Netflix And Chill: Shimmer Lake (2017)

I watched Shimmer Lake just yesterday, and I spent some time mulling it over. I think I enjoyed what it did, but I also think that it felt like it was trying a bit too hard throughout. It needs the structure that it has, a backwards chronology that shows viewers the end result of a crime eventually revealed in full before the end credits, but that also makes the whole thing seem a bit too cute, and occasionally bordering on the smug.

As things begin, Andy Sikes (Rainn Wilson) is hiding out after his suspected role in a bank robbery. His police officer brother, Zeke (Benjamin Walker), is searching for him, but Andy is due to meet up with Steph (Stephanie Sigman), with the two then heading off together with their stash of cash.

Writer-director Oren Uziel (making his directing debut, although he already has a number of screenplay credits from the last dozen years) does a decent job, complementing his script with an interesting variety of actors, some you might not expect in this kind of tale. It is telling, however, that he doesn’t really do anything more with the material, unable to add any visual style or freshness to the whole thing. At least the script and cast DO work, but something more was needed.

Wilson is very good in his role, although also slightly underused, and both Walker and Sigman do well in their pivotal roles, portraying their characters in a way that allows the layers to be peeled off en route to the end of the film/start of the whole chain reaction. Rob Corddry and Ron Livingston have a couple of scenes in which they play FBI agents, John Michael Higgins steals a couple of scenes, and Wyatt Russell once again shows his knack for picking projects he at least considers interesting enough to give his time and energy to. There are a number of other fun supporting turns, Adam Pally and Mark Rendall also doing very good work, and Uziel arguably saves himself some embarrassment by casting so well.

It’s all about that structuring though, and Uziel seems to put a bit too much faith in his own writing. It isn’t an original idea, and every new “surprise” ends up being undermined by the information already made available as everything uncoils. In the most basic way, it’s all perfectly fine. It is missing something to make it good though. It’s an unseasoned meal, or a scoop of distinctly average vanilla ice cream without any sauce or sprinkles. Acceptable, digestible, but nothing to revisit in a hurry, if ever.

5/10

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Prime Time: Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (2012)

The directorial debut from Lorene Scafaria (who recently entertained audiences with the very enjoyable Hustlers), what you get here is a drama with some weighty themes that benefits enormously from a great script (written by Scafaria) and a pair of winning lead performances.

There's not long left. An asteroid is heading to Earth. The end is very much nigh. And things are made worse for Dodge (Steve Carell) when his wife leaves their car and just runs out of his life. So many people are taking the upcoming end of days as an excuse to cut loose and enjoy their time without real consequences, but Dodge just wants to connect with a special someone before it's too late. He ends up working towards this aim with a neighbour, Penny (Keira Knightley), and their journey takes some interesting turns, despite the knowledge that they're not going to have a happy ending.

We've seen films similar to this before. Someone finds out they don't have long to live, which in turn leads to them finally doing things they always wanted to do. The big twist here is that the new lust for wanting to make the most of a very truncated lifespan applies to pretty much everyone in the world. Many people indulge in a fair amount of hedonism, some riot, and some try to take control of their fate in other ways. Dodge actually acts quite normally, considering the circumstances. Although it may seem foolish, or like a missed opportunity, he is determined not to use the upcoming ELE to completely change how he lives his life. The biggest change he makes is being in the company of Penny, which is enough to lead to cause some serious repercussions.

Carell is superb in his role, no surprise to those who have enjoyed his dramatic work for a number of years now (he's as good with the drama as he is with the comedy, and I love his comedy work), and Knightley gives one of her best performances in a non-period film. The two work well together, an unlikely pairing made a lot easier to believe in thanks to the unusual circumstances that have led to them growing closer after a long time of not really taking any notice of one another. Connie Britton and Rob Corddry are a married couple viewing the limited time left as an excuse to be totally free, Adam Brody gets a few minutes of screentime, and you get some nice little turns from Melanie Lynskey, Martin Sheen, T. J. Miller, Gillian Jacobs, and quite a few other familiar faces.

