Tag: wyoming

REMINDERS OF HIM – Review

And now, borrowing from the sports world, here’s a fairly remarkable literary/cinematic “hat trick”. For the third year in a row, the multiplex becomes a “book club” with the new movie adaptation of a novel by Colleen Hoover. She’s the best-selling author of IT END WITH US (released in 2024, though the legal theatrics seem to drag on and on and…) and last year’s regrettable REGRETTING YOU. Perhaps Ms. Hoover wants to be as prolific in the 2020’s as Nicholas Sparks was for the first two decades of this century, though she got a lot of typing ahead of her. The results of these movie interpretations have been mixed (US) to downright scathing pans (YOU). So will she and the filmmakers hit that cinema “sweet spot” with REMINDERS OF HIM (Hoover has a thing with title pronouns)? Okay, here goes…chapter one…


Actually, the story’s opening is a return, or a homecoming. Keena Rowan (Maika Monroe) takes a taxi into the picturesque village of Paradise, Wyoming. Well, this is after the driver pauses for her to uproot one of those roadside memorials. She is able to rent a room at the somewhat squalid Paradise Hotel after putting up a big deposit, because the landlady tries to give everyone a “second chance” (and a kitten). Yes, Keena has just been released from prison. This makes her employment search even more difficult. Cut to our introduction to Ledger Ward (Tyriq Withers), a former pro-footballer (let go by the Broncos after his arm “blew out”) who also returned to Paradise to run a bar. He lives across the street from old friends Grace and Patrick Landry (Lauren Graham and Bradley Whitford), who are raising their late son’s adorable five-year-old daughter Diem (Zoe Kasovic), almost like an adored niece to him. After a day “pounding the dusty pavement”, Keena is stunned that the old bookstore/ coffee is now a “watering hole” owned by, yup, Ledger. The two exchange a bit of flirty banter while she exits through the back door. She’s stunned again by the sight of a battered orange pickup truck. It’s then that its owner, Ledger, discovers that Keena is the former girlfriend of his deceased BFF, Scottie Landry (Rudy Pankow). Ledger had loaned his truck to him during his short NFL stint. Naturally, the banter soon ends. The next morning, he’s gobsmacked when he sees her marching toward the Landry house to finally meet her daughter. Yes, she had been sent up the river after that fatal crash (the courts determined that she was driving under the influence) while only a few weeks pregnant. Soon after giving birth, the baby was taken away to Scotty’s folks. Ledger prevents her from making a scene, but is a bitter reunion inevitable (it’s a tiny town)? And what will become of the blossoming attraction between the duo connected by tragedy?

Can it really be a dozen years since Ms. Monroe appeared on my “radar” in the indie horror gem, IT FOLLOWS? Oh yes, and she’s been fairly busy in genre films, whether it’s more horror like last year’s LONGLEGS, or thrillers like (again, 2025) the remake of THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, or sci-fi with that silly INDEPENDENCE DAY sequel (whew). She can do wonders with very little in the way of a script, and here she proves more than up to the task of carrying a romantic drama. We see how life has battered Keena through Monroe’s down-turned gaze and her deliberate body language and slow gait. But when Keena begins her quest to reunite with her baby, Monroe is energized and dynamic, then gives way to a “softer side” as Keena cautiously lets love back into her heart. Here’s hoping for an even greater variety of lead roles for her. Withers weathers (see what I did) last year’s dreadful horror/sports mash-up mess HIM, to become a strong, complex lead as Ledger, a man trying to deal with his own past issues while being stretched in a dozen different directions at once by the people he cares so deeply about, but still full of charm and grit. Almost as much of it as Pankow as the doomed and endearing Scotty. As his folks, Whitford, as “Nono” Landry, is trying to leave his loss behind until Keena pops back. Ditto for Graham, as his still-healing wife, as she tries to protect her granddaughter, now the only physical part of her only child. Much has been made of the screen debut of country crooner Lainey Wilson, who does well in the small (only a few minutes) role of Keena’s boss/buddy. Amid the turmoil, Monika Meyers provides some comic relief as Keen’s special needs co-worker/ neighbor, Lady Diana.


With her second theatrical feature film, director Vanessa Caswill keeps the pace flowing, though she leans heavily into prolonged close-ups to convey the budding attraction (and they are attractive) of the principals. Plus, she makes great use of the stunning visuals with Canada (again) subbing for its southern neighbor. But then there’s the script, which hammers the dramatic conflicts, veering into melodrama, and gives way to cloying heart-tugging. frequently in the dialogues with Diem and the earlier-mentioned Diana, going to the “cute well” till it’s nearly dry. I did find it interesting that Hoover, adapting her novel with Lauren Levine, opted to leave the big city, lush settings of US and YOU to focus on those struggling to get by, though the under-constructed home of Ledger seems far too opulent. Still, fans of her work will probably be pleased while the rest of us ponder just how this “basic cable TV’ terajerker “escaped” into the multiplex (those literary roots, I suppose). But the potent chemistry between the engaging Monroe and Withers smooths out much of the potboiler tropes of REMINDERS OF HIM (sound of paperback closing).


