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.

John Hughes Movie: Christmas Vacation (1989)

Never before has the phrase 'holiday fun for the whole family' been more suitable. Well ok, there are certainly some mature themes here but this is one of the funniest Christmas movies around.

After European Vacation in 1985, the National Lampoon film series returned with Christmas Vacation. Clark Griswald (Chevy Chase) has convinced his wife, Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) to let him have his dream, a big family christmas at home, with all the relatives around. But from the very start, things do not go as planned. By ten minutes in, the Griswald family have already been involved in highway road rage, been stuck under a truck, been airborn in their car and got a ludicriously inappropriate christmas tree. But that's just the begining.

Much like the first vacation, the Griswald family seem to be surrounded by absolutely hilarious accidents. From redneck Cousin Eddie's (Randy Quaid) appearence to exploding sewer mains, nothing seems to go as planned. The gags are generally derived from either the sort of jokes that bring out your inner 12 year old or pure slapstick, but don't feel guilty for laughing, because the unstoppable surge of antics rarely ever hits a sour note.

All of this humour is balanced out by heartwarming, albeit cheesy family moments, which is exactly what you'd expect from a comedy family movie, and seems to suit the christmas theme quite well. As well as Chase and D'Angelo, who reprise their roles perfectly well, the rest of the cast seem to gel fantastically with their characters, because they are entertaining from start to finish.

This is also one of those films where you recognise one of the actors from something (not just the child actors here) but you're not sure what they've been in. Then there's the great moment when you realise who they are and it's amazing to see how they've aged since. So I won't ruin that for you all by telling you who all the great actors are in this film.

This is a lighthearted, hilarious comedy movie that is perfect to run in the background whilst relaxing on Christmas day. As our final John Hughes movie for the month, this one is definitely a classic.

August: Osage County

Over the years, I have always wanted to see a classic film when it first arrived at cinemas, be it Pulp Fiction, Taxi Driver or Casablanca. With the release of August: Osage County, I feel as though I have had that opportunity. With a fantastic cast, extremely well written script and superb direction, I find it hard to fault this film.

It follows a family from Oklahoma who have come together for the first time in years because their father Beverly (Sam Shepard) has gone missing. Their mother, Violet (Meryl Streep), is an abrasive woman who is addicted to prescription medication. The three daughters, Barbara, Ivy and Karen (Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson and Juliette Lewis, respectively), each with their own problems, come together to try and comfort their mother.

For a film with a lot going on in terms of story and sub-plots, everything is presented quite clearly and this comes down to Tracy Letts' brilliant script (he also wrote the award-winning play on which the film is based). It's never hard to keep track of everyone's story and every plot element is resolved without being dismissed too quickly.

John Wells direction is also very evocative. He brings out stellar performances from his entire cast and shoots each scene in an extremely planned way. One of the major scenes in the film revolves around a family dinner and it is shot in such a way that the audience is gripped for the entire duration.

The two standout performances come from both Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. Streep is amazingly witty, yet at the same time sharp-tounged, as the matriarch of the family. It is definitely a standout role for her in her recent career (even though her recent career has been full of those). Julia Roberts has come a long way from the roles that she played early on (both Runaway Bride and Pretty Woman were terrible in my book). She is excellent as a long suffering daughter who just wants to be done with her family.

Verdict: A fantastic family drama that is surprisingly funny. Stellar performances from both Streep and Roberts.