The Shallows, Nerve and Cafe Society

The Shallows is an excellent thriller about sea, a shark and a seagull. Blake Lively is terrific as the surfer who visits the remote Mexican beach found by her dead mother. Her fight to survive when menaced by a predatory shark could have been tiresome but instead director Jaume Collet-Serra (who made the well received Orphan) keeps up the tension with a number of twists along the way. It reminded me of (mainly) one actor movies such as Buried, All is Lost, Moon, Castaway, 127 Hours and parts of Gravity and The Martian. In a summer full of super heroes, animations and gross comedies, this made a refreshing change.

Somehow the interesting concept of Nerve got lost along the way. Based on the 2012 novel by Jeanne Ryan about online gaming, "players" are sent dares by "watchers" with cash rewards. Shy Emma Roberts stumbles into playing against her better judgement but soon finds her "nerve" with the aid of the experienced Dave Franco. Each set piece just feels a little cheap, but I guess that is more down to the less than creative directors. I did like the location photography of Manhattan and Staten Island and with a much better screenplay, it could have been great.

Woody Allen is back on form with his wonderful Cafe Society. Jesse Eisenberg reprises his role from Adventureland; this time more grown up as Bobby Dorfman, all alone in 1930's  Hollywood, trying to get high powered wealthy agent Uncle Phil (a strong performance from Steve Carell) to give him a job. Eventually he does and so Bobby meets secretary Vonnie played superbly by Kristen Stewart. And so we are set for romantic entanglements that could have been predictable, but in Allen's capable hands have much to say about human relationships.  The contrast of California and Jesse's New York home is cleverly depicted, his family there could have made a decent movie on their own. Jeannie Berlin and Ken Stott as Jesse's mother and father are quite excellent. Woody Allen's Jewish background is firmly seated in the family and their witty comments on their religion crackle and spit. The costumes, production design, cinematography are all worthy of awards, but it is Allen's screenplay that makes this a classic.