Nerve

First Hit:  I sat down in my seat with a bit of apprehension, and this all changed as soon as the film rolled, it was a blast.

This film could have easily been a bomb. But what kept it from being a dud was the explosion of characters, “watchers” and “players”.

The main character Vee (Emma Roberts) who is the beautiful girl, who doesn’t know her beauty and she hides in the background. She's a watcher and engaged with people but through her creative (although we don’t see much of it) side as a photographer.

Her BFF is Sydney (Emily Meade), a risk taking girl that does what she can for attention. Yes, she's a player and it is obvious that by playing "Nerve" she attempts to convince herself and others that she is not insecure.

"Nerve" is like the old "Truth or Dare" game but the difference is that there is no "truth" in "Nerve"; it is all "dare". It has been created anonymously by a group of hackers/programmers on the dark web, and it invites anyone to be a player or watcher. The more dares completed and the more complex dares a player attempts to "complete", the more money the player can win.

If the watcher’s like you, you win more money for completing the dare. Watchers get to watch you do the dare live on any device. Emma gets goaded to becoming a player by Sydney and because her fear is real and it puts her outside her comfort zone, she instantly becomes a favorite of watchers.

The watchers hook her up with Ian (Dave Franco) and together they take on the dares presented to them. One that touched me was riding a motorcycle together with the driver blind. It touched me only because I was in a passenger car in my late teens with the driver’s eyes were covered by a back seat passenger who shouted out driving commands. It only lasted about 2 minutes on a quiet, no traffic street, but it was a bit nerve-racking.

Anyway the contest to win the big prize becomes engaging for the watchers with Vee and Ian as a team, Sydney and Ty (Colson Baker AKA Machine Gun Kelly) as the other front runners. Many of the dares are difficult to watch, some are inventive, while others are a bit odd. The intenseness and playfulness of each dare was well shot and most of the dialogue fit the players generational sound and meaning. This film was fun.

Roberts was spot on perfect. Her growing into a player worked well as her inner strength came through. Meade was really strong as the girl craving for attention but, in the end, still had heart. Franco was great and it was nice to see him in a non-comedic role. He brought charm to his character. Baker was perfectly intense as was needed. Miles Heizer as Tommy, Vee’s friend, was charmingly protective of Vee reflecting his hidden love for her. Juliette Lewis as Roberts' mother was wonderful. Jessica Sharzer wrote a script that was spot-on to the time, place, and feel of the characters and their situations. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman did a wonderful job of directing this with intense and thoughtful scenes. They got great performances out of the actors and script.

Overall:  This film surprised me with how good and fun it was to watch.

Palo Alto

First Hit: A very well acted film about young people finding their place.

April (Emma Roberts) is a sensitive girl who has a crush on her high-school soccer coach Mr. B. (James Franco). The desire is mutual.

Teddy (Jack Kilmer) is a “stoner” whose mom is not very attentive of her son and his exploits, which partially results in behavior that is somewhat destructive. His closest friend Fred (Nat Wolff), is a self-absorbed guy who is always trying to make trouble with everyone as a way to be the center of attention.

The story is mainly aimed at how April and Teddy have experiences that help them to take another step towards growing up. The thing that stood out most about this film is that it felt very accurate about how young people deal with, talk about, and process the information given to them about their lives. The script and direction was very strong which gave this film its feel of authenticity.

Roberts was really good at being the girl who is on the fringes of the popular group but attempting to find what will create happiness for herself separate from the group. Jack Kilmer was also strong at being the guy who wants to be popular, hangs with the most troubling guy to push his cred, and finally settles into is art which where his soul resides. Val Kilmer has a small part of Roberts’ step-father and his stoner ways exemplify the lack of direction kids were getting from their parents in this community. Wolff was strong as the kid, we all knew, from high-school who always pushes the boundaries of the law, good taste and good behavior. Gia Coppola wrote and directed this film with a skill, expertise and eye for the subtleties of the struggles of being young.

Overall: This is a strong film and worth seeing.

The Millers

First Hit:  Although not great, I enjoyed this film and many laughs came easily.

I was in the mood for something lighthearted and maybe with some substance. “The Millers” came through really well.

The substance is about learning about selflessness – movement away from selfishness. David (Jason Sudeikis) is a small time dime-bag marijuana dealer. He’s doing the same thing he’s been doing all his life. He only cares about himself and making the required sales. He’s worked for Brad (Ed Helms) for a very long time.

Brad is wealthy (he collects whales not cars) and is a jerk. David gets robbed trying to stop his neighbor Kenny (Will Poulter) from breaking up a street robbery of Casey (Emma Roberts) by some street punks. It’s Kenny’s good heart that put him in danger. When David decides to help and this kindness backfires on him.

Losing a lot of Brad’s money and pot, Brad gives David the option of picking up a bunch of pot in Mexico and bring it across the Mexican/US border OR be can be killed. If he does the smuggling job, he’s promised money, relief from his indebtedness to Brad, and maybe a little more freedom.

To make this happens, David hatches the idea that if he looked like a family man in a RV then the likelihood of being stopped at the boarder would be less. So he recruits Kenny, then Casey - who is homeless, and his neighbor Rose (Jennifer Aniston) to become his family on this adventure. He offers them some money. Rose is a stripper, hates her job and has been stilted both financially and emotionally by her past boyfriend.