Scafaria certainly doesn't feel like a first-timer here, directing with skill from her excellent script. This could easily have been either too light or too dark, making the casting of Carell in the lead role an extra risk, but she gets the tone perfect throughout. This manages to be bittersweet in the best way, providing a worthwhile journey for the main characters without letting viewers forget that, whatever happens, everything is still set to end when that asteroid hits.

Sweet, touching, different enough from many other movies you may have seen in this mould, Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World is one to prioritise on your viewing list. Definitely watch it before humanity goes extinct.

8/10

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Bonus Review: Sex Tape (2014)

Sex Tape is mildly amusing. The main stars, Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel, pretty much guarantee that, thanks to their willingness to help each other look stupid, and a supporting cast, including Rob Corddry, Ellie Kemper and Rob Lowe, also helps to at least supply a few chuckles. Unfortunately, the risque plot and set-pieces provide more groans than chuckles, especially when you realise that this is the kid of comedy that thinks it's being fun AND rude, yet seems designed to provoke titters and/or blushes purely from the middle-aged and middle-class. If you have any doubt about that, please pay careful attention whenever you see a clip from the sex tape of the title.

That's the whole plot, by the way. Segel and Diaz decide to spice up their sex life with a bit of recording shenanigans, which proves disastrous when Segel synchs their escapade with a number of iPads that he's giving away as gifts. Yes, these people give away iPads as gifts, even throwing one to the mailman. Segel doesn't realise his major mistake until he receives a cryptic text, and then it's a race to retrieve the iPads and wipe the video from them all. They enlist the help of their friends - Corddry and Kemper - and head off into a long, dark night of the soul.

Written by Segel, Nicholas Stoller and Kate Angelo, Sex Tape could have been a great comedy. The premise is simple, yet effective, and the potential for the big laughs is easy to see. Yet it does nothing to get anywhere near that potential. Instead, it just meanders around, refusing to push things towards any area that may actually, god forbid, offend anyone. This is shocking stuff for those who, to use a musical equivalent, think the Scissor Sisters are the height of melodic anarchy.

Jake Kasdan is happy to direct in the same, safe manner. Everyone seems to be having a good time, or at least all seem pleased with themselves, and he doesn't do anything to interrupt that vibe. Do I sound like this is a pet peeve of mine? Well, that's because it is. Not because there's anything inherently wrong with the actual content here, but because it's all been tweaked and polished to remove it that touch too far from what it could have been, all the while allowing the stars to mug their way through the whole thing as if they're helping to veritably push at the boundaries of common decency and good taste.

Segel and Diaz are decent enough in the lead roles, although both have been better in at least a dozen movies I could think of, just off the top of my head. Corddry and Kemper do better, perhaps due to the fact that their scenes mean they don't really have to pretend to be involved in something edgy and sexy, and Rob Lowe is quite funny as a straight-laced guy who really likes to let his hair down when he can. Jack Black appears for a scene or two, and is enjoyable enough in a standard Jack Black turn, and a young man named Harrison Holzer gets to play an amusing irritant.

All in all, this has too few laughs, too few risque moments, and absolutely no surprises. And that's just not good enough for a film entitled Sex Tape.

4/10

http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Tape-Blu-ray-Jason-Segel/dp/B00LU7JB66/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415390153&sr=8-2&keywords=sex+tape

Rapture-Palooza (2013)

I initially dismissed Rapture-Palooza as nothing more than a retread of material that I'd already enjoyed in This Is The End (a movie that has crept up and up in my estimation after each repeat viewing). Thankfully, I heard from others that it was worth my time so I gave it a watch. And, whaddya know, it was worth my time.

Anna Kendrick stars as Lindsey Lewis, a young woman who ends up living through the rapture. Yes, lots of people have been taken up to heaven, but Lindsey isn't one of them. She spends her days with her boyfriend, Ben (John Francis Daley), avoiding fiery rocks that fall from the sky, trying to ignore foul-mouthed crows, despairing of her parents (Ana Gasteyer and John Michael Higgins), and generally having a pretty bad time of it. Then things get worse when she catches the eye of the antichrist (Craig Robinson).

