Nerve

Movies that have a focus on the dangers of technology are going to become more and more common as our current technology progresses. This movie takes the idea of online 'game seeping into the real world with disastrous effects and also warns against the dangers of mob mentality. It toys with the fact that online anonymity is the most dangerous thing plaguing privileged white people, so you better think before you post your next antagonistic YouTube comment.

There is a new online game going around and it's called Nerve. People sign up to be given a series of escalating dares for money. When Vee (Emma Roberts) is accused by her friends for not living life to the fullest extent, she is challenged by her friends to join up. When she does, Vee is forced to teamed up with another player called Ian (Dave Franco) by the watchers and soon their dares start escalating to more and more dangerous things to get to the final round.

Nerve is a bit confusing in who is it's target audience. It seems like it is targeted toward teenagers with its social media concepts and risky behaviour, but in its execution it comes of as though it's a movie for adults, showing what the kids are up to these days. It doesn't seem at all surprising that this movie came from Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, who directed both the documentary Catfish and Paranormal Activity 3 and 4. All of those movies revolve around a certain amount of interaction with faceless online users and this seems like the cherry on top of those. I just feel as though the message it's trying to send won't appeal to that target audience.

That's mainly to do with the fact that the movie doesn't really set high stakes for the characters within. We learn that Vee and Ian are going to lose everything if they don't win, but the film doesn't make that feel risky enough. There is an interesting development between Vee and her friend Sydney (Emily Meade) who have a blossoming rivalry in the game, but their feud is solved in a very conventional manner. The performances don't lend anything to the movie as both Franco and Roberts are just not sympathetic or likeable.

For a movie that is trying to warn of the dangers of social media in our current era, Nerve doesn't really do a good job. It's just above those 'prank' videos where people try and show parents that their kids will get in a stranger's car and how gullible the kids are these days. But if it's coming from these directors, that message isn't a surprise at all.

Palo Alto

High school is a terribly boring time in a young person's life. Or that's what Gia Coppola wants you to think in her debut as a director. That doesn't mean that Palo Alto is at all a boring movie. Coppola perfectly captures all that James Franco wanted to say in his collection of short stories.

Eschewing any real plot line, the film follows the lives of four teenagers living in Palo Alto, a town in California; Teddy (Jack Kilmer), April (Emma Roberts), Fred (Nat Wolff) and Emily (Zoe Levin). Each of these teens know each other through school and the various parties they attend. They all have their own issues, whether it be self-esteem or addiction or both.

All of the performances by the main actors are amazing. Emma Roberts and Zoe Levin both play shy girls who come out of their shells only when certain people are around. Nat Wolff's unhinged Fred is played with such a ferocity and intensity I almost forgot that the character wasn't really. This is Jack Kilmer's first role and his talent is immediately apparent. The brooding character Teddy had something extra than in the book and I put that down to his first class performances.

James Franco and Val Kilmer also appear in minor roles. Franco (who wrote the book that the film is based on) plays the predatory(?) Mr B. and is passable in a role he created, although I guess he probably knows about the characters more than anyone. Val Kilmer is limited to only two scenes, but he made me laugh both times.

I am only just a tiny bit jealous of Gia Coppola (or any of the Coppola kids) for that matter. Not only does she have the benefit of her grandfather being one of the most well-known directors in Hollywood, but she is extremely talented when it comes to filmmaking too, although I guess when you grow up on your family's film sets something must have sunk in.

Verdict: Coppola makes a film that exceeds past the source material which it is based. She perfectly captures what it feels like to be a teenager of the current generation and is helped along by a superb young cast.

We're The Millers

We're the Millers does an unconventional take on the family road trip movie. There are some elements that people will recognise, but for the most part, you won't.

David (Jason Sudeikis) is a low-level drug dealer working for Brad Gurlinger (Ed Helms), a crazy drug baron who likes to show off his wealth. One day, David gets his stash and money stolen by some thugs and ends up being blackmailed by Brad to do some smuggling for him. He enlists the help of his neighbour, Kenny (Will Poulter), a runaway, Casey (Emma Roberts), and a stripper who lives in his building, Rose (Jennifer Aniston). They pose as a family to bring the drugs to the States from Mexico in a RV. They soon discover that they stole the drugs from an equally crazed Mexican baron, Pablo Chacon (Tomer Sisley), and race to get to Denver before they can be stopped.

This movie is a lot funnier than what I expected. There are a lot of jokes about regular family road trips, but also jokes about how this group isn't a real family. One hilarious ongoing joke involves a weed baby.

Jason Sudeikis (Saturday Night Live, Horrible Bosses) is a great leading man in this comedy and you can see that he is really comfortable doing improvisation, because I'm sure most of his priceless one-liners couldn't be written, even by the funniest comedy writers.

It was amazing to see America's sweetheart Jennifer Aniston play a foul mouthed role. It's always refreshing to see actors go against the grain and take a role that no one's seen them do before. Aniston is  just plain funny as she really gets into the role of trying to be a fake mother to this family. She sort of reminds me of Catherine O'Hara in Orange County.

Will Poulter has been consistently funny throughout his career. He was hilarious in the British sketch show School of Comedy and now he has proven that he can be funny in a feature length film. I look forward to seeing a lot more of him in future.

I know Emma Roberts (Scream 4) has been working in Hollywood for years, but prior to this, none of her films have appealed to me. That's not to say that she isn't a good actress, because this film clearly shows that she is.

Verdict: A genuinely funny and original comedy that will appeal to anyone who's ever been on a family road trip. Or smuggled drugs.