Season 2 of GLOW ended with the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling taking up a permanent gig in a Las Vegas casino. This means that they’re doing the same show, over and over, every single night. Everyone feels like they’re stagnating, and for this reason, the writers of the show have decided to almost completely ignore the wrestling element altogether.

We don’t even see any proper wrestling until episode five. Instead, this season is determined to focus on some characters who’ve never been under the microscope. Gayle Rankin gets to finally flex her acting muscles as Sheila. Previously one-note (the woman who thinks she’s a wolf), this is the first time I feel like I understand who she is. It’s a similar story with Melanie (Jackie Tohn) and Jenny (Ellen Wong), who get possibly the most affecting scene of the entire season, as the writers examine the people behind the gimmicks. Carmen (Britney Young) and Arthie’s (Sunita Mani) relationship gets put through the wringer as well.

In some ways, it’s more of the same for our lead trio of Ruth (Alison Brie), Debbie (Betty Gilpin) and Sam (Marc Maron). Since their falling out is arguably the crux of Glow, we know that Ruth and Debbie can never become true friends until the final episode (or maybe never), so the dramatic gymnastics here are no surprise. And similarly with Sam – it’ll always be one step forward, one step back for the guy, because otherwise we’ll lose that which makes him so entrancing.

In fact, there are only really two characters left who haven’t had their time in the spotlight, and that’s Dawn (Rebekka Johnson) and Stacey (Kimmy Gatewood) – the two women who have been unfortunate enough to also be stuck with the least interesting gimmick. Oh, and Reggie (Marianna Palka), who continues to get so little to do that I didn’t even remember her name.

But in case you hadn’t realised by now, GLOW’s secret weapon is Bash Howard. Chris Lowell, always destined to be runner-up in the ‘Veronica Mars‘ boyfriend game, is shockingly good in the role. Bash has more money than sense, yet his struggles with his domineering mother and his closeted sexuality mean that his childish naïveté is matched only by the tragedy that is his life. Poor little rich boy or not, the guy has issues.

And so, like Dear White People Season 3, we have a show that’s moved away from its own premise. If you’ve only been watching because of the wrestling element, then you’re going to be disappointed. If, however, you’ve formed an attachment to the characters like I have, then you’ll be happy to continue watching a show that’s now more about being an actor/woman/gay person/ethnic minority in 80s America than it is about wrestling.

As I understand it, GLOW used up the vast majority of the true story elements back in Season 1, perhaps because the creators didn’t believe it was going to run for this long. As one of the few well-publicised shows out there to feature a majority female cast, however, there are enough unique stories here to hold my attention.

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Dan (Hayden J. Weal) is a barista with very little going on in his life. When he starts receiving cryptic messages on his bedroom window, he begins to question his previously-held views on fate and causality. He’s drawn to half a dozen strangers and the web of coincidence that holds them together.

Love and Time Travel is the creation of writer/director/editor/star Hayden J. Weal, and he certainly earned his stars on this, his first feature film. The blossoming romance between Dan and Sophia (Michelle Ny) is perfectly presented, and his characters are believably flawed. Julian Dennison, from last year’s hugely successful Hunt for the Wilderpeople, also makes an appearance.

This is clearly a low-budget production. The cinematography, which is more than serviceable, is let down by the less-than-stellar picture quality. In this day and age, I assume a bad DVD transfer isn’t what’s to blame, so I can only conclude it was the quality of the production equipment at fault. It’s a pity, but for anyone who’s sat through micro-budget mind-bending fare like Coherence, this shouldn’t be a problem.

It’s the final act that lets the film down. Love and Time Travel falls for a common cliché at the last minute. The fact that the script called attention to the cliché earlier on doesn’t make it any better, unfortunately, and simply makes it feel like an excuse before the fact. That being said, the majority of this twisting, charming, and heartfelt journey is an enjoyable one.

The DVD includes an introduction by Weal, as well as video logs chronicling the creation of the film. I loved spending time with this cast of characters, and I hope to see Weal and Cleary in other productions, because these two stars show genuine talent.

A must for anyone who loves time-loop movies – I promise these people exist; I met one at a party – Love and Time Travel, or with its much more interesting title, Chronosthesia, is a great addition to this small yet fertile corner of cinema.

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And for most of the film, I was unsure. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone – you get these two on a screen together and the film’s bound to be great, yeah? Gosling is effortlessly cool whilst Stone is effortlessly likable, and these two very pretty people are at the top of their game right now. Sure, the direction by Whiplash‘s Damien Chazelle was strong, but still I had this nagging feeling that I was only enjoying La La Land because it was different.

Then the final act happened, and I was sold. It was only in that portion that the film truly excelled, and showed us something different, and I loved it.

