Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

The Art of Self-Defense

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This movie got fair reviews and features Jesse Eisenberg, so I thought, “Why not?”  Eisenberg plays Casey, a very mild-mannered bookkeeper. He is afraid of other men, and is ridiculed and bullied.  Eventually, he is brutally mugged.  Terrified now of everything, he thinks about buying a gun, but ends up joining a karate studio hoping to learn some self-defense strategies and the courage to stand up for himself.  As Jesse becomes more adept and confident, the movie becomes darker and darker.  He is advanced to the next color belt, seemingly before he is ready, and then invited to attend surprisingly brutal  night classes.  The overall premise of the movie was quite interesting; but the plot development was slow, and it took soooooooo long to get to the real nub of what was going on.  It became predictable, and I was able to guess the main plot twists, so I wasn’t surprised.  A few of the supporting characters stand out, especially the enigmatic Sensei of the karate school played by Alessandro Nivola.  I can’t recommend this one; however, you might like it if you love quirky movies.  I usually do, but this one was just too slow for me.

Stuber

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Stuber is a not very good buddy film, is a bad comedy, and is a terrible detective/thriller.  David Bautista plays Detective Vic, who loses  his glasses during a shootout, thus ( in his mind anyway) causing the death of this partner.  By the way, kudos to Karen Gillan, who is murdered in the first few minutes of the movie and thus doesn’t have to stick around for this silliness. The “humor and action” come when the detective decides to get lasik surgery and is told he will not be able to see more than a blur for 24 hours.  Of course, he gets a tip right after the operation, but since he can’t drive, he hires an Uber to help him get to the places he needs in order to apprehend the man who killed his partner and bring him to justice.  The Uber driver, Stu (Stu + Uber = Stuber hahaha) is played by Kumail Nanjiani who really just wants a five star review and to get the girl he is pining for.  Anyway, the whole thing is rather silly, but not in a good way. The acting is plebeian at best, the action not inventive, and the writing weak. There are a few laughs here and there, but nothing to warrant even waiting for the release to pay tv.  So you may thank me for helping you dodge a bullet (unlike several characters in the movie) on this one.

The Dead Never Die

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This was a very strange movie, and I mean strange.  “The Dead Never Die” stars Bill Murray and Adam Driver as taciturn policemen who work in the sleepy small town of Centerville.  Fracking by American energy companies has caused a problem with the Earth’s rotational axis which leads to ZOMBIES!!  The movie follows various characters as they try to deal, mainly unsuccessfully, with this epidemic,   I usually love quirky zombie movies, but I must say, this one, not so much.  For a dark comedy, there are hardly any laughs.  For an action movie, there isn’t much action.  There are tons of zombies though, doing the usual things  that zombies do and it is very graphic.  It just wasn’t very interesting though.  There is even a potentially clever twist featuring Tilda Swinton that goes nowhere except into a strange sort of plot hole.  The movie ends with a preachy diatribe about how we are ruining the planet that seems totally unnecessary and out of place.  If I were you, I would rewatch Bill Murray in “Zombieland” and skip this one entriely.

A Simple Favor

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Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively are spot on as two very different moms who become best friends.  This is a rare comedy thriller that works on both levels.  Paul Feig adeptly directs a snappy script by Jessica Sharzer, which was adapted from a Darcey Bell novel. We open with Anna Kendrick playing perky helicopter mom, Stephanie, who dishes helpful household hints via her vblog.  She is extremely  energetic and her vblog has a growing following (though her local “friends” from her son’s school find it, and her, as something to make fun of, due to her very  overinvolved personality).  Lively plays the drop-dead beautiful Emily, the fashion diva who asks the comparatively “plain” Stephanie to share a martini while their sons have a play date.  They have absolutely nothing in common, but Emily intrigues Stephanie with her brash and very earthy attitude.  Soon, Stephanie finds herself more and more involved with Emily, while wondering why they have become best buds in just a few short weeks.  Emily increasingly asks Stephanie to watch her son and she becomes more and more involved, meeting Emily’s sexy husband (Henry Golding) and becoming virtually a nanny.  Then, Emily calls with an emergency, and can Stephanie come yet again to watch both kids, which is the simple favor of the title.  As you probably can guess, Emily disappears leaving her son and sexy husband behind.  Sephanie begins to suspect that Emily she wasn’t who she appeared to be when a body is found!  What?!  The rest of the movie is compelling film-noir, with lots of twists, double-dealing and enough secrets to keep you guessing until the deliciously satisfying ending.  Yes, it is a little over the top, but so what?  This movie is so entertaining that you won’t even notice.  If you liked ‘Gone Girl,’  you are going to love ‘A Simple Favor!’