Greenland (2020):

Rick Roman Waugh, a former stuntman in such films as “Gone in 60 Seconds” directed this end-of-the-world disaster film in which Gerard Butler, an ex-military operative named John Garrity, tries to save his estranged wife Allison (Morena Baccarin) and his son from what promises to be a planet-killing disaster as a comet is just days away from colliding with the earth. Waugh directed Butler in the disaster-thriller “Olympus Has Fallen,” and Butler appeared in 2017’s “Geostorm,” in which the earth was threatened with disaster. What makes this movie work well, as Garrity works feverishly to keep his family together as they try to dodge the next big disaster, with comet fragments raining down on the earth, destroying city after city, is that instead of it becoming one big special effects show, director Waugh focuses on the family, and how the behaviour of each member got them to where they are in this moment. Butler is always full value in an action setting such as this, and Baccarin, who cut her sci-fi teeth as an alien leader in the series “V,” is more than window dressing as she does her part to stay on track and help find someplace on earth where the effects of the disaster may be less … the title, of course, gives away that location … but knowing it, and getting there are two very different things. An excellent thriller, rated 14A.

The Right One (2021):

This offbeat comedy has an original spin to it that takes it outside the realm of ordinary funny stuff with a dash of romance, and makes it into something truly original. The first full-length film from writer/director Ken Mok, a veteran of television productions such as “Making the Band” and “America’s Top Model,” he unveils his characters slowly, but with a sense of urgency that keeps us anticipating the next scene and what might happen next. Sara (Australian actress Cleopatra Coleman) is a young woman and a successful novelist with a terrible case of writer’s block. At a gallery opening, she encounters Godfrey, played by Seattle native Nick Thune. The movie is set in Seattle, but shot in Vancouver, and what Sara doesn’t realize about Nick, is that he is not one person, but several different ones. He had an unspeakable tragedy in his life, and his method of escape is to adopt different personas. At the gallery opening he is an art critic. The next time she sees him he is a singing cowboy, and the next, he’s a DJ at a rave. What Sara begins to learn is that this is Nick’s way of maintaining his sanity, by not facing who he really is. She is so intrigued that she begins to model her next novel after him … and when he finds out that she has been using him, he disappears. An interesting and provocative comedy. Rated 14A.

Freaky (2020):

This horror comedy that stars Vince Vaughn as a serial killer - hard to imagine that there is any comedy attached to that - is actually a pretty solid film, and it's a lot of fun. It's a play on the 2003 movie "Freaky Friday" in which a mother and daughter switch bodies. Here, the switch is between Millie, a high school girl, and Vaughn's character who is named Blissfield Butcher. Not only is Millie now aghast at being in the body of the deranged killer, but she learns that if she can't reverse the switch within 24 hours, she will be stuck with him, and he with her. The director here is Christopher Landon, son of actor/director/producer Michael Landon ("Little House on the Prairie," "Bonanza,""Highway to Heaven"), and he treats his subject matter with the same deft hand that he used in "Happy Death Day 2 U," which also matched the slasher-killer element with comedy in a satisfying way. The situations that the characters find themselves in here funny and scary, and the movie totally satisfies. Rated 14A.

Enola Holmes (2020):

Netflix acquired the distribution rights for this whodunnit after it was decided to stream the movie rather than put it in theatres.  It's a Sherlock Holmes story, but unlike any that have come before.  Enola (Millie Bobby Brown who played "Eleven" on ``Stranger Things") is a much younger sister to Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, but she has the detective genetics that it takes to go looking for a mystery to be solved.  None of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle books mention a younger sister, but here she is, and when her mother goes missing, Enola sets off to find her.  Helena Bonham Carter plays Mother Holmes, and Henry Cavill is Sherlock.  When it's discovered that mother is missing, and that there are a number of gifts and trinkets that she has inexplicably left behind, big brother Sherlock continues to insist that Enola leave the matter alone, and head off to boarding school.  Not her ... soon she is searching all of London, looking for clues.  A crime-adventure, rated 14A. 

Country-ish (2020)(TV series):

This Netflix original is a reality series that features country singer and internet star Coffey Anderson and his wife Criscilla.  It walks through their daily lives with the couple, and focuses on their careers - she's a hip-hop artist - their Christian faith, and their desire to provide wholesome entertainment in a world that seems to want things a lot more raunchy.  A former U.S. Marine, and an active participant in the Nashville music scene, Coffey has released nine albums so far, about half of them faith-based and the other half mainstream.  He was a contestant on season 2 of American Idol in 2003 where he made it as far as the Hollywood round.  Rated PG.

Pets United (2020):

A perfect animated film for youngsters, parents, and grandparents, but only if they watch with the kids. The central characters are all pets of one sort or another, and their common thread is that they are spoiled, they are selfish, and they live a life of luxury, because their owners have all the mechanical denizens of Robo City doing the hard work.  But what happens when the robots run amuck and the humans have to flee?  Time for the skate-boarding pug, the self-aggrandizing Siamese, a pet pig, and a smart fox to grow up and take some responsibility.  Good fun for kids of all ages - meaning, much past 13, they will probably think it's lame, but younger ones will relish it.  Rated G.