Importantly, the songs were excellent. They are spread unevenly throughout the film – sometimes the singing is bunched together, other times we get nothing but dialogue for close to half an hour – but above all, I was pleased to discover that they weren’t very literal. I don’t have an aversion to musicals, but I do have a problem when a song’s telling me something the story’s already made clear. Here, however, the lyrics are worthy of multiple listens.

And then there’s the choreography. Provided by Mandy Moore (no, not that one), it’s really, really impressive. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Gosling and Stone aren’t the world’s best singers/dancers, but that’s the way musicals work these days in Hollywood. Doesn’t stop me feeling sorry for all the truly excellent singers and dancers out there who are relegated to background roles though…

Stone plays an aspiring actress, Gosling plays an aspiring jazz musician. Together, they’re mourning the death of their art. The film itself is a love letter to Old Hollywood, and there’s a particularly impressive role in here for singer/songwriter John Legend, who is kinda making fun of himself, but not quite.

At 128 minutes, the film isn’t short, but it flowed effortlessly for me. The only negative is that the first and second act aren’t anything particularly fresh. But who can really complain when the talent in front and behind the camera is so good?

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We open with Alice (Johnson) stating that she wants a break from her boyfriend. Deciding that she’s never really struck out on her own, going from her parents’ house to a dorm to living with him, she needs time to find herself before she knows that they truly deserve to be together. So: new job, new best friend, Robin (Rebel Wilson), new apartment in New York City. What follows is a story about the many varying forms of relationship out there, whether that be of her sister, Meg (Leslie Mann), who is steadfastly single and not interested in kids, or bar owner Tom (Anders Holm), who loves women but doesn’t like the idea of settling for just one.

Going into this film was like walking into a minefield. Was this going to be the type of romcom that has progressive pretentions but then ends up with a very traditional happily ever after? The script itself literally points out the flaws of Bridget Jones’s Diary and ‘Sex and the City’ – stories ostensibly about women finding their place in the world, yet primarily concerned with hunting down the one man that will complete them.

At the end of the day, How to Be Single doesn’t settle for an oh-so-traditional conclusion. It seems to be stating that there are many kinds of relationship situations – including being single – and no one dynamic is the ‘correct’ one. That being said, Alice’s journey is all over the place. The problem is that she starts out with a very clearly stated mission, then spends most of the movie failing at it. Which would be fine if the movie were suggesting her premise was flawed. But it’s not. The film seems to be saying that she had the right idea, but was just a bit rubbish at achieving her goal.

That being said, this is a very well-crafted film. The cinematography and art design is sublime – something you don’t often see in romcoms – and it moves along as a brisk pace. It’s also unpredictable. On half a dozen occasions, the film truly surprised me. In this sense, it’s a refreshing little tale.

Johnson is the true star, and I can imagine that the film wouldn’t have worked as well with a lesser performer front and centre. Wilson actually doesn’t appear that much – if you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve seen practically all her lines – whilst Leslie Mann, Jake Lacy and Anders Holm are great supporting players. Alison Brie is present also in a very strange role, one that has little to do with the rest of the film. If someone said her part was added late in the day through reshoots, I’d believe them. In fact, it’s like her and Jason Mantzoukas were in the studio next door filming Sleeping With Other People, so just popped over for a couple of scenes.  Perhaps the character of Lucy was more important in the novel, but here she’s nothing more than an interesting diversion.

How to Be Single isn’t offensive in its approach, it’s just that the moral of the story isn’t entirely clear. If you’re looking for an entertaining and light-hearted journey through myriad labyrinthine relationships, however, it certainly gets the job done.

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Basically the kind of vulgar comedy we’ve seen many times before, Sisters sets itself apart by featuring a predominantly female cast. The fact that this is about two women having a midlife crisis is enough to make the setup interesting. Considering how lacklustre Hollywood’s representation of woman can be, this is the type of film that wouldn’t have been greenlit if not for the success of Bridesmaids. And you know what? I preferred this to Paul Feig’s mammoth hit, primarily because this doesn’t rely on the safe yet mildly offensive mantra that women are their own worst enemies and never a moment away from stabbing each other in the back.

Fey and Poehler play Kate and Maura Ellis, two sisters who travel home when they discover their parents are selling the family property. They’re unwilling to leave the past behind, and before long have organised a party together with their old high school associates.

Like I said, there’s nothing ground-breaking in the premise. We’ve seen the man-child version of this film before, but the fact that female relationships are front and centre makes it much more interesting. Thus we’re concerned about Kate and Maura’s sibship, Kate’s relationship with her daughter Hayley (Madison Davenport), and the sisters’ relationship with both their high school peers and their own parents.

