Love is in the air in Love, Alaska. Yes, the name of the town is Love and every year they have a Love festival where singles from around the world come to hopefully find their love match. But that’s not the main story of the movie Love, Alaska.

Maggie (Sarah Podemski) grew up in Love but left fifteen years ago. Her uncle Tobias was the town’s doctor and now that he died Maggie learns she inherited his clinic. She is a doctor, yes, but she has never run her own clinic. Can she do it? 

Finn (Victor Zinck, Jr.) also grew up in Love. He and Maggie were sweethearts back in the day. After tragedies in his family, Finn left and joined the military only to return a broken man. He has extreme PTSD from combat but is back in Love to help his brother Declan (John Bregar) with his air charter business. 

When Maggie returns to Love to take over the clinic, she and Finn discover he has inherited some money providing he helps her set up her new medical practice. With the air charter business sadly in need of money, Finn reluctantly agrees to work with Maggie but insists once the clinic is up and running, he is on his way out of town. His PTSD is driving a wedge between himself and everyone he loves, which includes Maggie, and he wants to spare them of his moods and PTSD episodes.

Although they have been apart for years, the love between them has not dimmed. So, while they work together and Finn fights his inner demons, Maggie wonders if the two have a future together.

The whole town is pulling for them, even the newcomers who have come for the Love festival. It’s clear Finn and Maggie are still in love, but will her stubbornness and determination not to fall for him again and his stubbornness not to let himself get involved again, put a damper on their future together?

Grab some hot chocolate and bundle up, because the cold and the snow of Alaska is chilly. Spoiler – the movie was actually filmed in Ontario, Canada. But who’s nitpicking? 

This is a romantic film based on a Harlequin novel, so viewers know how their love story will end. This 2019 movie is streaming on UP Faith and Family and will air again on UP TV on June 8, 2024 for those who do not subscribe to the streaming channel.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 30 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Television Critics Association and is accredited by the MPAA.

In a convoluted and whacky story, Bryce Dallas Howard stars alongside Sam Rockwell in Argylle, a tale of spies and confusion. With plenty of twists and turns throughout the movie, this is an eccentric and offbeat story with more twists than a pretzel.

Elly Conway (Howard) is a mystery writer. Her books about a fictional super spy named Argylle have a loyal fanbase. As she reads her novel to an audience, viewers see the story unfold with Henry Cavill playing the over-the-top spy who has garnered the wrath of an evil syndicate. Little does Elly know that her novels are more fact than fiction. And soon she is being hunted by the real syndicate intent on getting her secrets. But things are not always what they seem, and people are not always who they appear to be.

When real-life spy Aidan (Rockwell) meets up with Elly, she finds herself in the middle of an actual espionage story with her life on the line. Who would want to harm this innocent novelist whose best friend is her cat named Alfie. With assassins hot on their trail, Aidan and Elly are off on a wild adventure around the world. 

The story starts out similar to the 1984 movie Romancing the Stone where Kathleen Turner played romance novelist Joan Wilder who quickly became involved in a dangerous situation. But that is where the similarities end, as viewers will discover. Who can Elly trust? Besides her cat Alfie, whom she always has with her via a special carrier, Elly must rely on Aidan, but can she really trust him? 

To say this is a convoluted and complex story is an understatement. It is over-the-top wackiness, and has not garnered a lot of positive reviews. There are some interesting aspects to the story as one by one various secrets unravel. The cutest aspect is the cat carrier with the little feline looking out through a plastic bubble. 

There are many scenes with blood and killing, so it is definitely not a show for kids. 

Argylle is comes to Apple TV+ April 12, 2024.  It is rated PG-13 for strong violence and action and some strong language.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 30 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Television Critics Association and is accredited by the MPAA.

Image courtesy Apple TV+

The cute animated film Migration available to stream on Peacock beginning April 19, 2024. With the voice talent of Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina and Danny DeVito, the story of a fun feathered family who leave the comfort of their little pond and travel to Jamaica is filled with some cute scenes as well as a few scenes of peril. But rest assured, they all make it to the island safely and the family is stronger and closer than ever before. This is truly a story about family.

For the entire review and parental guide, check out our page.

