MaikaMonroe – Credits Rolling

Kenna Rowan (Maika Monroe) returns to her hometown after five years in prison. After driving under the influence with her boyfriend Scotty Landry (Rudy Pankow), the two are in a car accident that ultimately kills Scotty. Pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, Kenna now hopes to make amends and she wants to start by reconnecting with her daughter Diem (Zoe Kosovic). But Scotty’s parents Grace (Lauren Graham) and Patrick (Bradley Whitford) don’t think it’s a good idea. When Kenna sparks up a friendship with Ledger Ward (Tyriq Withers), local bar owner and Scotty’s best friend, she hopes that he’ll help change the Landry’s mind about her.

The third of Colleen Hoover’s novels to get the big screen treatment, Reminders of Him was actually the first I read from her. I was curious to see how they would tackle it. From the romance to the not so easy subject matter, it was pretty much how I expected it would be. Hoover adaptions are starting to have the same sort of formula though that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was a perfectly fine outing to the cinema.

Monroe, who is more commonly known in the horror genre, tries her luck in the romance field. She does a good job as Kenna, bringing a likability to her character. It’s obvious that she’s made mistakes, but she doesn’t want these to define her. I liked seeing her get her life back on track whether that included finding a job, befriending some of the fellow residents at her apartment complex (Jennifer Roberts and Monika Myers are standouts as Ruth Clayton and Lady Diana), and taking in a cat. Withers, another horror face, is also trying something new here. Although I wasn’t convinced by his powerful scenes, I did buy his chemistry with Monroe and thought they worked well together. Graham and Whitford were solid as the grieving parents who aren’t quite ready to move on. Graham, in particular, really impressed me with her emotional turn.

While there is no doubt about the romance element, I did think that the film excelled when it focused more on the family drama. Both biological and found family are explored here and even though they did a good job, I think it could have been even more impactful. I would have liked a scene between Kenna and Patrick, for example, where he forgave her. It also would have been nice to see a few more flashbacks between Scotty and his parents as the only one we got was the day of his birthday. That being said, I was appreciative of the flashbacks we did get because they helped fill in the blanks and also gave more backstory to these characters.

If you are looking for an uplifting film about family, love and second chances, then you should check out Reminders of Him. It may be a little bit on the slower side, but the payoff is mostly worth it. It’s not my favorite CoHo film to date, but I still thought it was a decent adaptation.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

Caitlin Morales (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has been struggling since the birth of her second daughter. When she meets Polly Murphy (Maika Monroe) at the farmer’s market and the two seemingly get along straight away, Caitlin takes Polly up on her offer to become her nanny. But it soon becomes clear that Polly isn’t who she says she is. When Caitlin starts to question the woman she brought into her home and her family, nobody believes her.

A remake of the 1992 film of the same name, the trailer made this version out to be a decent enough thriller. Unfortunately it was not decent and it also was not very thrilling. In fact, it had very little going for it that I wonder why I bothered to check it out in the first place. It’s a pity because it did have all the right ingredients for something great. It just ended up being a big old mess.

I usually like Winstead, but even she was unable to save this. It’s not the first time we’ve seen a character considered crazy by everyone around them and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Although I felt for Caitlin, the emotion didn’t completely win me over. I can’t really blame her as I felt she was doing the best she could considering the uneven script, but still. I was way more interested in Monroe’s mysterious nanny and of course we never got any proper background on her. I understand the choice of having one point of view the point of view however I think it would have helped me to understand her motives more. At least the two of them played well off of each other.

What bothered me the most was that it felt like throughout the entire hour and forty minute run time, nothing really happened until the last fifteen minutes. There were small moments here and there that never really went anywhere. As a result, I got bored and kept wondering how much longer it would be until it all inevitably kicked off. And when it eventually did, the pay off didn’t even seem worth it.

Overall, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle was a disappointment. I have not seen the original film, but from what I’ve heard, it is far superior than whatever this reiteration was. The only two bright spots amongst the mess were the leading ladies who did what they could. This is not a film that I will be rushing to rewatch nor will I recommend because I’m sure you can do something better with your time. You’re welcome.

Rating: ♥️.5