Thanks, mainly, to a great cast, Rapture-Palooza provides a decent number of chuckles for those who are willing to go along with the bonkers premise. Kendrick is always a likable presence, Robinson is often very funny (and gets to play the antichrist as an amusing asshole), Rob Corddry is a lot of fun as Ben's father, a man who wants to keep his loved ones safe by going along with whatever the antichrist wants, and Thomas Lennon is someone else I always like to see onscreen, so I thoroughly enjoyed his turn as a passive, sweet zombie. Daley may not be on a par with those mentioned, but he does a perfectly fine job with his role. As well as Gasteyer and Higgin, there are chuckles raised by the likes of Calum Worthy, Ken Jeong, Paul Scheer and Tyler Labine in small roles.

Writer Chris Matheson has a lot of fun interpreting the rapture in a way that mixes traditional aspects with twists that provide a lot of little laughs. The movie may never feel bleak, but it does enough to let you know that the characters left alive on Earth are having a pretty miserable time of things.

Paul Middleditch does well in the director's chair, setting up the lunacy without leaving any gaps for viewers to start thinking about the whole thing, and ridiculing it, before settling down to the main core of the plot - a woman with a loving boyfriend who finds herself receiving unwanted attention from an evil, powerful man. The pacing is perfect, the special effects are fun and good enough for the material, and the whole thing deserves to be viewed as more than just a trip back to the well used by This Is The End. So give it a go soon, especially if you've been (like me) avoiding it for that very reason.

It helps, of course, if you like everyone involved. If you do, I pretty much guarantee that this will entertain you for 90 minutes. If you don't, well, you may want to keep this as a very low priority.

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/Rapture-Palooza-Blu-ray/dp/B00DEKKDPA/ref=sr_1_2_bnp_1_blu?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1406007165&sr=1-2&keywords=rapture-palooza

Hell Baby (2013)

A horror comedy written by, directed by, and starring Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon, Hell Baby is a fairly amusing movie that could have been improved by two things. One, a better cast. Two, some sharper gags.

Rob Corddry and Leslie Bibb are the couple who move into a home that has seen a lot of bad stuff, to put it mildly, within its walls. Bibb is quite heavily pregnant, and the parents-to-be hope to fill the place with good vibes and start making a rosy future. Keegan-Michael Key plays a man who keeps popping up to remind them of how unlikely that is, while two priests (Garant and Lennon) start down a trail that may well lead them to the very same house. Well, okay, it's obvious that it will. This isn't a mystery. It's obvious almost from the very beginning that the pregnancy is far from a normal one, which makes it just a matter of time until the priests get there and try to defeat any evil forces in the third act.

With a cast that also includes Riki Londhome and Michael Ian Black, this certainly has enough comic talent in front of the camera to help make the ridiculousness more palatable, but it's just a shame that there weren't a few more well-known names in the mix. The film doesn't actually have too many characters, which is a shame, because an extra cameo or two might have been enough to make this that bit more enjoyable. Bibb and Corddry are fun leads, Garant and Lennon work well together, and Key does well enough with a character that could have easily been far too grating.

But the biggest problem that the movie has is over-indulgence. I laughed quite a few times, but there were just as many occasions that started with me laughing and ended with me just wishing that everything had been wrapped up a bit quicker.

There are some easy jump "scares" here and some good gore, mixing with the easy laughs to result in something that defies the odds to become a surprisingly decent horror comedy at times. Unfortunately, it's all undone by a finale that ditches any semblance of intelligence for an overlong and unfunny riff on pass the parcel.

If you like the people involved then you'll like Hell Baby. It's fun. It's just a shame that Garant and Lennon didn't try a bit harder to tighten everything up and pack a bit more in to each act. And it's a great shame that they didn't seem to put any effort at all into thinking up a decent finale.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Hell-Baby-Blu-Ray-Leslie-Bibb/dp/B00EP2SN62/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1390658933&sr=8-2&keywords=hell+baby

Grounded AKA Unaccompanied Minors (2006)

Kids having a bit of a riot while stranded in an airport, that's the premise of Grounded AKA Unaccompanied Minors and I must admit that while it did tick all of the usual boxes and while it did start off quite badly, I ended up quite enjoying myself with this one. It's not one that I'll rush to revisit any time soon, and I can't see it ending up with a place in my movie collection, but it has enjoyable moments here and there and it's certainly one that's easy enough to enjoy while the kids are laughing at it.