1.5 Out of 4

REMINDERS OF HIM opens exclusively in theatres on Friday, March 13, 2026.

LAND – Review

After what seems like years (well coming up on one in just a few weeks), lots of folks, especially urbanites, may be yearning, perhaps desperately, to get “away from it all’ and bask in the great outdoors. And for many, a weekend or so in a rental cabin in the woods, or “roughing it” on an RV, will be enough of an escape to appreciate the modern comforts (very little WiFi in the woods) and even the proximity of people. But for the main (or for most of it, only) character in this new film, that’s not enough. She wants no contact with anyone, sort of a modern-day version of a “hermit” (a phrase now mainly associated with the 60s pop group headed by “Herman”). But can she truly disconnect after being part of a major metropolis? Well, she is determined to change her view, from skyscrapers and bustling commuters to open sky and sprawling pristine acres of nearly untouched LAND.

That said metropolis is Chicago, where we first see a compact car pulling a small cargo trailer as it zips away from “the loop”. Inside is Edee (Robin Wright) who is recalling her last conversation with Emma (Kim Dickens) as she begins her long trek to Wyoming. Once there, Edee completes a business transaction with a local. He gives her a set of keys and asks her to follow his vehicle to her new home. They pull off a winding highway to a rough dirt road and arrive at a modest log cabin (and “outhouse”). She asks him to find someone to drive up after she’s unloaded to return her rental car and trailer (and collect a cash tip). He insists that she should have a vehicle of some sort, but Edee waves him away as she disposes of her cell phone. As the seller stated, it is a “fixer-upper” that consumes the next few days with cleaning, repairing, and storing her dozens of canned goods. Edee sees her rentals drive away as she returns from filling water jugs in a nearby creek. It becomes clear that Edee intends to stay here permanently, all by herself, and “live off the land”.  Despite her many survival manuals, she immediately struggles in hunting and trapping “game” and planting a small vegetable garden. Soon the weather and wildlife get the best of her, as she hallucinates Emma, along with a mysterious man and a young boy. Extreme hunger and the bitter cold cause her to drift in and out of consciousness. Will Edee’s desire for solitude lead to a horrific frozen death?

As with most “against the elements” stories its strength hinges on the actor at its center. Luckily the multi-talented (wait for it) Ms. Wright is more than up for this formidable task. The challenge is a bit higher since Edee is a mystery for most of the film. By the time she arrives at the cabin, we only know that she was very sad in Chicago and that Emma (maybe a sister) cares deeply about her. We see that gloom lift from her eyes once Edee begins to prepare for her new life. There’s a sense of joy even as she sweeps out mounds of dust and surveys the “waste facility annex”. Then the frustrations and aggravations begin to build as a wave of unease fills her. Then her despair allows the ghosts, visions of her past, to drag her into a downward spiral, though a hungry bear hastens the plunge. Wright’s compelling performance compels us to root for Edee even as she frustrates us with her refusal to seek aid. But some help does come from a couple of angels, one in the form of a friendly hunter Miguel, played with warmth and humor by Demian Bichir. His kindness and patience, never pushing her to leave, rescues her physically and spiritually. Miguel somehow reignites her belief in humanity. And though she also annoys him, he still charms her with his mangled versions of rock anthems. The other angel is a Native American nurse Alawa played with “tough love” by Sarah Dawn Pledge who trusts Miguel but still thinks Edee belongs in a hospital (for the cold and hunger). And Dickens plays Emma as a very “friendly ghost” who is passionate in her pleas for Edee’s return to the world.

So what was my “multi-talented” comment about? Well, this is the feature film directing debut of Ms. Wright (she previously helmed several episodes of her Netflix series “House of Cards”). A tough “double duty” as she’s in nearly every scene, much like Robert Redford a few years ago in ALL IS LOST. She certainly captures the quiet beauty of the wilderness (Canada subs for Wyoming here), while never letting us forget its dangers. We’re holding our breath along with Edee as guttural growls awaken her from slumber on her first dark night. While showing us her struggles, Wright lets us in on the joys of her triumphs. As Edee becomes more self-sufficient (via the gruff angelic Miguel), we’re cheering on her solitary decision, though we know that Emma must be in great pain. Then we wonder if Edee can interact with society once more. Wright expertly juggles all these themes while keeping the film moving at a brisk pace, clocking in at just under ninety “tight” minutes. Helping to draw us into the natural settings is the gorgeous cinematography from Bobby Bukowski accented by the subtle music score from Ben Sollee and Time for Three. LAND is an emotional dramatic adventure that is a triumph for another great actress/filmmaker. Wright “stuff” indeed.

3 out of 4

LAND opens in select theatres on February 12, 2021