NERVE [2016]

Directors Ariel Schulman & Henry Joost's second film of 2016 is the techno teen-thriller Nerve, based upon Jeanne Ryan's novel of the same name.
Emma Roberts plays a shy high-schooler who decides to outdo her more outgoing friend and joins an online game social media game of truth or dare that gets progressively more dangerous the better she gets at it.
With it's warning of social media pressure and fear of technology, it pretty much plays out like a rich teeny-bopper version of a Black Mirror episode only with a happy Hollywood ending with no lasting consequences.  These kids are spoiled and pretty flat, so the stakes feel low and you never really feel the potential danger it could have dived into.  Fortunately the pacing is brisk enough to never really give you time to figure out all the pointless plot-points it introduces for whatever reason.  An admirable effort but in the end it isn't the sharp-witted film it could have been.  

2½ lighthouses out of 5

VIRAL [2016]

Paranormal Activity director-duo Ariel Schulman & Henry Joost getaway from the found footage genre for the so-so parasite outbreak horror Viral.
The plot mostly follows two high-school sisters who fight to survive during a viral outbreak that leads to a frightening quarantine.
The film was wise to build a strong believable bond between the siblings because that's really the only thing of interest in this film.  It constantly steers off course and begins focusing heavily on horror aspects of the genre we've seen too much of or isn't fleshed out enough to care about.  It could have been a twist on the tired tropes by being more about the relationship, much like the far superior Maggie but instead it loses it's brave ambition and falls into been there done that far too often.  It's loaded with so many potentially interesting elements it comes off as just frustrating to see them ignored.

2 brave rats out of 5

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 [2012]

The 4th film in the inane Paranormal Activity series might just be for the diehard fans only.

It offers nothing but a few lukewarms scares and some interesting new gimmicks but simply not enough to shake things up a little.  Thankfully the lead character and her friend aren't written as the usual spoiled teenage bitch & douchebag and instead come off as smart & easy to like. Be sure to check back sometime later this year for a Nut of the 5th film because, well, I like torturing myself for your sake, gentle reader.  

1 X-box Kinect pixel dot out of 5 

CATFISH [2010]

The actuality of the "documentary" film Catfish has yet to be determined but nevertheless it provides a fascinating storyline that captivates from beginning to end.

It follows the life of a young New York photographer and the long-distance relationship he begins with someone online.  Inevitably things get a little weird to make it worth watching, however I won't tell you in honour of the film-maker's doing their best to keep it under wraps as well.  It's sad and unusual but still really makes you wonder what's out there.  

3 mood-settling fish out of 5