NERVE Review

If the trailer spoiling the entire movie wasn't enough and you still decide Nerve is worth a trip to the cinema you'll likely be pleasantly surprised that it still proves to be (mostly) compelling. Despite ultimately knowing every beat this film is going to hit even if you've only seen a single trailer there is still something in the editing and overall emotional effect and where this wave of neon takes you in terms of a single experience that makes the film worth watching at least once. What that essentially means is that Nerve is not solely about getting from point A to point B and making sure the plot works which, considering the density of the details needed to understand the game is impressive enough, but more than that it focuses on the small moments in between those plot points allowing it to remain both compelling and more affecting than one might initially expect. One wouldn't think a film made by the guys behind Catfish (as well as a few Paranormal Activity flicks) would transfer so well to full on feature-length narrative storytelling, but with a script by Jessica Sharzer adapted from Jeanne Ryan's novel the filmmakers are able to tap into more than just the timely and relevant premise, but more the timeless relationships between high school students and the conditions of those relationships that being at that stage in life typically dictate. More than just another love story of sorts where the innocent/meek school girl takes the leap out of her comfort zone only to find a guy who she would have imagined was light years out of her league actually likes her for her-Nerve wraps its world in the dynamics between not only the young adults who are attracted to one another at the center of the story, but extends it to their circle of friends that tend to influence their decisions as much as their own minds. The fact the movie is about an online game with a countless number of viewers offering their "Likes" and comments only reinforces this mentality on a whole other (timely) level. By fleshing out not just the main protagonists and the game at its core, but rather by immersing viewers in this single night in New York City where neon can only mean more fun, exciting things Nerve overcomes its predictability and familiar story structure by giving us characters we care about.

First Trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's SPLIT

Unfortunately, a new trailer for an M. Night Shyamalan movie doesn't carry as much excitement as most thought it might in the early years of the new millennium. Fortunately, Shyamalan seems to be finding his footing more recently as last years fairly underrated The Visit was a pleasant surprise from a director who'd taken a detour from what his predetermined course seemed to be. The Visit, which I didn't get the opportunity to review last year, was a clever little play on the handheld camera horror genre where it was still up to the characters to capture the necessary elements of the story, but at the same time retaining the elements and mystique of a classic Shyamalan script. That the writer/director has again come to operate in something of a larger genre while seemingly still applying his own twisted mentality to the situation is promising. As I watched the trailer I couldn't help but be reminded of this years 10 Cloverfield Lane, but with the added element of knowing what was wrong with our captor from the get-go rather than that mystery remaining the backbone of the movie. This hopefully indicates the film has more to it and can deliver in its third act. Besides the engaging premise that sees a man with twenty-three personalities living inside of him kidnapping three young girls and holding them hostage in his cellar the film looks to feature a show-stopping performance from James McAvoy. McAvoy, beyond his most prominent role as Charles Xavier in the new wave of X-Men films, is an interesting performer that chooses some diverse projects to participate in and it seems that the actor has found a formidable collaborator in Shyamalan who supports pushing the envelope. The film also stars The Witch star Anya Taylor-Joy, The Edge of Seventeen's Haley Lu Richardson, and Jessica Sula as the three young girls McAvoy's Kevin kidnaps with Jason Blum again producing and the director teaming up with cinematographer Mike Gioulakis (It Follows) for the first time. Split opens on January 20th, 2017.

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE Review

As a young man growing up in the nineties it was next to impossible to not be infatuated with Batman: The Animated Series. Whether you'd seen any of the Adam West series or not there was something immediately intriguing about Batman and his alter-ego, billionaire Bruce Wayne. While the animated series that ran from 1992-1995 would more or less become the definitive Batman of my generation little did I know that at the same time I was celebrating my first birthday author Alan Moore and illustrator Brian Bolland were releasing what would become something of a seminal piece of work in the bat universe that would forever influence the tone and depiction of Jerry Robinson's creation. I am of course referring to the 1988 graphic novel, The Killing Joke, which has now been adapted into a DC original animated movie. While I consider myself a pretty big Batman fan that fandom is more in regards to the cinematic incarnations of the character rather than his origins in comic books which I, unfortunately, don't tend to read much. To say that is to say that despite being aware of the Moore story I didn't really know the specifics of it and for some reason had not corrected that lack of knowledge even when in 2008 there were rumors Heath Ledger's version of the Joker in The Dark Knight would draw heavily on the Moore/Bolland interpretations. Having finally caught up with The Killing Joke I was anxious to see what an animated feature of the story might be able to offer or bring to the table what the comic couldn't. In other words, it would be tough-comics and books alike allow readers their own time with the material and their own time to consider the full ramifications of the actions that take place whereas movies are more prone to tell you how you should feel. Given the typically well-respected and regarded Warner Bros. Animation was at the helm of this long-awaited adaptation though, there was great hope in seeing justice done to this iconic story being brought to the screen. Unfortunately, there simply isn't enough in Moore and Bolland's comic to justify a feature length film and by adding a forty-minute prologue that concerns Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (Tara Strong) doesn't help in this case. It doesn't help that the animation feels cheap and rushed either with the only redeeming quality being that fans of that animated nineties series will once again be able to hear Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy reprise their iconic roles as The Joker and the Caped Crusader.

On DVD & Blu-Ray: July 26, 2016

Initial Reaction: Video Review - STAR TREK BEYOND

This week Charles and I sat down in IMAX 3D for the third entry in the rebooted Star Trek series as director Justin Lin took over for J.J. Abrams and delivered what may be one of the most enjoyable popcorn flicks of the summer. With Star Trek Beyond following the divisive Star Trek Into Darkness it was always going to be interesting to see how fans responded to the follow-up, but Paramount was clearly feeling confident as they already announced plans for a fourth film ahead of Beyond's debut this past weekend. With a price tag of $185 million though, it is unclear after the first weekend what course of action Paramount might take given Beyond debuted to an estimated $59.6 million which is a 15% drop from the $70.1 million opening for Star Trek Into Darkness. While the nearly $60 million opening was good enough to take the number one spot over the weekend it seems Beyond will be relying heavily on its international performance to garner any profit as its domestic run will likely end somewhere in the realm of its budget. This result would mean that Beyond is on the downward trend of Star Trek's box office success as Into Darkness came in below 2009's Star Trek reboot domestically, but outperformed the 2009 film internationally by $110 million. The previous films had worldwide totals of $385 million and $467 million and while Beyond opened strong in many other territories this weekend it does have a few key openings remaining that will certainly factor into the fate of this franchise and likely determine whether or not we'll actually see that fourth film featuring Chris Hemsworth. This downturn in box office is something of a bummer given the pure entertainment value of the film and the fact it deserves to be seen on the big screen, but when you're coming out at the end of July and have been overshadowed by a handful of other tentpoles in almost every weekend prior it is hard to appeal to why folks should show up and spend money on your movie instead of Marvel's latest or the upcoming Suicide Squad. As always, hit the jump to watch this week's review and be sure to subscribe to our channel as we have a new review (or reviews) up each week! Appreciate the support.