I Like Movies

I Like Movies is a small Canadian Indie film that feels genuine and honest. Set in the early 2000’s and shot around Toronto, it follows Lawrence (Isaiah Lehtinen), a socially awkward, loud, filter‑free high‑school senior who loves movies. Lawrence watches multiple films a week and talks about them like they are the only thing. It’s his best quality, and also the thing that makes him nearly unbearable to everyone around him.

Lawrence at the Movies © 2023 VHS Forever − All right reserved.

At the start, Lawrence has exactly one friend, Matt Macarchuck (Percy Hynes White). That friendship is slipping away as his buddy matures faster and starts building a life that doesn’t include him. Suddenly Lawrence is drifting through senior year alone—no friends, no after high school plans, no film‑project partner – and definitely no roadmap for adulthood.

Lawrence and Matt © 2023 VHS Forever − All right reserved.

I Like Movies is a coming‑of‑age story for a teenage boy, which we don’t get nearly as often as we should. Girls have Lady Bird, Edge of Seventeen, Juno, Little Women. Boys get a handful: Stand By Me, Billy Elliot, or the little known, The Tender Bar. I Like Movies fits into that rare category, and for anyone who grew up loving movies a little too much, it hits close to home.

To score a discount on rentals, Lawrence takes a job at a Blockbuster‑style video store, and this is where the film finds its heart. His odd, prickly but healthy dynamic with the store manager, Alana (Romina D’Ugo), becomes the emotional core of the story. They’re mismatched, but they push each other in ways neither expects. She ends up offering Lawrence a lifeline that genuinely alters his trajectory.

Alana © 2023 VHS Forever − All right reserved.

By the end, the film lands in a place that feels earned and quietly satisfied. It’s messy, funny, and painfully relatable—especially if you’ve ever been young, self‑absorbed, and convinced movies were the only thing that understand you.

Published late at night on April 26, 2026