Basically, a bunch of kids are supposed to be flying on Christmas Eve, but the weather has put an end to that idea. When five of the kids (Charlie, Spencer, 'Beef', Grace and Donna) escape from the Unaccompanied Minors room they have a bit of fun in the airport before being caught by the unhappy head of customer relations (Lewis Black). They're taken back to the UM room and told that they will be staying there for the rest of Christmas Eve, despite the fact that the other kids have all now been taken to a nice lodge along the road. This is particularly bad news for Spencer (Dyllan Christopher), as he knows that he must find a way to get back to his little sister, who is now in the lodge, and ensure that a present "from Santa" is waiting for her when she wakes up. It's a battle of wills between the kids, the head of customer relations and his many staff (including Rob Riggle and Wilmer Valderrama).

Most parts of this movie, admittedly, have been done numerous times before. Better. The script by Jacob Meszaros and Mya Stark doesn't have much bite to it (although Black, Valderrama, Rob Riggle and Rob Corddry get some fun moments) and director Paul Feig simply hits the notes that everyone is waiting for, including at least two montage moments.

Thankfully, the cast adds a lot of fun to the proceedings. The focus may be on Spencer trying to make Christmas right for his sister (Dominique Saldana) but the others get plenty to do. Gia Mantegna is fine as Grace, a typical "princess" type who Spencer ends up taking quite a shine to. Quinn Shephard is the other girl of the group, Donna, a bit of a tomboy, but not without an admirer either. Brett Kelly is quiet, but makes his presence known, as 'Beef'. And last, but by no means least, Tyler James Williams steals the movie as cheeky, but charming, Charlie Goldfinch. Williams is probably best known to people who enjoyed his comedic skills in Everybody Hates Chris and he creates laughter once again, whether he's trying to survive being moved around an airport in a suitcase or getting his groove on with a funky bit of music (the best montage moment). I've already mentioned the adults enough, maybe even too much already, but they do fine with what they're given.

It might start off unsteady, and there's a finale that almost disappears under sugary sweetness, but this has a fun middle section and proves to be fairly amusing, thanks in no small part to Tyler James Williams. Kids should enjoy it, though they probably won't rush to watch it again either.

5/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grounded-DVD/dp/B000MR9F5W/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1357051710&sr=1-1

Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (2008)

Just like the first Harold & Kumar movie, this has grown on me since my first viewing. It just hasn't grown on me all that much. I think it's pretty funny in places, sure, but it's not as good as the first film by quite a margin.

Despite the title, the plot doesn't actually revolve around our two leads (once again played by John Cho and Kal Penn) escaping from Guantanamo Bay. Oh, that actually does happen but it happens for only a few minutes. The rest of the movie consists of the boys staying ahead of the zealous law enforcement official (Rob Corddry) who believes them to be terrorist scum. And that's really all you need to know.

Following on immediately from the events of the first movie, the direction is this time handled by writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, there's plenty here that will entertain fans of the original. It's just a shame that most of it is recycled from the first film with the whole thing having an longer runtime and lesser gag ratio.

Some moments still stand out: Neil Patrick Harris is hilarious once again, Christopher Meloni returns to play a Grand Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan, an attempt to draw information out of Harold and Kumar's parents allows Ed Helms to have some fun and Rob Corddry is almost always funny when onscreen (something that can't be said of most of his other movie roles).

While the script isn't as sharp this time around and while the concept may feel like they've already slightly outstayed their welcome, the movie is raised up by yet another great collection of actors all joining in with the fun, even for the smallest of cameo roles. As well as our leads, NPH, Corddry, Helms and Meloni we get David Krumholtz and Eddie Kaye Thomas returning, Roger Bart is good fun, Beverly D'Angelo is always a pleasure to see onscreen (is there anyone who grew up in the 80s who didn't have a crush on her as Ellen Griswold?) and James Adomian shows a lighter side to George W. Bush.

The sad fact is that this makes some mistakes common to most sequels but, thankfully, it also still has enough to keep things watchable and amusing. Just.

6/10.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harold-Kumar-Escape-Guantanamo-Bay/dp/B001B8CBPC