2 Best Movies to Watch by Max Barbakow

1. Palm Springs, 2020

Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti (Modern Love, Black Mirror), and J.K. Simmons star in this easy but original rom-com that takes place in a wedding time loop. Nyles (Samberg) finds himself living the same day over and over again, so he gives in to the monotony and the fact that there is no way to escape it.

When he is about to hook up with one of the guests, Sarah (Milioti), he is attacked by a mysterious character. The routine of his time-loop is broken.

Palm Springs is often surreal and philosophical, which are not adjectives usually used to describe rom-coms. It offers just enough twists to be original without jeopardizing the things that make it a good rom-com.

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction

Actor: Andy Samberg, Brian Duffy, Camila Mendes, Chris Pang, Conner O'Malley, Cristin Milioti, Dale Dickey, David Hutchison, Erin Flannery, J.K. Simmons, Jacqueline Obradors, Jena Friedman, June Squibb, Lilli Birdsell, Mark Kubr, Martin Kildare, Meredith Hagner, Michelle Johnston, Peter Gallagher, Rocky Bonifield, Tongayi Chirisa, Tyler Hoechlin

Director: Max Barbakow

Rating: R

2. Brothers, 2024

	
Brothers is simply a bad film. The jokes are mediocre and the plot is thin, if not invisible. The only thing it has going for it is the cast, who, individually are great but together, in this film, are unbelievably unfunny. Except perhaps for Glenn Close, who seems to be the only one capable enough to sell her character. Everyone else is either over-the-top bad—you can count Marisa Tomei and Brendan Fraser in this category—or zero-effort bad—here you can include the leads. I can’t imagine anyone enjoying the experience of watching this movie, much less having the stomach to finish it. But maybe a few cinephiles who grew up adoring The Goonies or Tarzan will enjoy some of the references made. Otherwise, you’d do well to hide this movie from your homepage. If you can ask Prime Video to never recommend it to you ever again, even better.Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
Actor: Andrew Brodeur, Brendan Fraser, Devyn Dalton, Glenn Close, Gralen Bryant Banks, Jennifer Landon, Josh Brolin, Joshua Mikel, M. Emmet Walsh, Margo Moorer, Marisa Tomei, Peter Dinklage, Suehyla El-Attar, Taylor St. Clair, Taylour Paige, Ted Ferguson, William Tokarsky
Director: Max Barbakow
Rating: R