RIDE THE EAGLE

In a sea a sequels, big-budget productions and awful Netflix fillers, sometimes it's nice to watch something simple, sweet and warm. To come from the mind of a man most famous for portraying one of the most highly strung, neurotic characters to ever grace TV screens, 'Ride the Eagle' is a nice throwback to Jake Johnson's early indie career and what helped us fall in love with him in the first place.

Leif (Johnson, TV's 'New Girl') is a professional (although not particularly successful) percussionist living in a hut on his boss' property with his beloved dog, Nora. When he receives word that his estranged mother Honey (Susan Sarandon, 'Moonlight Mile') has died, he isn't overwrought with emotions, be it anger or grief. He simply declares that while he loved his mother, the truth is he didn't really know her. Regardless of their personal standing, Honey has left Leif her cabin in Yosemite, provided that he completes a list of tasks - a mother's job teaching her son is never done. Void of the cliché hero's reluctance, and with nothing to lose and everything to gain, Leif accepts the challenge. The tasks have him confront a stranger in an odd set of miscommunications. He reconnects with an old girlfriend with surprising humility, and he discovers a slice of heavenly nature - and maybe, just maybe, he'll come to terms with some deep-seated grief.