Nerve

Are you a watcher or a player?

How much are you on your phone every day? You can check it out in the battery usage portion of your settings app, but I'll save you the trouble - you're on that sucker for way more than you think you are. 

In this era where entitlement is the law and instant gratification is the norm, smartphones and social networking have become a staple of our daily lives. We beg for attention in our apps and are quite literally addicted to scrolling through our Twitter feeds. These days, it's all about being "connected". Did you see that tweet? Did you watch that Periscope? How many Pokemon have you caught today?

Nerve takes our culture's social media obsession one step further; what if there was a way you could get paid to do dares, or pay to watch people do these dares? Better yet, what if all of this could be done on your cell phone, in a "social" context? Better yet, what if it could all be done anonymously? 

The result is a thrilling, thought provoking movie. Emma Roberts and Dave Franco are both excellent and fun to keep up with through the rollercoaster of a night they have. I was on the edge of my seat - it's a nerve-wracking movie (get it haha I'm sorry), not only because of the insane spiral of dares they endure, but also because of the threat of the game itself and the forces behind it.

Watching the movie was, in a way, similar to being on my phone. It's fast paced. It's bright. It's colorful. It's got fantastic music. 

I think that's why, in the end, I felt so slimy. After a slightly on-the-nose speech by Emma Roberts' character, I felt just as bad as the "watchers" - the people who use this app and watch people suffer for their twisted enjoyment. After being a part of all of the flashy (yet incredibly well done and effective storytelling mechanisms) graphics and interfaces of the movie and it's game, I realized that, in the moment, I liked people less. And I liked myself less.

So though I could give this movie crap for it's sometimes overly cliched "high-school" characters or its slightly twisted understanding of technology when it aids the plot or the not forward-thinking-ness of the main character, I think all of it adds to what the movie is supposed to be - off-putting. Uncomfortable. Reflective.

Go watch Nerve and go think about all the questions it makes you ask. That's what makes it a great movie.

P.S. - The game is already coming to life. Yikes.

Lights Out

Everyone is afraid of the dark.

The fear of darkness is such a universal, primal fear. Whether you sleep with a nightlight, with the door cracked, or if you wait until you're under the covers to flip your switch, I guarantee you have experienced discomfort at the absence of light before. It's pretty human.

Lights Out takes that weak spot and completely exploits it; it gives you something tangible to associate with the perceived threat of darkness.

The result is terrifying.

The basic premise (only watch the trailer if you want some great scares to be ruined) is a creature that can only hurt you when the lights are out. Though this sets you up to be scared the exact same way multiple times, it's executed so perfectly and the tension is built well in other ways. Nothing feels cheap or lazy about it.

Overall, you're going to get what you're expecting - a thrilling, jump-in-your-seat horror movie. There are some really cool things done with the "science" of the monster, and the movie does come up with creative shots and inventive usages of light to keep the creature at bay. 

It's a heart-poundingly fun time, and you might have trouble turning the light off that night. It's not without its faults, (which I'll explain in spoiler-territory) but if you like horror, you'll enjoy this movie for sure.

SPOILERS AHEAD

One of my favorite scenes of the movie is when Bret, the protagonist's boyfriend, is in an intense chase with the monster, "Diana". He manages to make it out to his car when Diana grabs him before he can get in. In the most clutch, badass move I've ever seen in a horror movie, Bret uses the keys in his hand to turn on the car's lights, which make Diana disappear. 

This was such a great moment, and the theater clapped and cheered. I wish the movie could have found more of these moments - especially given the ending.

Another cool moment in the movie was when Rebecca, our hero, gets Diana's arm stuck in a door and proceeds to shine the light directly on Diana's arm. When she does, it begins to disintegrate before Diana struggles and escapes. I thought this was a big deal. "Maybe they can defeat her this way," I thought to myself.

The whole movie, the mom is extremely creepy and talking to Diana, who seems to be her friend. The movie spells it out for you that the mom struggles with depression, and has since she was a kid. In this way, Diana becomes somewhat of a metaphor for depression. This is why I have problems with the ending of the movie.

In the climax of the movie, at the "all hope is lost" moment, Rebecca is about to be destroyed by Diana when Mom comes downstairs with a gun. "I told you not to hurt my children." Mom says.

Mom tries to shoot Diana, which of course doesn't work. I suddenly got really excited. Surely there was gonna be a really big, cool climax where light is used in a creative way to get rid of Diana for good and this completely shattered family can begin to come together again.

Nope.

The mom says she knows how to fix it and shoots herself in the head.

Donezo.

I felt pretty cheated by this ending. They had explained that Diana was attached to the mom's mind, so it's not like it didn't make sense. It just felt lazy, unfulfilling, and anticlimactic. When you establish a metaphor for depression, I don't think it's smart to make the solution to that depression SHOOTING YOURSELF IN THE HEAD. 

Maybe I'm just a stickler for happy endings, but especially after the cool car keys stunt and the flashlight flesh-burn, I was thinking that there was gonna be a really really innovative light show at the end to finish Diana for good. I don't know. The suicide rattled me. 

But seriously, other than the ending, this movie was loads of fun for me. It's still worth checking out.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Over the years of our family gathering, you two show up, aaaaaaand... you ruin it.

It's the story of two young men struggling to gain their father's approval and give her sister the wedding she deserves. It's the story of two young women desperately lost in their own lives, going through the motions and fighting the demons of their past. It's the story of two lovers who need to be reminded that their love is anything but boring.

It's all of these stories combined - and I almost pissed myself laughing.

I've seen plenty of raunchy comedies. Many of them make me laugh a lot, but end up being forgetful minus a couple of one-liners. Mike and Dave is extremely raunchy, and has plenty of solid one-liners, but also packs a great story and characters (with a wonderfully surprising amount of depth) to carry it.

Efron and Devine are both hysterical - though Adam Devine basically plays his character from Workaholics, I really didn't mind.

Kendrick and Plaza also don't disappoint. Their chemistry is believable and endearing - they're both batsh!t crazy and provide plenty of laughter.

All of these characters blew me away with their own personal stories. It would have been so easy for the two duos to have been generic and filled with fluff, but all four of them had wonderful quirks and backstories, unique motivations and relatable fears. If the actual humor of the movie was an ice cream sundae, this was the cherry on top.

This movie is also edited so sharply. The physical comedy never comes across as dumb or cliche and almost all of the jokes land right where they're intended to.

It's quotable, memorable, and even sweet. It's so, so, so funny. Go check it out.