Molli (Zosia Mamet), a seventh-level space witch, meets Max (Aristotle Athari), a half-human, half-fishman, and the two hit off. Sort of. Over the span of twelve years, this pair of quirky and emotionally scarred lovebirds take us on a journey of their will-they-or-won’t-they romance. They meet up, they bond, they fight, then they part ways only to do the whole process all over again in the next intergalactic chapter. With each meeting their romantic feelings for each other deepen, possibly threatening the growing friendship they both hold dear. Along the way, Molli joins and escapes a cult, Max becomes a majorly hated celebrity and spokesperson for the soda Glorp and the two spend much of their efforts finding a romantic bond with others in their orbit. All the while, the world faces imminent destruction as the consumption of cheese will lead to the creation of a black hole that will swallow the universe. Will Molli and Max finally fall in love before everything ends?
Directed by Michael Lukk Litwak, Molli and Max in the Future is the perfect blend of romantic drama and space comedy. This indie gem is charming, visually engaging and just plain fun. Mamet and Athari are charismatic and fit beautifully in this alternative universe.
Molli and Max in the Future does a lot visually without the big studio budget. Even viewers like myself who aren’t drawn to sci-fi stories, will find a lot to enjoy with this one.
Irene Kelly (Michaela McManus) is seeking revenge on Neville (Jeremy Holm), the man who killed her daughter. But it isn’t enough to kill him once. She needs to travel through the multiverse killing him again and again in every timeline possible. Her methods of tracking down and killing Neville vary through each scenario and she’s able to escape and restart her mission by way of a coffin-like time machine. Irene has lost track of how many timelines she’s lived through or what exactly happened before she started traveling the multiverse. And while she’s grown weary and bitter, she continues on. However, things change when she meets Neville’s latest victim Mia (Stella Marcus), a headstrong 15-year-old who quickly becomes Irene’s sidekick. The timelines get increasingly complex now that there is a second person and Irene must now come to terms with her purpose while helping Mia escape her dreaded fate.
Michaela McManus in Redux Redux. Image courtesy of the McManus Brothers.
Written and directed by Kevin and Matthew McManus, Redux Redux is a riveting revenge thriller held up by two strong female protagonists.
I love how the multiverse and time travel elements are never gimmicky. The conceit flows smoothly through the film and the viewer will enjoy the ride without having to have the technology or methodology explained to them. Irene Kelly is a wonderfully badass yet flawed character and the story really revs up when she’s joined by her younger counterpart Mia. Michaela McManus and Stella Marcus are stellar in their roles. Actor/filmmaker Jim Cummings has a small role as Jonathan, Irene’s grief counseling hookup.
Fans of time loop films like Groundhog Day (1993) and Palm Springs (2020) and multiverse films like Sliding Doors (1998) [which is referenced in Redux Redux] Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) will find a lot to enjoy in this indie genre film.
Image courtesy of the McManus Brothers.
The filmmaking duo the McManus brothers also wrote and directed another sci-fi horror movie The Block Island Sound (2020) [check out my review here] which also co-starred their sister Michaela McManus.
Redux Redux is produced by Mothership Motion Pictures and had its world premiere at the 2025 SXSW Film and TV Festival.
Redux Redux is distributed by Saban Films and is releasing nationwide in theaters February 20th, 2026.
The women of the Glasshouse shield themselves from The Shred, a toxin that permeates the air and robs humans of memories when they breathe it in. The Shred turns its victims into a shade of their former selves. The younger the victim and the fewer memories they have attained, the more they are affected by the toxin.
Bee (Jess Alexander), Evie (Anja Taljaard), Daisy (Kitty Harris) and Mother (Adrienne Pearce) maintain the Glasshouse and its grounds. They work to protect themselves with hooded masks, they seal the Glasshouse from the toxic air, they grown their own fruits and vegetables and they kill, eat, and bury male intruders. The four women are tasked with taking care of young Gabe (Brent Vermeulen), a victim of The Shred who is prone to lashing out.
When The Stranger (Hilton Pelser) arrives on the grounds with a leg wound, Bee takes him in which goes against Mother’s strict rules. The Stranger wins her trust and her desire and takes advantage of this in order to further infiltrate himself into the small world the women have created. He’s as dangerous as The Shred, threatening their livelihoods and sanity. While Bee fails to see this, sharp eyed Evie knows something is not quite right.
“Truth isn’t everything.”
“Someone has to carry it. Otherwise nothing means anything at all.”
