Familiar Strangers (2008)

In less than 30 minutes, Proudfoot guides the viewer through a narrative that touches on American history, mind-health issues, race, and gender politics

If you were to watch it on streaming when you have nothing to do, it’s still probably a giant waste of time, but you could do far worse.  Paying $18 for a movie ticket and who knows how much for concessions turns this from an exercise in boredom to an exercise in frustration. 

Hanna Bergholm's 'Hatching' shows us that the modern version of the cardboard world trope is social media.

The social issues The Half of it takes on are handled well, between the antagonization brought on to Ellie for her race and the conflict that arises from her being gay. Both aspects of her character are built up over the course of the film and don’t seem abrupt or rushed. The film shows racism towards Ellie and her and father in varying levels, from having her schoolmates specifically address her as "Chinese girl” to the fore mentioned way her Dad is treated due to language barriers. The same can be said about Ellie being a lesbian. While she never truly “comes out” in the narrative, that does not undermine her journey of self-discovery from being meaningful. These ideas aren’t thrust upon the viewer in a preachy manor, the scenarios that occur feel believable given the rural setting. The film presents watchers with problems whom those like Ellie may face, and leaves us to sit with them and reflect.

Let it Snow in a nutshell, is a warmhearted coming of age teen Christmas movie.

The sequel to the first film, A Second Chance: Rivals! talks about Maddy combating cyberbullying and racism.