With the promise of a payoff, this motley crew becomes “The Millers” and they trek off to Mexico to collect some pot and to make some money. But the situations that happen on the way drive them all to see that being part of a family has meaning for all of them.

What makes the story and funny situations work is excellent acting on all their parts.

Sudeikis is very good as a slacker, just selfishly going on with his life and slowly and sporadically finding that he cares about the family he put together for his profit.  Helms is great as the jerky drug dealer. Aniston is fabulous as a stripper, pretend mother, and as the grounding force of this film. Roberts is a delight and, like Aniston, segues from hardened loaner, to a girl wanting to be heard, seen and loved. Poulter was amazing and a real prize. His innocence and bravery was perfect. Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn as Don and Edie Fitzgerald fellow RV travelers were a great addition to the story. Bob Fisher and Steve Farber wrote a witty screenplay. Rawson Marshall Thurber provided a deft touch directing this ensemble cast of strong actors.

Overall:  This was every entertaining and definitely worth the price of admission.

Celeste and Jesse Forever

First Hit:  Earnest at times while failing to state the obvious at other times. In the end it left me wanting something with more growth and substance.

This is a film about a couple who are best friends but weren’t willing to really work on making their romantic relationship work.

One of the best lines from the film, and I’m paraphrasing here, came from one of Celeste’s (played by Rashida Jones) clients, a pop star named Riley (played by Emma Roberts), “you are contempt towards people without doing any homework or knowing anything about them.”

This perfectly captured Celeste’s attitude in the film, which I disliked about her character. She was self-righteous and right. She was oblivious to the truth about her and others. Her codependent partner Jesse (played by Andy Samberg) lived in a studio behind the house they once lived in together.

His character was like a lost little boy who depended on his strong former wife to maintain him. Their friends didn’t like how they were together and actually I thought it was unreal and their private games together, like masturbating a small tube of lip-balm or baby corn was OK maybe once, but multiple times?

There were moments in this film where the point for making this film was going to stand tall, only to be dragged down by self-indulgence of the characters.

There is a good film in the subject matter, couples have to work on their friendship in a romantic relationship and vice versa, but the inconsistency of this effort mimicked my dislike for each of the characters or actors, I don’t know which.

Jones felt self-absorbed and self-righteous both as a person and character. Samberg was too weak to be the second lead. Roberts was very good as Riley the pop-star. Ari Graynor as the couple's friend Beth, did well to show and hold her contempt for Celeste and Jesse while balancing with her love for them. I also liked Rebecca Dayan as Veronica the woman who was attempting to let Jesse grow up. Her quite demeanor was one of acceptance. Jones and Will McCormack (who also was a character in the film) wrote a script that required some subtlety and balance in the characters. Lee Toland Krieger directed this mediocre film.

Overall: This film could have said a lot more than it did about the importance of couples nurturing a friendship and each other as people while embracing romance.

It's Kind of a Funny Story

First Hit: There are strong themes in this film and it came together very well.

Suicide: Many young people consider this option as the pressures of life begin to unfold in the teen years. Many teens deal with these pressures differently; however there are a significant number who think long and hard about this option of checking out of this life.

Craig (played by Keir Gilchrist) is having thoughts and dreams of killing himself. In his dreams he begins the practice of acting them out but always stops. One night his dream has him going all the way. He awakes and heads to the hospital where they check him into the adult ward for 5 days of observation. Right after he gets a glimpse of who else is in the ward, he decides he’s cured and wants out. However his parents and the lead doctor think the stay will do him good.

Here is where the film could have fallen apart. It could have been a mockery of a mental health ward with Craig having odd or unintelligent interactions with others in the ward, but the film doesn’t go in this direction.

The writers and director (together Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck) head into the reality that each person in the ward is real with their own version of struggling with life and through this one can learn about themselves and others. One of the patients, Bobby (played by Zach Galifianakis), is a father who wants to get into a halfway house and spend time with his daughter but feels safe in the ward.

Muqtada (played by Bernard White) just stays in bed and sees no point in ever getting out of bed again. Then there is Noelle (played Emma Roberts) who is nearly the only other person in the ward that is his age. She’s there because she is a cutter and there is fear that there will be one cut too many.

As the film unfolds Craig learns about himself and others and a slowly begins to understand he can work with the pressure of life and knows he has change the things in his life that allow him to embrace it. Through his interaction with Noelle, Muqtada, Bobby and Dr. Minerva (played by Viola Davis) he finds his way and realizes it won’t always be easy but he can choose to make it work.

Gilchrist showed a great range in the part because it required him to have different sequences (like the one in which he sings “Pressure”) showing different aspects of who he could be and who he is already. Galifianakis was strong as a mentor and friend to Craig while also showing vulnerability and disappointment of his own life. Roberts was absolutely wonderful in her character. Davis was excellent as the ward psychologist. Boden and Fleck co-wrote and co-directed this film and it is their smart writing, well-crafted scenes and well executed storyline that made this film work.

Overall: This film may not get a lot of play, but it is a wonderfully crafted film in which the participants can be proud of.