Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare

“Red Oaks”

By Brett_G on March 27, 2026

7.9

Similar to “The Holdovers,” this series did such a great job of world building that I simply enjoyed hanging out at the country club for a couple of weeks while this all played out.

The summer love stories, awkward dates, lifelong friendship forging, and endless 80’s classics on the soundtrack took the caddyshack wannabe vibe and blew it out of the water.

The main problem I had was the fact that it had the most awkwardly abrupt ending this side of “Hung.” Really bummed that Prime Video pulled a Netflix here and rug pulled my could have been comfort show.

Action Blockbuster Science Fiction

“Project Hail Mary”

By Brett_G on March 26, 2026March 22, 2026

9.1

Bravo!

The best space movie since “Interstellar” and “The Martian.” The best sci-fi blockbuster this side of “Ready Player One.” Above all, a film by lovers of film – it shows in every single frame. This is why we go to the movie theater. Ryan Gosling absolutely ROCKS IT as science teacher Ryland Grace lost in space with his buddy Rocky. I never thought I’d be getting teary eyed over a rock person, but here we are… Not since TARS has a sidekick brought this much hear to the sidecar and stolen so many scenes. The depth of the heart and storytelling and impactful messages about love, friendship, society, and the bravery of scientific exploration were so much more than I expected. On a technical level, the film is also GORGEOUS and incredibly well constructed from the first frame to the last. The music, the scenery, the storytelling – all firing on all cylinders. A movie so good it’s inspired me to read the book!

Drama Indie

“Slanted”

By Brett_G on March 25, 2026March 22, 2026

7.4

Ok, stick with me here… this was far better than I expected. I expected a low brow attempt at social commentary that devolved into “laughing at this means I’m going to hell” comedy. What this actually evolved into was a surprisingly nuanced take on society, race, belonging, family, assimilation, and inner comfort with ourselves… with a few solid laughs sprinkled in for much needed levity. Really really well done!

Action Drama Indie

“Dead Man’s Wire”

By Brett_G on March 24, 2026March 22, 2026

7.4

This one was a very pleasant surprise! The world building was really well done, and Bill Skarsgård’s signature menacing does this character justice, as he straddles the line between understandable grievance and “yeah man, you took this way too far.” The fact that this is based on a true story made it even more intriguing. A really solid historical drama!

Comedy Horror/Thriller

“Ready or Not 2: Here I Come”

By Brett_G on March 23, 2026March 22, 2026

7.1

There was a “fun” involved in the first film that made it unique. A tongue in cheek sense of cleverness that subverted the genres and provided an originality that was all but gone here. Too many scenes came across as cruel in this one for me to enjoy the more fun centered moments. I was skeptical to begin with, as the first “Ready or Not” was lightning in a bottle, but this did nothing but help cement that sense of “why are we doing this” almost the entirety of the runtime.