A brief pause from the bleak. These are the movies that make you exhale, joyful comedies, healing dramas, quirky kindness. Good feelings. No guilt.
Kevin James faces his past in Guns Up, while Christina Ricci brings edge and elegance to a violent underworld tale. Familiar formula, fierce performances.
Novocain review: Jack Quaid delivers a breakout performance as a bank manager with a rare genetic condition who can’t feel pain, turning his disability into a superpower when robbers kidnap his new girlfriend. This Christmas-set action thriller blends romance, dark comedy, and inventive violence into feel-good carnage.
The Beast Comes at Midnight review: This werewolf mystery works as entry-level horror for tweens with polished cinematography and accessible mythology, though adult genre fans should skip this soft creature feature streaming free on Tubi.
The Bearded Girl review: Jody Wilson’s debut is a vibrant, punk-rock coming-of-age story about Cleo, a reluctant heir to a family of bearded women, navigating tradition, identity, and finding her own path. A must-see independent film from Fantasia Film Festival.
Hold the Fort (Fantasia 2025) is a horror-comedy where homeownership comes with hellspawn battles, HOA absurdities, exploding heads, and a mercenary named McScruffy. Review by Mother of Movies.
Hot Spring Shark Attack (2025) is a Japanese horror-comedy that blends absurdist shark attacks, spa tourism satire, and surprisingly competent filmmaking into a cult-worthy splash. Directed by Morihito Inoue and streaming via Utopia, the film flexes rubber sharks, weird science, and oiled-up heroes with comic finesse.