There is a lot to unpack with Kelsey Egan’s dreamy science fiction drama Glasshouse. It’s The Beguiled for the pandemic era taking the concept of strong women who must protect themselves from dangerous men during chaotic. The Beguiled takes place in the Civil War era South and Glasshouse appears to depict the same era but in an alternate world where a pandemic instead of a war keeps the women isolated. The film is introspective with lots of thought put into the importance of memory, the concept of truth, and how replaceable individuals are in a society. It’s difficult to come away from this film and not find yourself deep in thought. I enjoyed the fact that the film offers the right balance of story, character development and information about the pandemic.
Glasshouse is not a remake of The Beguiled, although it does seem to be inspired by it, but rather an original story by South African filmmaker Kelsey Egan and co-writer and associate producer Emma Lungiswa de Wet. According to Egan’s director’s statement:
“the South African philosophy of Ubuntu holds that identity is collective and that ancestral memory shapes the present. As thought-provoking as it is entertaining, we believe that Glasshouse is a timely film, meeting a societal and market need for challenging, female-driven stories… Glasshouse explores two opposing coping mechanisms to trauma: holding tightly to the past as a form of preservation, and wilful forgetting…”
The film was shot on location at the Pearson Conservatory in St. Georges Park in South Africa and features a South African cast and crew.
Note: only white characters appear in the film.
Glasshouse had its world premiere at the 2021 Fantasia Film Festival.
Check out my reviews for two film adaptations of The Beguiled (1971) and (2017).
Note to add: Glasshouse will be available on digital July 12th, 2022.
In a parallel world, Quantum computers are connected via an internet run by extensive fiber-optic cables. These cables are connected to Quantum cubes hidden in the forest. A cottage industry is born where freelance cablers make some quick money running these cables from cube to cube.
Ray (Dean Imperial) is a delivery man who is fairly out of the loop of today’s technology. His kid brother Jamie (Babe Howard) is a tech wiz but he’s suffering from Omnia, a type of chronic fatigue syndrome. After experimenting with a variety of treatments, Ray decides to put Jamie into a treatment facility. The problem is that Ray can’t afford the the hefty medical bill with just his day job. So he signs up to be a cabler. Ray starts off on the wrong foot when he’s given another person’s username, Lapsis Beeftech. The cabling system is highly political and cablers gamify to make the most money possible. Ray meets Anna (Madeline Wise), a jaded cabler who catches on to the predicament Ray finds himself in. Can Ray just keep his head down enough to finish his cabling gig and get the proper treatment for Jamie? And who was Lapsis Beeftech?
Lapsis is an exploration of how the gig economy dehumanizes all in the name of money. Ray is a complete outsider. Cabling to him is a means to an end. A way for him to save his brother. But in the cabling world everyone is out to make a quick buck, at the cost of others. It’s a bizarre little film. I didn’t quite fully understand why people had to cable or what those Quantum cubes actually were. But as far as science fiction films go, this one was fairly enjoyable and offers just the right insight into the human condition.
Lapsis was set to have its world premiere at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. Visit the official website for more information.
Frank (Justin Long) is an insurance salesman climbing up the corporate ladder. When he and his coworker/best friend Jeff (Donald Faison) go to a party to blow off some steam, Frank meets Theresa (Sheila Vand), an alluring woman who offers Frank a temporary escape from his frustrated wife Cheryl (Sarah Minnich). The pair meet Ritchie (Ronnie Gene Blevins), a drug dealer who offers the a hallucinogenic unlike anything they’ve ever experienced. The drug is placed on Theresa’s tongue and she passes it along to Frank with a kiss. As the two both go on a trip of a lifetime, Frank suddenly wakes up the next day at the abandoned party house. His phone is dead and his wallet is missing. How is he going to get back home? Where is Theresa? Frank soon realizes that he’s still tripping. Time and space can suddenly change with the smack of a hand. He’s not sure if what he’s experiencing is real or not but he knows he must find Theresa before its too late.
What a trip! Written by Carl W. Lucas and directed by Gille Klabin, The Wave is a psychedelic adventure; a journey into one man’s existential crisis through mind altering drugs. Don’t watch this film while you have a migraine like I did or you’ll start questioning things you have no business questioning. The scenes with Theresa (Vand) as Frank (Long) visits her in a dreamscape are visual spectacles. The special effects, which were created specifically for this film, are fun to watch. The theme of time through smartphones, watches, clocks, etc. is used well but can be hard to follow. I’m not quite sure what the ending means or what the whole thing means really but I enjoyed the ride. The Wave has good intentions but ultimately fails in making any sense. Or maybe that was the point?
The Wave is available on VOD and is screening at select US theaters.
