captain Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas), who communicates with his ancestors in his visions and seeks their guidance in search of legendary treasures hidden within the rainforest. His daughter Gina (Carla Tous) knows her father can be challenging but does her best to keep him grounded. Henry Brown (Hugh Bonneville ) also realizes that he has to overcome his challenges and face his fears head on. With all the commotion happening, the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) has a covert agenda that could put everyone at risk, but Aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton) has a greater treasured secret to share.

Although Sally Hawkins as Mrs. Brown was missed, the role was not significant in the film to impact Emily Mortimer. On the contrary, Academy Award winner Olivia Colman, known for best drama performances, adds the witty sweet and sour to Reverend Mother. Then there is Antonio Banderas that was remarkably hilarious taking on multi-characters with eccentric mannerisms.

While the approach to Padding’s journey felt a bit lost amidst the whirlwind chaos in the jungle, it delivered a strong ending with a charming note that audiences of all ages would enjoy. Be sure to stick around for the post credits. It will surely continue the smiles and laughter.

Paddington in Peru will be released in theaters February 14, 2025. A great Valentines date for the family!

Love Hurts is Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan’s first leading role as Marvin Gable, an unexpected hero after leaving his brother’s crime family. Things get crazy when Rose Carlisle (Ariana DeBose), former partner in crime and love interest, tracks him down working as a real estate agent. However, Marvin’s brother Alvin ‘Knuckles’ Gable (Daniel Wu) has his crime associate The Raven (Mustafa Shakir) get to him first.

Quan delivered the laughs with impressive martial arts skills. However, the storyline was weak and got lost inside the saturated comedy and exaggerated bloody fight scenes along with the lack luster characters. It almost felt like watching a tacky sitcom or cheap version of Rush Hour.

I did find it exciting to watch Drew Scott from the most popular tv show Property Brothers make a cameo in this film. There was no disappointment here, since Scott’s character Jeff Zaks is also a real estate agent and is the competitor to Marvin.

It was rather nostalgic seeing Quan and Sean Astin reunite, but it was a shame that Astin’s character Cliff Cussick did not have a larger role. Perhaps we will see these two again in a much anticipated Goonies 2.

If you want to see a silly, outrageous action film with your Valentine, hold your potatoes, a nice romantic dinner for two will suffice.