MOVIE REVIEW: THE MOMENT

 

A rising pop star navigates the complexities of fame and industry pressure while preparing for her arena tour debut.

Director: Aidan Zamiri

Cast: Charli XCX, Rosanna Arquette, Kate Berlant, Jamie Demetriou, Hailey Benton Gates, Isaac Powell, Alexander Skarsgård

Release Date: January 30, 2026 

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Thriller

Rated R for language throughout and some drug material

Runtime: 1h 43m

Review:

The Moment is a fun mockumentary that plays like a pop starlet’s Spinal Tap and functions as a sort of anxiety driven confessional about the instant massive fame hits.  Aidan Zamiri does a solid job behind the camera in his debut film and there’s clear sense that Charli XCX trust him implicitly which shouldn’t be a surprise since he’s directed a handful of her recent videos.  The film opens with an aggressive barrage of strobe and images that might induce A Clockwork Orange style seizure in more than a few people before settling into its more vérité documentary approach.  Once the film moves into the meat of its story Charli XCX takes center stage and brings her magnetic personality to the screen with impressive ease.  The real treat is that she’s more than willing to make fun of herself and is more than willing to make herself look incredibly unglamourous and uncool.  The corporate label head, played by Rosanna Arquette, and cheese ball director, played with inspired gusto by Alexander Skarsgard, serves as her primary antagonist as they continually try to monetize and bottle her zeitgeist capturing moment.  It makes for a series of hilarious situations that are outlandish on the surface but not terribly detached from reality either, especially if you’ve ever watched the evolution of a pop star.  Charli XCX has been a well-established niche artist for the last decade before her explosion onto the mainstream last summer.  It’s an impressive bit of foresight to take hold of the moment and create a faux version of her experience that’s peppered with threads of truth and vulnerability that shines through in two singular moments where you feel she’s speaking from the heart.  It’s something she’s broached in the past during her real documentary, Charli XCX: Alone Together from 2021, which only hardcore fans saw but carries similar themes.  The Moment may become a nice time capsule for those same hardcore fans later down the road but for the general public there is still plenty to appreciate here thanks to Charli XCX’s honest self-reflection on display.  

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: STRAYS

Abandoned on the mean city streets by his lowlife owner, Doug, a naive but lovable dog named Reggie falls in with a fast-talking, foul-mouthed Boston Terrier and his gang of strays. Determined to seek revenge, Reggie and his new canine pals embark on an epic adventure to get him home and make Doug pay for his dirty deed.

Director: Josh Greenbaum

Cast: Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Will Forte, Isla Fisher, Randall Park, Josh Gad, Harvey Guillén, Rob Riggle, Brett Gelman, Jamie Demetriou, Sofía Vergara

Release Date: August 2, 2023

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Rated R for pervasive language, crude and sexual content, and drug use.

Runtime: 1h 33m

There's a pretty long history of talking animals family films from The Adventures of Milo and Otis, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey to more recent entries like A Dog's Purpose which are generally wholesome affairs.  Strays takes the general concept and delivers a raunchy comedy which leans heavily on gross out humor with uneven results.  Josh Greenbaum's film delivers some laughs throughout its brisk runtime but it never really finds a consistent groove since some set ups work better than others.  When it works, there are some genuinely funny moments but when they don't they fall noticeably flat which is a shame since the main foursome is made up of strong comedic talents.  Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher and Randall Park deliver fun performances as the motley crew that embarks on the journey.  The four of them deliver lines with a snappy ease that you'd expect with experienced performers with Foxx delivering the most consistent turn.  Ferrell's role seems perfectly suited for his style but the script doesn't let his character let loose as much as you'd expect which keeps him reined in from his classic freak out mode.  Isa Fisher and Randall Park are fun in supporting roles with Fisher proving to be the film's secret weapon.  The four share solid chemistry together but they never really hit their stride because the script uses gross out humor way too much for my taste.  Its a shame because there's plenty to satirize about the genre, something do in passing with a recurring bit about a narrating dog and a very specific cameo.  That's not to say there aren't laughs to be had in Strays but a bit of variety in the comedy would have made it more memorable overall. 

C+