Family Camp (2022):

This family comedy kicks off when Grace Akerman (Leigh-Allyn Baker) hears about what is said to be a great family camp through members of her church. She immediately signs up the family, and before we know it, they are on the way. On arrival, they find themselves side-by-side with another family that is their polar opposite and soon the two dads, Tommy and Eddie (Tommy Woodard and Eddie Sanders) are in a fierce competition for camp points that will be awarded at the end of their two weeks stay, while the moms, Grace and Victoria, try to keep their respective families focused on the camping experience, while trying to keep the dad’s competition from ruining their respective relationships. This is director Brian Cates’ first movie and he has teamed up with writer Rene Guttridge who has one book to her credit, to put together this faith-based story. At the heart of it are the two dads played by Tommy Woodard and Eddie Sanders – they are real-life best friends and have been buddies for more than 30 years, having gone to high school together. Some of that relationship shines through in what is a reasonable family comedy. Rated PG.

Mothering Sunday (2021):

This British film features a pair of well-known actors from the series “The Crown,” as well as a performance by two-time Oscar-winner Glenda Jackson, which, based on casting alone, makes it a worthwhile experience. Australian actress Odessa Young plays Jane. She was an orphan girl, and now as an adult, has found respectable work as a housemaid for the Nivens, Godfrey and Claire, played by Colin Firth, and “The Crown” star, Oscar-winner Olivia Coleman. The Nivens are respectable people, they are part of the country’s upper crust, and in this story, set between WWI and WWII, we watch as Jane enjoys her work which is non-demanding and allows for her other pursuits, one of which is carrying on an affair with a soon-to-be-married high-born aristocrat, Paul Sheringham. Sheringham, played by Josh O’Connor who was Prince Charles in “The Crown,” is a neighbour of the Nivens. He has never married, but an arranged wedding is days away from happening when, with the Nivens away for a week, he chooses to spend his time with Jane. What happens during those few days sets the tone for what Jane is to become for the rest of her life. This is a dramatic romance with some bite to it. Rated 14A.

See for Me (2021):

This Canadian-made thriller tells the story of Sophie, a teenage girl who is on track for a spot on the Olympic Downhill ski team when she is diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa and is told that she will soon be completely blind. She sets her dreams for Olympic stardom aside, and works as a cat-sitter for wealthy clients who want to give her worthwhile tasks. Unknown to her employers, she steals their high-end wines and sells them outside the homes, which is the major source of her income. Sophie is played by Skylar Davenport who herself is a visually impaired performer. Sophie is able to ply her trade by using an app called “See for Me” which connects the user to a sighted person who helps them along through use of Sophie’s phone in her camera. When Sophie takes a job for a wealthy woman, heading off on vacation after going through a divorce, she finds herself in trouble when a trio of safecrackers invade the home in pursuit of a large amount of money reputed to be there. Sophie calls 911, and then uses the app to try to extricate herself from the home, but it’s too late. Caught, it appears that the criminals, who want no witnesses, must dispatch her. Interesting premise, and some high tension makes this low-budget thriller a serviceable film. Rated 14A.

Stranger Things: Season 4 (TV Series) (2022):

The horrors of The Upside Down continue to haunt the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, while the original cast returns intact, with the kids who fought those horrors now in high school and facing their own challenges. When season three ended, we were in the midst of the Battle of Starcourt, the mall which became the focus of the bizarre creatures focused on destroying humans. Town Sheriff Hopper isn't in Hawkins when the action opens. He was captured and is the focus of interrogation somewhere on Russia's Kamchatka peninsula by both human dangers and those more out worldly. A good part of the start to this season, which will come in two parts separated by one month's time, has the pals, the kids, including Eleven, Mike, Dustin, et al off on separate missions of a sort, really the first time in their young lives that they haven't been a tight group. Rated 14A.

Operation Mincemeat (2021):

This film, based on actual events in WWII, was released by Warner Bros in the UK theatrically, and is being released by Netflix in North America. Colin Firth stars in this ingenious story of an espionage operation in 1943 that turned the tide of the war when a pair of British operatives used a combination of a corpse and false identity documents to deceive the Germans at a critical point when a huge build-up of troops was set to quash the allies. It tells the story of those who fight in the shadows, and whose true exploits are sometimes unknown and lost in the fog of war and the mirage of history. Rated 14A.