And, for more, visit the Peacock site.

Chloe (Nina Kiri) is an aspiring music producer. She has worked at a recording studio for several years but her boss never gives her a chance to be anything more than a glorified secretary even though she has talent. Country singer Dustin (Connor McMahon) had one big album but since then has failed to make a hit record. Put them together and it’s kismet, or in this case, kiss-met when Writing a Love Song premieres on UP TV.

Dustin has writer’s block. He cannot write music or lyrics, and if he does not come up with a hit song in a week, his record label will drop him. Enter Chloe, whose boss is out of town and through chance, passes herself off as a producer when Dustin’s manager comes into the studio. Soon she is working closely with Dustin to create the hit song both of them need. Chloe is smart and intuitive, but Dustin is definitely blocked. Can she unblock his creativity and bring out another hit song? 

Chloe uses various techniques to help Dustin write the music she knows is buried inside him. He is a great songwriter, but since his last flop he has lost his confidence. She is able to gradually open him up and reignite the music. And, besides their great working relationship, there is a personal connection building between the two. 

Chuck (Kent Sheridan), Chloe’s father, was a famous country singer, and her sister Hannah (Brit MacRae) is a wonderful singer but instead of using her talent to make music she owns a coffeehouse/record store, combining her favorite things – coffee and music. Somehow it works. 

When Dustin’s old recording partner and girlfriend comes back into the picture, he finally realizes how to create his new song. He knows he has to let go of the past and look to the future. Hence, the theme of his new song. Voila.

Dustin’s road to his big hit is a roller coaster ride as he and Chloe experience good times and bad. But with the help of her family, they manage to succeed. It’s a family affair. Some might say it takes a village, but in this case it takes a family. 

This is a cute feel-good movie everyone can enjoy. Writing a Love Song premieres March 31, 2024 on UP TV. 

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 30 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Television Critics Association and is accredited by the MPAA.

Image courtesy UP TV

Jules is a combination of ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Cocoon. It’s a cute story with many sentimental and emotional elements.

Milton (Ben Kingsley) lives alone and hardly has anything to do except garden. He attends every city council meeting to air his grievances – mainly that the town’s motto should be changed and he wants a crosswalk on a busy street. His daughter Denise (Zoe Winters) helps with his bookkeeping and visits when she can. Her brother does not have anything to do with his dad. Denise is getting worried that Milton is getting senile, perhaps too senile to continue living in his house.

One night a spaceship crashes into Milton’s backyard and a little alien gets out, bruised and stunned. Milton helps this little guy. He feeds him and keeps him company, realizing how difficult it must be to be alone in a strange world. 

Two fellow seniors, Joyce (Jane Curtin) and Sandy (Harriet Sansom Harris), discover Milton’s secret and soon the three of them are best buddies with this little guy they name Jules. Well, one of them names him Jules and the other prefers Gary. But Jules it is. 

Jules does not talk. He listens. And he feels. He and his three earthling friends are united, and as he starts to repair his spaceship they all spend their days together. What the trio come to realize is that Jules needs dead cats to repair his ship. Where will they get all those dead cats? 

As the three continue to help Jules, the government is on their trail. The officials realize a spaceship has landed somewhere in the vicinity, and as time goes by they pinpoint it to Milton’s location. It is a race against time for the three friends to help Jules repair his ship before he is apprehended by the officials. 

The story involves several themes. The main one is that being older and estranged, or partially estranged from family, is no fun. Getting old is no fun. Beginning to lose memory is no fun. The three seniors are very lonely people, but with Jules they find a purpose in their lives. And Jules helps them in many ways. His powers are amazing as he, at one time, helps save Sandy’s life through his thoughts and he helps Joyce’s ailing cat die in peace. 

The story takes elements of ET, as Jules is just as well-meaning as ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, because Jules offers to take his new friends with him in his spaceship, and Cocoon, because it shows the wonders that aliens can do for aging and aged seniors. 

In the end, Jules sets off for his home alone, but will he return to visit Milton? Spoiler alert: yes.

Jules is rated PG-13 for strong language. 

The movie is now available through many streaming platforms.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 30 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Television Critics Association and is accredited by the MPAA.

courtesy image