We get an obligatory romance that plays out quite nicely, but the real reason you’re watching the film is for Fey and Poehler’s effortless comedic performances. I was actually worried in the first five minutes of Sisters – every single joke fell flat, and I had the horrible feeling I’d wasted my money. The moment the Ellis sisters were in a scene together however, it was like the flick of a switch. The film is consistently hilarious, particularly when it’s just Poehler and Fey making fools of themselves. Unlike many of Judd Apatow’s comedies, the film never overstays its welcome, nor does it feel like we’re simply watching extended unscripted improvisation play out instead of actually moving forward with the story.

Sure it’s unoriginal, sure it’s crass, but Sisters is a fun comedy that deserves your time. Long may Fey and Poehler rule the box office.

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Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis headline this surprisingly affecting romance about two commitment-phobes who find themselves falling for each other despite their best intentions. Both Lainey (Brie) and Jake (Sudeikis) have had a really hard time with fidelity in their respective relationships. The two of them haven’t seen each other since college, but when they cross paths at a local sex addiction support group, a friendship forms. Together they decide to become friends in a purely platonic sense.

We’ve seen this kind of film before, sure. When Harry Met Sally springs to mind (there’s even a scene where Jake proclaims that women have never faked orgasms in his presence) but there is a depth to the characters here that surprises. Like ‘Dawson’s Creek’, the central characters in Sleeping With Other People seem way too self-aware to be realistic, but it’s always nice to see some flawed yet likable people onscreen. Even the supporting players, such as Amanda Peet’s Paula, get quality characterisation.

Leslye Headland’s direction is spot on, and in many cases raises the bar far higher than the material should allow. Some of the best scenes are quiet moments with Jake and Lainey having a heart to heart – no punch lines, no over-the-top schmalz, just wonderfully heartfelt performances.

The comedy, however, is present and accounted for. I laughed my head off throughout the feature, and unsurprisingly, it’s the ever-so-common Best Friend Characters that get the funniest lines. In this case, it’s Jason Mantzoukas’ Xander and his wife Naomi (Andrea Savage) that steal some of the film’s best jokes. Adams Brody and Scott have small yet significant roles whilst Natasha Lyonne – criminally – only gets two scenes.

As much as I loved this film, there were some serious flaws, mostly in the form of moments that should have been cut. There’s nothing worse than a great story being ruined by some strange missteps (am I really supposed to believe Lainey needs masturbation lessons from Jake? Are they really spending time wrapping up the realistic yet uninteresting subplot?) but these moments can, for the most part, be overlooked.

At the end of the day, I wanted our two leads to get together, so I guess that’s a sign of a good romcom. Sudeikis and Brie have excellent chemistry, and Headland’s direction works wonders. The film might be uneven but I for one loved it.

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Clarkson plays Wendy, a literary critic who’s left in the lurch when her husband leaves her for another woman. Determined to turn over a new leaf, Wendy decides to finally get her driver’s licence in order to visit her daughter, Tasha (Grace Gummer.) This is where Darwan (Ben Kingsley) steps in. A Sikh with his own relationship problems, the film tracks their sometimes awkward, sometimes touching relationship.

Kingsley is incredible as Darwan, though the man is always pitch perfect, isn’t he? Yup, even in Species. He loses himself completely in the character, and his portrayal is totally unselfconscious. Clarkson is…less impressive. I’m usually a big fan of her work, but her character oscillates from pensive to madcap to easy going in a way that feels inconsistent. I don’t know whether there were scenes left on the cutting room floor that would have made Wendy’s journey more consistent, or whether she and Coixet weren’t on the same page, but it’s frustrating. In some ways, Kingsley has the easier job. His character’s journey is more restrained, whereas Clarkson’s duties run the whole gamut of emotion.

The crucial scenes in Learning to Drive are top notch, but there are some outliers that feel like they could have been from a very different film. We get a couple of daydream sequences that really don’t work, and a diversion or two with supporting characters that don’t go anywhere. When Wendy is behind the driver’s seat and Darwan’s calmly instructing her is when the film truly shines.

Grace Gummer plays Tasha, Wendy’s daughter, in a few scenes, and I would have liked to have seen more of her after really enjoying her work in HBO’s ‘The Newsroom.’ Jake Weber plays Wendy’s husband, Ted, but I was never really convinced that they could have been a couple.

Learning to Drive is a pleasant film, but one that doesn’t hit all the right beats. Whenever Kingsley’s onscreen, the film becomes a must-watch, but the bits in between can be lacklustre, whether they’re dramatic moments that feel forced or comic moments that fall flat.

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Writer and star Amy Schumer plays Amy, a woman who’s far too busy partying and hooking up with strangers to consider committing to a long-term relationship. Her sister, Kim (Brie Larson) is the antithesis, already married and with a young stepson. As soon as this was established, I began to worry: is Amy’s disinterest in being a mother or her busy sex life going to be ‘fixed’ come the film’s resolution?

