Movie Review: ‘Parallel’ has more than a few surprises

By Matt Pascarella

Not Rated
Runtime: 1 hour, 28 minutes

Vanessa and her husband Alex are coping with the loss of their son, Obe. Vanessa goes for a walk in the woods, where she encounters someone who takes a couple shots at her. She isn’t hit and does not see the individual. When she gets back to the cabin that she and Alex share with his brother, Martel, she notices something strange after Martel burns his hand and she sees it in two different conditions.

She returns to the woods where she meets a version of Alex who explains that the woods carry fragmented versions of a world in which Vanessa, Alex and Martel belong, called a multiverse. Vanessa is trying to find the space that might bring her son back. What follows is a very interesting, albeit confusing at times, hunt for different versions of the characters who Vanessa tries to decipher if they’re from the space she is looking to get to.

When I first read the description for “Parallel” I was expecting a science fiction-based horror movie, and what I got was not that, but I was still on board throughout this time-warped adventure.

“Parallel” stars Danielle Deadwyler, Aldis Hodge and Edwin Hodge.

Vanessa (Deadwyler) looks out the window moments before a bird then flies directly into it. She and her husband Alex (Aldis Hodge), along with Alex’s brother Martel (Edwin Hodge) live in a cabin in the woods.

Alex and Vanessa lost their son one year ago. Alex fears he is losing his wife. After an argument, Vanessa goes for a walk in the forest where someone sees through their scope someone take a few shots at her but miss.

Back at the cabin, Martel burns his hand on the grill; Vanessa goes to check on him. He says it’s not as bad as they originally thought, and his hand is unbandaged. However, moments later Martel returns from outside and has a bandage on his hand.

Vanessa returns to the forest and finds a bloody handprint on a fence marked with “do not enter” signs. She enters anyway. Vanessa finds it hard to stay on the trail without getting turned around. She puts trail markers on the trees. Could there be someone else watching her?

After reentering the forest, she meets a different version of Alex from a different space in time. The spaces are fragmented versions of the world. The other version of Alex explains this multiverse with a detailed drawing.

They each learn about the other’s past and try to figure out how to get back to their original space.

It’s here that things get strange. Vanessa returns to the cabin where she tries to explain the multiverse to Alex and Martel. I had a hard time figuring out which versions of Alex and Martel were interacting with which Vanessa. They tie her to a chair, because another version of Vanessa has appeared.

Alex wants to shoot a version of Vanessa, but Martel stops him.

Vanessa returns to the forest, looking for Alex. After they argue about what the right thing to do is, he tells her to find a space and take it.

Vanessa meets herself and there is a struggle.

As mentioned, I expected this to have more of a horror-theme to it, but what’s scarier than meeting a version of yourself in the woods and not knowing if the people you interact with may see you as a threat? The plot moves quickly, and my only real complaint is it was hard to follow at times, trying to figure out which version is the “correct” version(s) that Vanessa is looking for. This is not an action-packed movie, but my attention was grabbed and held trying to figure out how this multi-versed forest works, to which I still have no definitive explanation.

In past movies I’ve seen, sometimes a small cast can make the movie drag, because you are constantly seeing the same faces with no new interactions, but this was different.

Four out of five stars.

Now streaming on Paramount-Plus, Showtime and available to rent. <

Review: Hulu’s ‘Marmalade’ takes a bit to get going, but overall worth it

By Matt Pascarella

Not rated
Runtime: 1 hour, 39 minutes

This movie definitely gives off some “Forrest Gump” vibes early on. A man, Baron, from rural America meets Marmalade, an outgoing woman who’s not from his town. He falls for her almost instantly. Baron’s mom is sick, and the price of her prescription drug just went up. After Baron loses his job with the U.S. Postal Service, he and Marmalade decide to rob a bank. Ultimately, this lands Baron in jail, but who can be trusted?

While this movie dragged a little in the beginning, the ending took me by surprise – which was a good thing.

“Marmalade” stars Joe Keery, Camila Morrone, Aldis Hodge, Amy Warner, Ozioma Akagha, Hans Christopher, and Susan Brava.

The movie opens with Baron (Keery) stepping out of his house and apologizing before being tackled by the police.

He is taken to jail where he tries to convince his cellmate, Otis (Hodge), he needs to escape. Otis says he might be able to make that happen but wants to hear how Baron ended up there.

Baron has $250,000 cash and just wants to be with his girlfriend, Marmalade (Morrone). If Otis helps him escape, the money is his.

As a postal employee, Baron liked getting a peek into other people’s worlds. When he loses his job for refusing to cut his hair and the price of his sick mother’s medicine goes up, he finds himself in need of money fast.

He suddenly meets Marmalade, and they become inseparable. She suggests they rob a bank in order to correct the system that failed Baron and his mom. Marmalade seems to know a little too much about robbing banks, but Baron goes along with it anyway.

They go to a bank two towns over and come up with a multi-step plan.

“Marmalade had her own set of rules for everything,” said Baron.

It doesn’t take long before Baron falls for Marmalade. He learns she’s had a hard life. She convinces him robbing the bank is the only way they can be together. She says it’s him and her against the world.

When the bank robbery goes sideways, Baron takes the fall, with half of the money. However, he and Marmalade are supposed to meet again in the future.

Otis agrees to help Baron after learning more and more about his situation.

When I chose this movie, I thought it would be full of action and comedy. “Marmalade” has a joke or two peppered here and there, but generally wasn’t that funny. Now, as previously mentioned, it is a bit slow to start, but once I was deep into the story, I was hooked and had to see what happened. As for the action portion of the movie, let me say it was not what I expected, but that’s not always a bad thing. Otis was my favorite character. If you have the patience to deal with a less-than-exciting start to this movie, I thought it was worth the wait. I’ll go as far as to say this is a hidden gem. While not overly violent, it is a bit heavy on the language.

Steve Harrington gives it two thumbs up.

Now streaming on Hulu and available to rent. <