The answer is yes and no. At no point do characters criticise her for either of these things, and Amy is a character who has agency and isn’t merely changing her ways to please other people. But at the same time, we have that title, Trainwreck, hovering over proceedings like some giant make-believe invisible judgey person (there’s got to be a better word for one of those…). In fact, the biggest problem with Trainwreck is that Amy clearly isn’t one. She’s on the writing staff at a big magazine, she regularly spends time with her family and generally seems to be enjoying life. She has a phobia about commitment, sure, but Amy doesn’t seem to have too many problems in her life.

As a simple romcom, the film is rather sweet. Bill Hader plays Aaron, a lovably dorky physician who becomes involved with Amy against her better judgment. Hader and Schumer have wonderful chemistry and it’s a joy to watch these two negotiate their way through a relationship. Some of the best scenes, however, feature Amy and her sister. These are wonderfully written moments, and the two feel like real siblings who love and hate each other in equal amounts.

The film is stuffed with endless cameos from famous people; some are successful (LeBron James), others less so (Matthew Broderick.) Director Judd Apatow has his usual struggle with keeping the film at a reasonable length, but at 125 minutes the film just scrapes through as acceptable. As a side note, anyone who’s seen the trailer will realise there was a tonne of footage left on the cutting room floor. Assume that the disc release will feature a much longer version.

There’s no denying Schumer’s fantastic screen presence, but the film feels muted. For someone who supposedly spends a lot of time drunk and/or high, we practically never see Amy doing any drugs. See Trainwreck if you’re interested in a charming and amusing romantic comedy, but not if you’re hoping to see something that’ll shake the foundations of the genre or of the Hollywood machine in general.

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Dean (Josh McConville) wants everything to be perfect between him and his long-term girlfriend, Lana (Hannah Marshall), so much so that he’s willing to live the day over and over again in an effort to get it right. In a brilliant case of time travel loopiness, Dean and Lana find themselves in the unique (if only unique had a plural) situation of intersecting with the same moment in time over and over, with hilarious results.

I can’t heap enough praise upon the time travel element of the script. Though I don’t consider myself an expert on theoretical temporal science, the paradoxical timeline presented in The Infinite Man feels pretty much perfect. As with Predestination, each piece of the puzzle seems to fit, and it’s incredible to see just how clever the writing is in this regard.

The performances of McConville and Marshall are great too. It’s really McConville’s film – not to disparage Marshall; I’ll get to her later – but Alex Dimitriades also puts in a great comic performance as the third wheel/perpetual spanner in the works. The trio of characters work wonderfully on screen together, and the performers bounce off each other effortlessly.

Then we get to the major letdown with The Infinite Man: this really is a story about a guy trying to get the girl, no matter what. And that’s it. Lana is the object of his desire just because, which is disappointing. It doesn’t seem to matter what she wants – in fact, we’re never really given much of an insight into her character, much less a reason as to why she’s put up with the crazily controlling and highly strung Dean. She’s like the princess in another castle, and when you think about it that way the film becomes more than a little creepy.

I get that the movie isn’t meant to be taken literally – realism isn’t high on The Infinite Man’s agenda – and that it should be seen as a kind of parable. And this would be fine, if the moral was clear. But it’s not. The film veers tantalisingly close to taking a moral stand before a last second fumble that, once seen, is hard to unsee.

The technical aspects of The Infinite Man are fantastic. The sci-fi gimmick utilised brilliantly, the performances are great whilst the cinematography and editing are close to perfection. It’s just a pity that the overall narrative feels like it can’t do justice to Lana’s character. It may be Dean’s story, but it’s hard to root for him when the film doesn’t allow us to see her as a three dimensional being.

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Silver Linings Playbook positively crackles when Lawrence and Cooper share the screen. They spend the majority of the film arguing, and I loved every minute of it. This isn’t the usual romcom opposites attract-type bickering, but out and out fury. It’s fun to see these two be drawn to each other despite their best efforts. Pat’s manic frustration is more than matched by Tiffany’s borderline fury. It comes as no surprise that Lawrence’s performance is brilliant, however it’s good to see an edge to the suave and charismatic characters Cooper often plays.

The supporting cast all get their chance to impress. Julia Stiles is present as Tiffany’s sister, Veronica, and her fleeting appearances make me wish she was on the big screen more often. Weaver and De Niro make a fantastic couple while Chris Tucker has fun as Pat’s friend and fellow inpatient, Danny.

Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi ensures that whilst the film may sometimes drift into romantic comedy territory, the look of the film is anything but conventional. The visual style is initially confronting, with its mix of zooms, crossfades and Steadicam work, but it perfectly complements Pat’s unhinged state.

If I were to have any complaints about Silver Linings Playbook, it would be that the further it plays out, the more conventional it becomes. This isn’t to say that I had a problem with the direction of the narrative, however. Watching Lawrence and Cooper together onscreen is a joyful experience, and the film bristles with an energy that never lets up.

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